The South Korean government announced Friday it had approved mobile carriers’ pricing plans for fifth-generation wireless networks, with the third-biggest telecom company, LG Uplus, revealing that its pricing will start from 55,000 won ($48) per month.

According to the Ministry of Science and ICT, the government has greenlighted SK Telecom’s pricing for 5G services. SK Telecom is the only mobile carrier required to obtain the government’s approval for new pricing plans.

While the details of SKT and KT’s pricing plans will be kept under wraps until they hold a press conference early next week, LG Uplus said the pricing scheme will start from 55,000 won per month for 9 gigabytes.

“Combined with our initiative in pricing plans and distinctive contents for 5G network, we will accelerate our efforts to lead commercial rollout of 5G,” said LG Uplus’s Vice President Hwang Hyun-sik.

South Korea has been seeking to become the world’s first country to offer commercial service for 5G network. Samsung Electronics said last week its first 5G-powered smartphone, Galaxy S10 5G, will hit the market on April 5.

The other pricing plans from LG Uplus are 75,000 won per month for 150 gigabytes and 95,000 per month for 250 gigabytes. If users subscribe to the 95,000 won plan by June, they will be provided with an additional 1,000 gigabytes every month for free, LG Uplus said.

As the country’s biggest mobile carrier, SKT has been under pressure to come up with a cheaper pricing model. Earlier this month, the government rejected the company’s original pricing plan, criticizing it for “restricting consumers’ choice.”

During a meeting with shareholders Tuesday, SKT Chief Park Jung-ho hinted that the company’s 5G pricing plan would start in the range of 55,000 won per month following the government’s proposal.

“There was request for a pricing plan in the range of 55,000 won (from the government). We are about to wrap up the discussion,” said Park.

However, consumer activist groups have continued to take issue with the possibility that consumers may end up with hefty bills for use of the next-generation network. Combined with the cost of new 5G smartphones, a consumer could pay up to 20,000 won more than a current 4G Long Term Evolution plan.

According to industry watchers here, SKT’s pricing plan is expected to consist of four parts: 55,000 won for 8 gigabytes; 75,000 won for 150 gigabytes, 95,000 won for 200 gigabytes and 125,000 won for 300 gigabytes.

Given that the price of Samsung’s first 5G smartphone, the Galaxy S10 5G, would be set around 1.4 million won, a consumer advocacy group argued that the hyper-speed network may not be accessible to low-income households.

“Those who spend 30,000 to 40,000 won on telecom bills would not be able to use 5G network services,” said People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy. “It is the worst pricing plan in the era of worsening income disparity.”

Telecom firms have said that they are compelled to raise prices as a result of the extensive infrastructure they needed to install for the introduction of 5G services. They spent about 3.6 trillion won combined last year to purchase the rights to use certain frequencies for 5G services.

Industry watchers said while the average price per unit of data would decrease, thanks to the increased amount of data delivered via the ultrahigh speed network, the overall price of 5G services could initially be higher than existing services, as companies seek to recoup the costs of establishing the new networks.

SKT chief Park told reporters if 5G subscribers were to use the same amount of data as 4G subscribers, 5G would be cheaper by up to a third. The 5G network is expected to be up to 20 times faster than 4G, allowing users to download high-definition movie in a few seconds.

Periodontitis, which causes the collapse of bones under the teeth, affects an estimated more than 3 million people in Japan.

According to the researchers, damaged bones that support teeth were mostly restored in experiments they conducted on animals. They expect to get similar results in humans, and aim to put the treatment into practical use in two years.

No effective treatment for periodontitis has been developed to date, and it is known to have negative impacts on other conditions such as diabetes and arteriosclerosis.

 Juntendo will conduct the clinical study in partnership with Nihon University, Aichi Gakuin University and others.

The researchers will mix adipose-derived stem cells, which are extracted from patients’ subcutaneous fat, and platelet-rich plasma (PRP), which are extracted from patients’ blood. The mixed cells will be transplanted into affected areas to induce the restoration of bones and other organs. The team plans to transplant the cells into 10 patients and examine their safety and effectiveness.

In experiments using dogs, about 80 percent of their damaged bones were restored in two months, according to the researchers.

Morikuni Tobita, an associate professor of Juntendo University said, “There is a treatment in which only PRP is injected into damaged areas, but its effectiveness is not fully confirmed. We want to confirm the safety and effectiveness of our new treatment, and provide it for less than ¥500,000 (about $4,500).”

