KT Corporation

• 1981: Company incorporated on December 10 as KTA[6]
• 1984: Tenth in the world to develop the electronic switch TDX-1
• 1987: Nationwide automated long-distance network completed[7]
• 1991: Company renamed Korea Telecom
• 1993: Total of approximately 20 million telephone lines installed (only 4.5 million existed in 1982), laying groundwork for the emerging information society
• 1995: Mugunghwa Satellite No. 1 launched
• 1996: Mugunghwa Satellite No. 2 launched
• 1996: PCS and CT-2 license acquired. KT Freetel (wireless carrier) founded.
• 1997: Status changed from organization which has 50%+ state funding to one with a state funding of smaller scale (below 50%)
• October 1, 1997: The new Public Corporation Business Structure Improvement & Privatization Act applied to KT (no longer exempted owing to the change in company status)
• 1998: Headquarters relocated from Jongno-gu, Seoul, to Bundang-gu, Gyeonggi Province
• December 1998: Newly listed on stock exchange
• 1999: Mugunghwa Satellite No. 3 launched
• June 2000: Managerial rights of Hansol M.com acquired
• December 2000: IMT-2000 license acquired
• April 2001: Caller ID (CID) service launched

• May 2001: Plans for privatization announced. Celebrated 20th anniversary and changed name from Korea Telecom to KT. KT's telephone exchanges restructured into regional branch offices. "Let's" launched as the new company slogan.
• 2002: Privatization of company finalized.[8]
• 2005: According to Fair Trade Commission data, KT as a corporate group that holds 12 subsidiaries and total assets of 29.315 trillion won, ranked 8th among Korea's conglomerates.
• December 28, 2005: Launched inter-Korean telecommunication services and opened KT branch office in North Korea's Gaesung industrial complex
• January 2009: Six days after inauguration as the new Chairman of KT, Suk-Chae Lee announced plans for KT-KTF merger at press conference
• March 2009:[9] Received conditional approval from Korea Communications Commission (KCC) on KT-KTF merger
• April 2009: Debut of Qook, a service bundle brand. “Ann” landline phone, “Megapass” broadband and “Mega TV” IPTV services were renamed “Qook Phone,” “Qook Internet” and “Qook TV,” respectively.

• June 1, 2009: KT and its wireless subsidiary KTF merged to form a new unified KT
• July 2009: Previous company slogan "All New" replaced with "Olleh Management,"and "Olleh KT" officially launched as the new CI
• November 2009:[10] Launch of Qook and Show broadband services.
• November 2009: Became first local carrier to launch Apple's iPhone in Korean market
• December 2009: Launched the first 3W (Wi-Fi, WiBro, WCDMA) smartphone "Show Omnia" in Korean market
• June 2010: Launched "uCloud", a cloud-based storage service
• August 2010: Company's internet services relaunched under the name "Olleh" in alignment with company slogan
• August 31, 2010: KT included as Dow Jones Sustainability World Index company[11]
• September 10, 2010: Launched Apple's iPhone 4 in Korean market and unlimited 3G data plan[12]
• November 11–12, 2010: the official telecommunications service provider for the G20 Seoul summit[13]
• January 25, 2011: Fixed-line "Qook" and cellular "Show" broadband services were unified under the "Olleh" brand. They were renamed "Olleh Home" and "Olleh Mobile," respectively.[14]
• February 10, 2011: Acquired 20.05% of BC Card shares, emerging as the second-largest shareholder.[15]
• January 3, 2012 : KT launched its LTE service.[16]
• September 2012 : kt was awarded the Global Supersector Leader for Telecommunications (number 1 company in terms of sustainable business practices) by Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes for two consecutive years.[17]
• In late 2015 former KT president Suk-Jae Lee was charged of breach of trust and embezzlement, allegations which he denies.[18]

As of 2012 KT customers can receive the services on any of radio frequency band assigned, one or more of radio interfaces.[20]

KT was the first operator in South Korea to introduce the iPhone, into the Korean market in November 2009.[22][23] The next generation model sold one million units within four months of its September 2010 launch. KT launched the iPad in November 2010.[24]

