KT, the nation’s telecom operator, said Tuesday that it would run a “Super Wi-Fi” pilot project as a member of a consortium initiated by the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning.

TV White Space, also called Super Wi-Fi, is a technology that aims to bridge the digital divide in remote areas and to deal with underfrequency stemming from data overloads.

“The consortium will use vacant frequencies made available at locations where the spectrum is not being used following the shift from analogue TV to digital TV in 2012,” said Park Jang-ho, an official at the ministry’s Radio and Broadcasting Management Division.

“This bandwidth can be used for low-frequency Internet access for up to 10 kilometers,” he added.

KT has participated in the consortium project since July, and completed the development of the access point and special antenna for TVWS for wired and wireless infrastructure last November.

The high-speed Internet services will be tried out on Jejudo Island, Marado Island and Ganghwado Island for six months starting in January, a KT official said.

“Following the pilot project next year, KT will positively review its commercialization,” said Park Jae-yoon, an executive in KT’s network strategy division.

KT also plans to provide public services such as transportation and weather information at bus stops for tourists in Jeju.

By Shin Ji-hye (shinjh@heraldcorp.com)