SK Telecom will invest 894 million dollars to develop mobile platform

South Korea's largest http://www.aliyun.com/zixun/aggregation/2875.html "> mobile operator SK Telecom, Monday, said It will invest 1 trillion won (894 million dollars) in the next three years to develop mobile software similar to Facebook, Google Maps and itunes for smartphone users at home and abroad.

Jung Man-won, chief executive of SK Telecom, said the investment was focused on research and development to create smartphone applications and services that could run on a variety of mobile operating systems, as well as SK Telecom's own proprietary mobile operating system.

Man-won said that in the medium to long term, SK Telecom will make its own proprietary mobile operating system, to avoid the Apple and Google and other mobile operating system manufacturers increased control.

Man-won told reporters at the SK Telecom Mobile Application Institute's opening ceremony that mobile operating systems are an area that mobile operators cannot give up. Even if we make a good service, if the owner of the mobile operating system does not agree, we will not be able to provide this service on the phone.

SK Telecom plans to produce a wide range of mobile software, including maps, social networks, instant messaging, business and content Exchange stores. These applications will be applied, published, and manufactured by developers to thousands of smartphone applications. SK Telecom's goal is to provide services similar to those offered by non-telecoms companies such as Google, Facebook and Apple.

SK Telecom says it will target the U.S., China and Southeast Asian markets as developers use its software or its service platform to create smartphone apps.