iLounge

The debut of the iPhone in Korea could be delayed into 2009 or later, according to a Korea Times report. KTF, Korea’s second-largest wireless carrier, has been negotiating with Apple to sell the iPhone 3G, but has hit a snag with regulators. “For now, there is no agreement of any kind between KTF and Apple over the release of iPhones,” said a KTF official. “Even after a deal is inked, the network interoperability tests will take about two or three months and there is also the process of enabling KTF’s existing mobile-phone applications to work on iPhones. It would be virtually impossible to release the handsets earlier than early next year.”

The country’s Wireless Platform for Interoperability (WIPI) software standard must be adopted by any handsets designed to access mobile data services, and has caused many handset makers to steer clear of the Korean market, which accounts for roughly 20 million handset purchases a year. The Korean Communications Commission has been under pressure from consumers and carriers alike to drop the WIPI standard, a move which would open the market to more foreign handset makers (Korea’s Samsung and LG currently account for nearly 90 percent of the Korean market). Despite the pressure, the WIPI issue is not scheduled for discussion at the KCC’s executive meetings this month. A KCC official said, “The scrapping of the WIPI requirements is too big of a decision to make a quick judgment. It will definitely take more than one meeting.”