[Asia Economy Reporter Seulgina Jo] Ahead of the first-ever online school opening, domestic telecom companies have stepped up to support remote classes. They are allowing temporary use of educational sites without consuming data usage, monitoring traffic in real time, and expanding capacity. IPTV educational content will also be increased to minimize learning gaps.
On the 1st, the Ministry of Science and ICT announced that through consultations with the three major telecom companies?KT, SK Telecom, and LG Uplus?they will help students use major educational sites including EBS on their smartphones without worrying about data usage or fees.
Following the temporary measure until the end of May allowing access to educational sites such as digital textbooks and e-Hakseupter without data usage consumption, from the school opening day on the 9th, EBS educational sites will also be included in the support list. General students, parents, and teachers will be able to freely use smartphones and tablets without concerns about data usage or fees. No separate application procedure is required.
However, this applies only when using the EBS site itself, and support is not provided when using EBS content on other sites such as YouTube channels or Naver TV.
Additionally, the telecom industry will provide EBS educational content in real time on IPTV and establish a remote education infrastructure using various channels to minimize inconvenience for students. SK Broadband, a subsidiary of KT and SK Telecom, and LG Uplus have newly prepared broadcast channels in the 300 series, 750 series, and 260 series respectively, allowing real-time viewing of grade-specific educational content without additional charges.
The Ministry of Science and ICT explained, "In households subscribed to IPTV, students can choose between the internet and TV to attend EBS classes at their convenience," adding, "We are also discussing expanding this to cable TV and satellite broadcasting."
KT decided to extend EBS live special lectures for elementary and secondary courses until April 17, and plans to extend free broadcasting of these special lectures on Olleh TV’s live channel. Also, for households with children aged 3 to 7, KT decided to indefinitely extend the operation of the 'Kidsland TV Homeschool' theme section until daycare centers and kindergartens reopen. 'Kidsland TV Homeschool' offers over 3,700 domestic contents covering areas such as the Nuri curriculum, English, reading, daily habits, physical play, and art play.
SK Broadband is also providing ‘EBS Live Special Lectures’ as a live channel through B tv. They plan to support this as long as EBS continues the ‘EBS Live Special Lectures.’ From 3rd grade elementary to 3rd grade high school, viewers can watch by clicking banners on the B tv home screen or through live channels (751 to 760). Starting from the 6th, SK Broadband plans to provide HD-level service by adding a dedicated line with EBS. Furthermore, until nationwide kindergartens and elementary schools reopen, they operate the ‘B tv Homeschooling Special Section,’ offering 1,600 VODs such as Korean and math basics free of charge.
The Ministry of Science and ICT, EBS, the three telecom companies, and cloud portal companies have formed a dedicated task force (TF) that is currently conducting pre-inspections of communication networks and infrastructure expansions necessary for operating the learning management system to ensure stable service. KT is monitoring major wired and wireless traffic sections in real time for smooth online lectures and is considering capacity expansion in key sections if necessary. SK Broadband is also taking preemptive measures such as prioritizing capacity expansion in traffic bottleneck sections.
The Ministry of Education has been expanding the simultaneous access capacity of the learning management systems (LMS) EBS Online Class and e-Hakseupter to about 3 million users since March to prevent disruptions in remote classes.
Along with this, the Ministry of Science and ICT and telecom companies will promptly support new internet installations required under the educational informatization support project, and each metropolitan and provincial office of education will cover internet communication fees from their own budgets.
Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics will also support 30,000 (Galaxy Tab A 8.0) and 6,000 (G Pad 3 8.0) smartpads respectively in cooperation with the National Disaster Relief Association to lend smart devices to children from low-income families.
Minister Choi Ki-young of the Ministry of Science and ICT said, “I appreciate the cooperation of telecom and broadcasting companies, Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics, and other private sectors joining the government to overcome difficulties in the education field during this national crisis.” He added, “We will prepare necessary measures so that remote education can develop further as a future education model and actively work to create opportunities for domestic remote education solution (software) companies to grow.”
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