Domestic communication software products are making their inroads into foreign markets.

Software developed with home-grown technologies are used as a tool to manage various value added services, being adopted for core networks by communication service providers that provide or plan to provide CDMA wireless communication and wireless and wired e-commerce services in Asia region.

In particular, this is expected to fetch the developers additional benefits including potential long-term maintenance and upgrade orders since software can’t be exchanged easily once it is deployed at core networks for wireless and wired communication service.

As the IT solution supply framework, so-called “First CDMA, Later Software” is established as a result, communication software worth more than US$ 10million is predicted to be exported annually.

As more and more domestic communication software products replace foreign ones in major South East Asian countries that are eagerly introducing CDMA wireless communication, there is growing expectation for a wider market.

Indeed nTels (CEO, Shim Jae-hee) has won the order to supply billing solutions to APBW, a Taiwan firm, beating foreign competitors. Also it successfully awarded a value added service-consulting project for WLL from PT Telecom, an Indonesian firm. UANGEL (CEO, Choi Choong-yeol) supplied APBW in Taiwan and S Telecom in Vietnam with platforms required for VPN, prepaid cards and text messaging services.

Soft Teleware Inc.(CEO, Lee Seung-gu) supplied Hutchson Mobile in Taiwan with software for roaming service, contributing to boosting the status of domestic software in South East Asian market.

Also Samsung Electronics is close to striking a deal to export its software for prepaid cards, text messaging and roaming service with an Indonesian carrier. And Tech System Technology (CEO, Kim Dae-hoon) is expected to record more than 2 billion won in revenue this year alone by providing broadband billing solutions mainly to Japanese Internet portal operators.

Mr. Shim, CEO of nTels, said, “Domestic communication software has grown to the point where its technical superiority is recognized even in overseas markets, as it has sharpened its competitive edge in the domestic market where there are more diverse value added services including text messaging, ring back tone, prepaid cards and roaming services than any other nation,” and predicted, “Exported domestic software will immensely increase especially to the nations lagging behind in wireless and wired communication services.”

Kim Dae-hoon, CEO of Tech System Technology, agreed that “Domestic software’s superiority is recognized even by IT powerhouses such as Japan as it is developed based on the rich hands-on experience in the wired communication areas ranging from e-commerce, portal, e-wallet to linking with mobile services.”

Updated date: 2003/07/23 Reporter, Lee Eun-yong, eylee@etnews.co.kr