Mobile carriers are accelerating to compete for AI initiative market share. The next generation revenue source of the AI to the front of the whole organization to create a dedicated organization, AI related services are being increased by mobile carriers. As a result, domestic AI services are expected to expand rapidly.

The most active company is SK Telecom. Park Jung-ho, president of SK Telecom, decided on March 27 to create an ``AI Project Team`` that will be in charge of business promotion from AI technology research. The existing AI technology research organization has also been reorganized into ``AI Technology 1 and 2 departments`` under ``AI Project Team``. The company has been promoting AI technology development since 2012 and is expanding the project to AI secretary and self-driving cars.

The speech recognition-based AI service "NUGU" launched last year is also under upgrade. The company announced in the press conference at the SK T Tower in Jung-gu, Seoul on March 30, that the company opened the era of ``AI voice shopping`` by linking ``NUGU`` to ‘11st’.

The company explained that it was the first domestic mobile carrier to link AI devices with commerce. Currently, ‘NUGU`` is sold more than 10,000 units a month and cumulative sales has already exceeded 70,000 units.

The user of NUGU can receive the ``recommended product of today`` and ``recommended book of the week`` on the ‘11st’ through the application. If users register their ‘11st’ account and billing information to the NUGU in advance, they can buy the product at a discounted price. Lee Tae-hoon, head of SK Telecom Business Division of NUGU, said, ‘This year will be the year in which AI service will be opened to the public in earnest. If last year``s efforts were focused on voice recognition, this year, (O2O) delivery, and personalization services will be core services.’

The function of informing domestic professional baseball game information and today’s fortune has also been added to NUGU. It also provides ``the function that the AI service sends a sign to the human first by itself``, in which ``NUGU`` talks to the user first. For example, when a new function comes out or information that is useful to the user is generated, NUGU blinks the mood in yellow and sends a signal, and when the user speaks, the information is provided by NUGU. The company intends to deliver the information sent by home Internet of Things (IoT) devices to the users by linking ``NUGU`` with ``smart home`` service.

A car control by AI service is also under development. The company demonstrated Home to Car (H2C) at the 2017 Seoul Motor Show, the largest car exhibition in Korea. it is possible to locate a car through the NUGU at home, turn the engine on and off, turn the headlight on and off, and set the temperature by linking the company``s smart home with the car``s IoT platform. The company plans to introduce C2H (Car to Home) service to control home appliances such as lighting, temperature, and gas in cars following H2C.


KT, on the other hand, also demonstrated the H2C service that linked the AI service ``GIGA Genie`` and Hyundai Motor ``Ioniq`` at the Seoul Motor Show, which were launched in January. On the day of the event, the user showed the service by remote starting the car and getting the location guidance through ``GIGA Genie``. The company also plans to gradually expand its ````GIGA Genie``, which was started as a ``home hub`` for home use, to offices, stores, businesses and automobiles.

On the other hand, LG U Plus is somewhat lagging behind the competition in AI services. Although the company proceeded with the company reorganization last year through opening the AI service division and deployed specialist personnel, it has not introduced any special AI service yet. The company plans to release AI-related services and products differentiated from its competitors during the second half of this year. Kwon Young-soo, vice chairman of LG U Plus, met with reporters at the general shareholders`` meeting on March 17 and said, ‘We are working hard on production of high-quality AI products.’

By Jung Yoon Hee yuni@


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