Domestic connected car commercial service partner selected by 13 automobile brands from 6 countries

KT announced its goal of achieving 500 billion won in sales in the connected car business by 2022.

KT announced its intention to leap forward as a specialized automotive software provider at the press conference. Key details revealed that day included KT's connected car business plan, including the status of its connected car commercial service with global auto brands, expansion of its dedicated vehicle platform, "GiGA Drive," and strengthening its car infotainment business through artificial intelligence (AI) and content.

A KT official said, "KT is the oldest telematics operator in Korea, having supplied vehicle communication lines for over 10 years, starting with Hyundai Motor Company's Mozen in 2005, and has a high level of understanding of the automotive industry's ecosystem and customer quality standards." KT has signed contracts with global automobile brands over the past two years, leveraging its superior network, dedicated platform, and content capabilities in music, maps, location control, and navigation.

In addition to Hyundai Motor Company, KT is collaborating with 13 automobile brands from the UK, France, Japan, and the US, including Mercedes-Benz of Germany, to provide connected platform services.

Building on this collaboration, KT and Hyundai Motor Company demonstrated vehicle control via AI-based voice recognition, including remote starting and location guidance, linked to GiGA Genie. Furthermore, Mercedes-Benz unveiled "Mercedes Me Connect," incorporating KT's network and maps into the "The New S-Class," released in early September.

'Mercedes me connect' provides 'e-call', which detects danger in the event of an accident and sends information such as the current location and number of passengers wearing seat belts to the customer center; 'b-call', which allows you to request 24-hour emergency dispatch in the event of a breakdown; and 'i-call', which acts as a personal assistant for inquiries and connections to destinations and searches for nearby restaurants.

Expanding the vehicle-specific platform, GigaDrive

KT's intelligent vehicle-only platform, 'Giga Drive,' includes a stable communication network, organic integration with other systems, and infotainment services such as music, maps, location control, and navigation. This platform can provide real-time management and big data analysis services individually or integratedly.

Developed over the past two years with over 100 developers and a combined investment of 100 billion won, GigaDrive is a platform that boasts over 400 integrated APIs (Application Program Interfaces), enabling it to provide a wide range of customized services to its clients. To ensure this flexibility, GigaDrive collaborated closely with 14 global partners, including Cisco, Harman, Bosch, and Gemalto, as well as with its clients.

GigaDrive UI with embedded software

KT announced that it has completed the technology development for the introduction of e-SIM services through collaborations with global telecommunications companies and solution providers, in addition to automakers, and is currently in detailed discussions for actual commercial application. Furthermore, services suitable for commercial vehicles such as trucks and buses are also possible. Utilizing the location control function of "Giga Drive" will enable even safer driving. For example, if a truck or bus is higher than the height of a bridge or underpass on its route, it can guide the driver to a detour or warn the driver when driving in a water source protection zone.

Furthermore, KT is strengthening its car infotainment business by focusing on 'embedded software' for vehicle infotainment that includes UI/UX that allows drivers to directly communicate with their cars, going beyond the core foundations of connected car services such as network, platform, and content. KT's 'embedded software' specialized for vehicle infotainment links Giga Genie's artificial intelligence solution with the key functions of 'Giga Drive', enabling content, navigation, payment, O2O, voice assistant, and vehicle status check to all be implemented on a single display.

Kim Jun-geun, head of GiGA IoT Business Unit (Senior Managing Director), is presenting KT's connected car business strategy.

For example, if the driver says, "Genie, can you turn on the air conditioner?", the air conditioner will turn on and the wind speed can be adjusted. Furthermore, if the driver asks, "Genie, can you tell me about the vehicle's malfunction?", the system will respond, "Vehicle power is decreasing. Fuel economy is likely to deteriorate in the future, so please visit a nearby repair shop." You can check the condition of your vehicle in real time by answering, “Can I help you make a reservation for a repair shop?” and also check detailed information through the display.

KT plans to gradually implement the infotainment "embedded software" currently under development into its customers' vehicles after approximately a year of integration testing through consultation with existing customers. To ensure the success of its connected car business, KT is concentrating its capabilities on transforming from a simple network provider to a specialized automotive software provider offering car infotainment services.

KT aims to generate KRW 500 billion in sales from its connected car business by 2022. Given the nature of the automotive industry, contracts are typically concluded two to three years before mass production begins. Therefore, sales are expected to begin in 2018, with full-scale deployment expected in 2020. The goal is to further enhance KT's competitiveness in the global market.

Kim Jun-geun, head of KT GiGA IoT Business Unit, said, “KT will continue to do its best to earn customer trust through the development of innovative technologies and services that consider people,” and “Through this, we will grow together with global automobile brands within the changing automobile industry ecosystem as a partner.”