On September 16th, SK Telecom announced that the company and Alcatel (www.alcatel.com), a worldwide telecom equipment and system manufacturer, signed an MOU for the purpose of jointly developing a Mobile Commerce Solution (M-Commerce Solution).

The MOU signing ceremony took place in Alcatel’s Asian office in Shanghai. The participants were Jin Seok Cha, vice-president of SK Telecom’s m-Finance Division, and Herve Derrey, vice-president of Alcatel’s Mobile Solution Group. It is expected that the two companies’ combined m-Commerce technology will successfully advance into the global mobile payment marketplace.

Both companies plan to test the technology’s interoperability for 3 months, and if the tests are successful, sign a formal contract by early next year to jointly implement marketing activities in such regions as China, Europe, and Southeast Asia.

These are areas where the penetration ratio of Prepaid Mobile Service is high. This MOU has great significance for SK Telecom because it initiates the export of the company’s ’Nemo’ Service, which is currently only being offered in the Korean market.

In this regard, it will give SK Telecom an opportunity to export a Mobile Payment Solution to the international market. This will be a first for a Korean company.

Jin Seok Cha, vice-president of SK Telecom’s m-Finance division, stated: "The Mobile Payment Solution that will be jointly developed by SK Telecom and Alcatel, will be a space-age service that combines SK Telecom’s Mobile Payment Service experience and commercial service operation know-how, with Alcatel’s marketing capability and technological expertise.

This will give SK Telecom a good opportunity to introduce its advanced Mobile Payment Solution to the international market by utilizing Alcatel’s marketing network", he added.

In addition, Jean Michel Cornille, president of Alcatel’s ’Mobile Solution Group’ said "We will be able to provide the very best in real-time billing and payment services by combining SK Telecom’s ’Nemo’ (e-transaction) technology with Alcatel’s Prepayment Instant Billing System.

Our two companies will strengthen our cooperative ties in order to further develop a cutting-edge Mobile Payment Service, and successfully launch it into the international market’.

Currently Alcatel, as a multinational telecom equipment and system manufacturer, has its own sales network, in 130 countries around the globe, that yields about 20 trillion Korean won in sales. SK Telecom intends to carry out integrated solution marketing activities in the international market, by utilizing Alcatel’s sales network.