Digital Convergence and Home Network Services in Korea: Part 1 - Recent Progress and Policy Implications

Abstract

In South Korea, the home network industry has been the object of great expectations among the government and business community. Thus far, however, it has proved unable to fulfill these expectations. In this study, we categorized three classes of typical services and five industrial participants with regard to Korean home network industry. We first reviewed the government plans on home network services in the early stage of evolution. Second, consumer value expectations and current home network service levels were examined to understand the issues regarding weak diffusion of home network services. Next, we investigated business interests of the industrial participants comprising convergent home network services, and explored the causes of conflicts among them. On the base of the analyses, we offered policy suggestions from digital convergence perspective to help removing the obstacles that hinder business cooperation among industrial participants of the home network industry. Managerial implications for the participating firms were discussed in Part II adopting business model framework.