Today KT (formerly Korea Telecom) unveiled a whole batch of blockchain initiatives. The projects include a 5G blockchain network called GiGA Chain, a blockchain to secure IoT devices, a Blockchain as a Service offering and a local currency platform.
GiGA Stealth addresses the security challenges of IoT devices such as home cameras. Hackers connect to these devices using the camera’s internet address or IP address. Giga Stealth hides the address. Instead, if you want to access a camera or some other device the connection is via the Giga Stealth blockchain which uses a smart contract to issue a one-time mutual authentication access token.
The company plans to initially use GiGA Stealth to address the B2B IoT security market with its eye on connected cars and smart factories. It works with existing systems with plans to enable it on the 5G network.
Last year KT revealed that it had developed its own blockchain protocol and managed to reach 10,000 transactions per second. It’s currently improving it but processing transactions in parallel to gain higher speeds. In March KT launched the GiGA Chain Blockchain as a Service (BaaS) platform to make it fasters to develop, deploy and host enterprise blockchain applications.
The company also announced its local currency platform. The idea is that local regions or companies can have their own currencies to enable free transactions. It’s not just free for consumers, but SME merchants wouldn’t need to pay card fees. KT won a contract for the Kimpo Pay platform which is for use only within Kimpo City.
Finally, KT has been working on a blockchain solution to help with billing between telecoms companies for roaming. We suspect this is part of the Carrier Blockchain Study Group (CBSG) where KT is a member.