As of June 2015, KT owns and operates more than 140,000 Wi-Fi hotspots under the name "KT Olleh WiFi zones."[25]

KT discontinued 2G coverage in January 2012 in the Seoul area, and March 2012 in the rest of South Korea on the 1.8 GHz frequency, whichwill be reassigned for LTE network branded "Olleh LTE" (올레 엘티이)LTE coverage all over South Korea will be accomplished by June 2012. Dual-band LTE on the 900 MHz will be available in Seoul by the end of 2012.[26]

In June 2015 KT announced it has teamed up with Samsung Electronics to combine Wi-Fi and LTE in a gigabit-speed mobile service called GiGA LTE.[27] The new network is estimated to be 15 times faster than the existing LTE and four times faster than the tri-band LTE-A, the fastest wireless network currently available in the Korean market.[28]

KT is the only operator that provides TRS in South Korea, as it merged t-on Telecom in September 2012.

In the first half of 2011, kt launched the "Kibot", a robot specially developed for the education and entertainment of children, which has value-added features, such as more advanced versions of functionalities found on the existing video and Internet phones. In the second half of the year, kt plans to expand beyond voice services by actively pursuing Smart Home services, centering on a rich array of contents.

kt launched the Mobile TV app, which enables customers to view live IPTV and video on demand on their smartphones and tablets.

Koreasat 5A launch on board a Falcon 9 rocket in 2017

Operated the Koreasat fleet of satellites since 1995. Some of these satellites have been sold to Asia Broadcast Satellite while KT Corporation continues to provide some satellite services.[29]

On April 27, 2017, KT announced the launch of a 'GiGA Island' in Bangladesh, the result of multilateral partnerships with the Bangladesh government, international organizations, public institutions, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). KT connected the Moheshkhali Island to the inland areas by installing the wireless network technology ‘GiGA Microwave’ and used copper-based KT's providing giga-level internet solution ‘GiGA Wires’ to circulate network traffic within the island. With the ‘GiGA Microwave’, the island could successfully receive 500Mbit/s internet service, and the ‘GiGA Wire’ enables the island's internet speed at the most 100Mbit/s. This enabled more than 30% of the residents in Moheshkhali to communicate with the world through high-speed internet.

In 2012, KT contracted with the Brunei government to establish National Data Center (NDC) and its operation.[30]

Since 1995, KT has been a major shareholder of Mongolia Telecom. KT dispatched business professionals to Mongolia and operated various training programs.[31] In 2012, KT contracted with the Mongolian government for establishing an Earthquake Disaster Warning System (EDWS).[32]

In 2012, KT and Telkom signed for a consultancy agreement for providing business improvement strategies for mobile sector and iWayAfrica, Telkom's subsidiary for its VSAT business.[33]

In 2007, KT signed a contract to build a Mobile WiMAX (or WiBro) network in Rwanda.[34] In 2008, KT signed a deal with the Rwandan government to build the backbone its new telecommunication network.[35] In December 2012, KT conducted a national information security project in Rwanda with Korea Internet & Security Agency (KISA).[36] In March 2013, KT signed a contract with the Rwandan government to establish the joint venture to build a nationwide mobile LTE network.[37]

On March 21, 2013, KT, Daewoo International Corporation, and the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) signed an $18 million contract to establish high-speed Internet network in Podlaskie, Poland.[38] On October 3, 2013, the KT consortium signed a Public Private partnership (PPP) with the Mazowieckie province for a $130 million broadband project.

On June 14, 2017, KT announced[39] that it had signed an MOU with the city of Boston to participate in the Boston Digital Equity Project, a policy that aims to create a better internet environment across the city center. Under the agreement, KT will provide its GiGA Wire technology, a service that offers speeds of up to 1 gigabit per second using copper wire instead of optical cables, leveraging G.hn technology.

In 2007, KT acquired 54.5% of East Telecom, Uzbekistan's second-largest fixedline operator, and 60% of the shares of the WiMAX operator, Super iMAX.[31]