Shunsuke Baba, a professor of Osaka Dental University said, “(The method) is full-fledged dentistry clinical research using cells. It will make history if we can use them at low cost.”

Guo Ping, Huawei’s rotating chairman, said on Friday that the Shenzhen-based company’s performance in the past 30 years has proved that it has the best security record in the telecom industry.

Huawei will spend $2 billion over the next five years on enhancing its software engineering capabilities, making “both the company’s coding processes and results secure and trustworthy”, he said.

Guo’s comments came after Huawei was criticized in a report from a board that monitors Huawei’s activities in the United Kingdom. The report said the board can only provide “limited assurance” that all national security risks stemming from Huawei’s involvement in local networks can be “sufficiently mitigated long-term”.

Guo said the report shows that Huawei’s presence in the UK is subject to the toughest and most rigorous regulation in the world, and the report did not suggest that the UK networks are more vulnerable than they were last year.

“We’re confident about our continuous work with foreign authorities in ensuring network safety,” he said, adding that in the past two years, the company has not had a single major cyberattack.

On Friday, Huawei also unveiled its revenue goal for 2019. Guo said the company is highly likely to achieve double-digit growth this year, despite growing geopolitical pressure amid the worldwide security debate over 5G.

In the first two months of 2019, revenue has risen by over 30 percent. Last year, Huawei posted revenue of $105.2 billion, up 19.5 percent year-on-year, on the back of strong momentum from its smartphone businesses. It was the first time the company surpassed $100 billion in revenue.

Xiang Ligang, director-general of the Information Consumption Alliance, said Huawei is now making its “biggest” push to boost engineering capabilities to ease the concerns of foreign regulators and mobile operators.

“No factual evidence has been given to support the accusation of Huawei cybersecurity risks. As long as the Chinese company maintains its technological edge, more countries will embrace Huawei’s products,” Xiang said.

This week, the European Commission published a recommendation on 5G security that did not include a ban on Huawei products. Although the United States has repeatedly called for such a ban, the European Commission left the decision in the hands of the member states.

Huawei said its products and services are available in more than 170 countries and regions. It also has more than 13,000 suppliers around the world in Japan, the US and other countries.

Guo said on Friday that the company has a backup plan to ensure normal operations in case the US decides to prevent US companies from supplying chips to Huawei. But he did not disclose details.

Google also unveiled a new controller and its own studio.

Apple says Apple Arcade games will redefine games and be curated based on originality, quality, creativity, fun and their appeal to players of all ages.

Apple Arcade will give customers the freedom to try any game from its collection of titles that are all-you-can-play, have no ads, ad tracking or additional purchases, and respect user privacy.

The App Store has nearly 300,000 free and paid games. Free games, supported by advertising or in-app purchases, are enjoyed by hundreds of millions of players around the world. Paid games are often acclaimed and beloved by the people who play them, but competing with free material is hard, so even the best of these games have only reached a smaller audience.

With the simplicity of a single subscription, Apple Arcade will bring games like these to the App Store’s more than 1 billion gaming customers. Apple Arcade complements the popular catalogue of free games on the App Store.

Apple Arcade will introduce an innovative way to access a collection of brand new games that will not be available on any other mobile platform or in any other subscription service. Rather than pay up front for each game, a subscription to Apple Arcade will give players the opportunity to try any game in the service without risk.

Since every game includes access to the full experience, including all game features, content and future updates, no additional purchases will be required. Every game will be playable offline, and many games will offer support for game controllers.

Because subscribers can play Apple Arcade games across iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple TV, they can pick up where they left off in a game, even if they switch devices. New games will be added to the service on a regular basis.

Apple Arcade will launch this year in more than 150 countries from a new tab on the App Store across iOS, macOS and tvOS.

Google’s Stadia platform will open to gamers later this year in the United States, Canada, Britain and other parts of Europe. For now, Google is focused on working with game makers to tailor titles for play on Stadia, saying it has already provided the technology to more than 100 game developers.

The Stadia tech platform aims to connect people for interactive play on personal computers, tablets, smartphones and other devices.

Google also unveiled a new controller that can be used to play cloud-based individual or multiplayer games.

Stadia controllers mirrored those designed for Xbox or PlayStation consoles, with the addition of dedicated buttons for streaming live play via YouTube or asking Google Assistant virtual aide for help beating a daunting puzzle or challenge.

