KT SAT partners with state broadcaster to commercialize real-time marine satellite TV service

[Gettyimages Bank]

SEOUL -- The satellite TV and internet service wing of South Korea's top telecom company KT partnered with a state broadcaster to commercialize a marine satellite TV service for customers who use KT's satellite internet service. Vessel operators will be able to watch the real-time broadcasting of a TV channel without having to add an extra satellite dish.

South Korea's satellite internet services use Koreasat 5, the country's first combined civil and military communications satellite launched into orbit in 2006, to relay radio waves. Conventional satellite TV systems were specifically used for TV content while satellite internet systems focused on providing online access due to slow data transfer speed.

KT SAT said in a statement on June 24 that the company would work with Korean Broadcasting System (KBS), a state broadcaster, to commercialize the satellite internet-based real-time TV broadcasting service in July. The service has been demonstrated since May 2021.

"We will start providing a live TV broadcasting service to sea areas outside South Korea," KT SAT CEO Song Kyung-min was quoted as saying. The company said that ships traveling in any ocean will be able to watch the KBS international TV channel using KT SAT's satellite internet-based TV service.

Through the new service, KBS World 24, a TV channel for the international audience, will be broadcast live. The channel broadcasts its content including news, talk shows, documentaries and music programs mainly in Korean with English subtitles.

Park Sae-jin swatchsjp@ajunews.com

KT SAT partners with state broadcaster to commercialize real-time marine satellite TV service

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