A non-profit Korean government-funded research organization has joined the OSDL (Open Source Development League), and will contribute to the CGL (Carrier Grade Linux) and DCL (Data Center Linux) working groups. ETRI (Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute), founded in 1976, is “at the forefront of Linux innovation and adoption in Asia,” the OSDL says.

ETRI, located in Taejeon, Korea, may be best known for its contributions to CDMA (Code-Division Multiple Access), a mobile phone technology widely used in Asia and the US, by carriers that include Sprint, CellularOne, AirTouch, GTE Wireless, and others. ETRI won a legal scuffle in an international court with US TEM (telecom equipment manufacturer) Qualcomm over CDMA royalties in 2000.

ETRI's other design wins include TDX-Exchange, High Density Semiconductor Microchips, and Mini-Super Computer (TiCOM), it says. It has also produced several tools for embedded Linux development, including Qplus, Target-builder, and Esto.

According to the OSDL, Linux is flourishing in Korea, where ETRI's sister agency, the Korea IT Industry Promotion Agency, began switching government projects to Linux and open source software in January of 2004. ETRI actively develops and promotes Linux in the Korean market, according to the OSDL, and works with Japan and China as part of the Open Source Sofware Promotion Forum, formed in 2004 to promote Linux in the pan-Asia region.

According to technology analyst firm IDC, as cited by the OSDL, Linux software revenue in the Asian market outside of Japan will increase at a compound annual growth rate of 82.5 percent between 2004 and 2008, with revenue leaping 78.6 percent in 2005 alone. IDC forecasts overall telecommunications service revenue for the region to grow by 11 percent in 2005 to US$163 billion.

Masanobu Hirano, OSDL's director of Asia, said, “We are delighted that one of [Korea's] top technology groups is joining OSDL, as our first member in Korea.”

Sung In Jung, team leader of ETRI, said, “ETRI is committed to the development of Linux technologies for business and consumers in Korea and around the world.”

 
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