Google’s hope is that Stadia could become for games what Netflix or Spotify are to television or music, by making console-quality play widely available.

Yet it remains unclear how much Google can grab of the nascent, but potentially massive industry.

As it produces its own games, Google will also be courting other studios to move to its cloud-based model.

Google collaborated with French video game titan Ubisoft last year in a limited public test of the technology powering Stadia, and its chief executive was in the front row at the platform’s unveiling.

A coming new version of blockbuster action game “Doom” tailored to play on Stadia was teased at the event by iD studio executive producer Marty Stratton.

The reliability and speed of Internet connections is seen as a challenge to cloud gaming, with action play potentially marred by streaming lags or other disruptions.

Google said its investments in networks and data centres should help prevent latency in data transmissions.

The US video game industry generated a record

US$43.4 billion in revenue in 2018, up 18 per cent from the prior year, according to data released by the Entertainment Software Association and The NPD Group.

Due to the fierce competition in the Thai e-marketplace, tarad.com says it plans to become a total e-commerce solutions service provider with the launch of U-Commerce, a platform aimed at turning its competitors into partners.

U-Commerce results from a joint venture with various leading companies and has come to the market under the concept of offering total solutions for e-commerce, including e-marketplace, payments, logistics and fulfilment, advertising and marketing, customer service and support.

It is connected to e-commerce operators Lazada and Shoppee, and also with social commerce platform Facebook. The move represents a return to the market by former e-commerce market leader tarad.com and, as such, is a big turning point in the history of the 20-year-old firm.

Pawoot Pongvitayapanu, founder and chief executive officer of tarad.com, said that the intensely competitive e-marketplace had impacted the company. It thus shifted its focus to offering total solutions for e-commerce by providing synergies with companies and partners in the e-commerce ecosystem.

U-Commerce is operated by tarad.com. It has partnered with Facebook Lazada and Shoppee; as well as with start-ups in the e-commerce ecosystem to offer choices of payment for e-commerce. It can offer six channels of payment, both online and offline, and logistic services.

It is a one-stop service platform for e-commerce and is free to users. Its business model is freemium. E-commerce will be charged as an annual fee when they reach out the free numbers of product and services.

U-Commerce will allow users to manage their online stores in one place by connecting them together. For instance, U-Commerce can connect e-marketplaces such as Lazada and Shopee with social media and users’ websites. It is connected with e-payment and allows users to pay through credit cards, debit cards, in instalments, or offline such as with Prompt Pay or Pay Solutions. Also, it is connected with more than 10 logistics companies through shippop.com and warehouse and courier service from SiamOutlet.com. Moreover, it also offers complete online advertising services with partners such as Google, Facebook and Line.

These services will reduce the complexity of store management and allow U-Commerce’s clients, especially SMEs, to effectively compete with the vigorous competition in the e-commerce world.

The main target group of U-Commerce is SMEs and large corporates and brands. Many businesses and brands need to go online and do e-commerce, and U-Commerce is designed to serve the total e-commerce solutions for this target group.

Usually, SMEs and brand/business do e-commerce on three platforms: their own e-commerce website, on an e-commerce platform, and on social media platforms. When they go to U-Commerce, all their products will be spread to all platforms instantly.

“Our mission is to help Thai businesses easily go online to take advantage of e-commerce. Our U-Commerce in the next phase will connect to giant platforms like Amazon and eBay, and Rakuten,” says Pawoot.

U-Commerce facilitates brands to easily manage their online business with a variety of e-commerce and e-marketplace platforms. Its goal for this year is to encourage 300 brands and corporates to benefit from the platform.

“We are not starting from zero. We add value on top of the existing resources of tarad.com, which has 200,000 merchants, the majority of whom are small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and make up about 4 million members. We have data and resources. This will enable us to move towards the next step,” says Pawoot.

He spent a year to build U-Commerce, since he admits tarad.com cannot compete in the same way with the giant e-marketplace operators that can spend a lot to gain traction. Recognising this, he saw the need to change the way of doing business. As an e-marketplace operator he could be beaten by the giant players, but with the new platform, the company can become a partner of the industry giants. Real benefits will flow to customers and local businesses, he says.

In Thailand, e-commerce is fragmented, he says. U-Commerce will integrate all these fragmented e-commerce services into a one-stop service that is easy to use and will help business save time and costs.

