South Korea is one of the most wired societies and has been a broadband leader for a while. The country also has a unique position from a wireless broadband/3G perspective, and is pushing hard to develop the fourth generation wireless technologies. South Korea is a microcosm a broadband future, and Google could learn a lot from it – especially when it comes to online video.

Google recently announced that it would invest at least $10 million on an R&D center in Seoul, Korea, reports the Korea Herald, and hire 130-150 researchers. Alan Eustace, Google senior VP for engineering, told the Korea Times that they want to recruit local computer scientists to “further develop innovative search technologies for Korean users and users around the world.”

For years, Korean television viewers have been able to watch their favorite shows online. The shows are offered not by a third party like the Apple iTunes Store or Google Video, but by the TV companies themselves, who provide complete archives of their shows that can be downloaded or streamed, either for free or for pennies.

In Korea, online video is not an experiment—it is a success. It is a daily reality for most Koreans, not just for the young crowd or the techie set. The entire society has lived the broadband lifestyle for a while now, and is more attuned to its potential.

Google is smart to invest $10 million in a research lab in this broadband country. They can grab local engineers—but, much more importantly, they can learn about the local broadband “culture.” Korean Internet usage habits point the way toward what habits of American users will be like when broadband becomes as ubiquitous as it is in Korea.

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In an effort to “encourage dial-up Internet users to discover the benefits of unlimited broadband access,” StarHub is now offering a free 4 Mbps broadband connection to anyone who purchases a $50 cable modem from them. (So technically the service is not free.)

But as they say, you get what you pay for, and the free service has its own restrictions.

The promotion is just an attempt to convert people who feel they can stick with dial-up. According to the Straits Times, “The plan, according to StarHub at least, is to entice users to sign up later for its paid broadband services.” Once users come to taste the benefits of broadband, then they will feel like paying for a premium service.

A regular plan with unrestricted 4 Mbps service will cost S$58.80 (US$37.14) per month; 30 MBps service is S$121.80 (US$76.94). StarHub is the #2 broadband Internet provider in Singapore, with a 46% market share. Former government monopoly SingTel leads Singapore’s broadband market with a 53% market share.

SingTel’s nationwide Magix service, which debuted in 1997, was the first commercial ADSL deployment in the world. Since its company launch in 2000, StarHub has been providing them fierce competition. As the Straits Times points out, StarHub’s introduction of free restricted-access service is just the latest volley in Singapore’s broadband price wars.

The so called free service will restrict access to a limited number of popular web sites and services, including Windows Live Messenger, Hotmail, and Yahoo Mail. Access to StarHub’s Games-on-Demand service and Play Music portals will allow access to broadband entertainment.
Users will also be able to play Maple Story (Southeast Asia edition). Maple Story, the world’s first side-scrolling MMORPG, is free to play and to download. Created by a Korean software developer, the Southeast Asian version of the game commands a following of 550,000 players in Singapore and Malaysia alone. 50 million users worldwide play the different regional versions of the game.

StarHub’s free connection will also allow access to ASKnLearn‘s free e-learning portal; all “.edu.sg” domains, including the Ministry of Education web site; and all government agency web sites hosted on “.gov.sg” domains.

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The Prime Minister says the wireless project and computer program are aimed at preventing a digital divide from developing in Singaporean society. Though, it could probably help add to the country’s IT-based economy as well — South Korea managed to use government-sponsored wireless broadband to boost its economy in the IT sector over the past few years.

The Singapore wireless deployment will be handled by three domestic providers, Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel), iCell, and QMax, and the country’s wireless plan will offer free 512 kb/s wireless access for at least two years. The three companies will deploy more access points, adding to the 900 public wireless access points already in place. According to a statement from the Infocomm Development Authority, the hot spots will be focused around “high-traffic, public areas” such as town centers, business districts, and shopping malls.

The involvement of SingTel, iCell, and QMax in the Singapore wireless project does not represent the same kind of private-sector buy-in evinced by the work of Google and Earthlink on wireless projects in U.S. cities like Philadelphia and San Francisco. Like most things in Singapore, this initiative is spearhead by the government, and the companies involved are partially funded by government investment firms. Temasek Holdings, one of two government investment firms in Singapore, controls parts of both SingTel and QMax.

SingTel used to be a government monopoly and was privatized in 1992, and Temasek also owns 56.3% of its shares. According to Asia Sentinel, SingTel’s chief executive is the younger son of former prime minister Lee Kuan Yew. They report that “[h]e did not have telecom management experience before being appointed Singtel CEO.” Whatever his failings might be, though, SingTel has a long history and does business in Thailand, Taiwan, India, the Philippines, Australia, Bangladesh, and Indonesia in addition to its mobile phone and ISP operations in Singapore.

QMax is a joint venture between Singaporean ISP Qala and the Singaporean subsidiary of Creative Technology. Qala is partially funded by Singapore Technologies Group, an arm of Temasek. QMax and iCell do seem to be qualified for this project, considering their past experience. QMax launched the first commercial wireless broadband service in Singapore when it started offering limited WiMAX service in February 2006. iCell was involved in a 2004 project to offer multi-operator roaming wireless broadband access at Singapore’s public libraries.

Singapore, is such a small country – around 700 square km — that it can be covered with wireless broadband like many cities are looking to do. Taipei, San Francisco, Anaheim, Philadelphia, among many others, are investing in city-wide wireless networks.

With all of Singapore covered in wireless, one wonders whether dual-mode handsets supporting both cellular-network calls and VOIP calls over the wi-fi connection will become popular in Singapore. Taipei project contractors have said that “voice service is the main attraction” to users of their municipal network, “as they all want to enjoy cheaper rates,” according to a report in the South China Morning Post. Although Singapore has not announced availability of dual-mode handsets as part of the project, iCell was involved in a 2004 project to provide VOIP service at McDonald’s hotspots in Singapore.

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