One-stop servIce

“We use ‘profile pool’ to utilise startups that we invested in to offer services. U-commerce can offer a one-stop service with the freemium model,” says Pawoot.  This move marks not only the return of tarad.com to e-commerce but will strengthen Thailand’s e-commerce competitiveness. The country’s e-commerce is still growing but that growth is mainly in the form of products flowing from overseas, especially China, to Thailand.

U-Commerce aims to empower Thai products, Pawoot says.

“The e-commerce market in Thailand has seen a massive growth this year with a total market value of Bt3.15 trillion, or a14.04 per cent increase from last year.

“With the ever rising number of Internet users in Thailand, at 45 million people, we expect to see more expansion within the e-commerce market as brands switch to online shopping.”

Google also unveiled a new controller and its own studio.

Apple says Apple Arcade games will redefine games and be curated based on originality, quality, creativity, fun and their appeal to players of all ages.

Apple Arcade will give customers the freedom to try any game from its collection of titles that are all-you-can-play, have no ads, ad tracking or additional purchases, and respect user privacy.

The App Store has nearly 300,000 free and paid games. Free games, supported by advertising or in-app purchases, are enjoyed by hundreds of millions of players around the world. Paid games are often acclaimed and beloved by the people who play them, but competing with free material is hard, so even the best of these games have only reached a smaller audience.

With the simplicity of a single subscription, Apple Arcade will bring games like these to the App Store’s more than 1 billion gaming customers. Apple Arcade complements the popular catalogue of free games on the App Store.

Apple Arcade will introduce an innovative way to access a collection of brand new games that will not be available on any other mobile platform or in any other subscription service. Rather than pay up front for each game, a subscription to Apple Arcade will give players the opportunity to try any game in the service without risk.

Since every game includes access to the full experience, including all game features, content and future updates, no additional purchases will be required. Every game will be playable offline, and many games will offer support for game controllers.

Because subscribers can play Apple Arcade games across iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple TV, they can pick up where they left off in a game, even if they switch devices. New games will be added to the service on a regular basis.

Apple Arcade will launch this year in more than 150 countries from a new tab on the App Store across iOS, macOS and tvOS.

Google’s Stadia platform will open to gamers later this year in the United States, Canada, Britain and other parts of Europe. For now, Google is focused on working with game makers to tailor titles for play on Stadia, saying it has already provided the technology to more than 100 game developers.

The Stadia tech platform aims to connect people for interactive play on personal computers, tablets, smartphones and other devices.

Google also unveiled a new controller that can be used to play cloud-based individual or multiplayer games.

Stadia controllers mirrored those designed for Xbox or PlayStation consoles, with the addition of dedicated buttons for streaming live play via YouTube or asking Google Assistant virtual aide for help beating a daunting puzzle or challenge.

Google’s hope is that Stadia could become for games what Netflix or Spotify are to television or music, by making console-quality play widely available.

Yet it remains unclear how much Google can grab of the nascent, but potentially massive industry.

As it produces its own games, Google will also be courting other studios to move to its cloud-based model.

Google collaborated with French video game titan Ubisoft last year in a limited public test of the technology powering Stadia, and its chief executive was in the front row at the platform’s unveiling.

A coming new version of blockbuster action game “Doom” tailored to play on Stadia was teased at the event by iD studio executive producer Marty Stratton.

The reliability and speed of Internet connections is seen as a challenge to cloud gaming, with action play potentially marred by streaming lags or other disruptions.

Google said its investments in networks and data centres should help prevent latency in data transmissions.

The US video game industry generated a record

US$43.4 billion in revenue in 2018, up 18 per cent from the prior year, according to data released by the Entertainment Software Association and The NPD Group.

The companies signed a memorandum of understanding in Havana aimed at speeding up connectivity to help bring communications on the island into the 21st century, a key policy of President Miguel Diaz-Canel.

Cuba’s internet provider is currently dependent on a submarine fiber-optic cable link to Venezuela, but service is often overloaded and slow.

Engineers from the two companies will now work together toward achieving a faster, direct internet connection. The island would benefit from connecting to submarine cables between the US and Latin America.

“We are creating a working group which is comprised of engineers from Google and ETECSA who would work together to analyze ways to implement the direct internet connection,” said Google’s chief in Cuba, Brett Perlmutter.

ETECSA vice president of investments Luis Adolfo Iglesias told reporters the companies would work toward better connectivity “when technical conditions allow.”

Mobile internet has been available on the island since December and nearly two million of ETECSA’s five million-plus customers have already subscribed to the 3G service.

For most Cubans however, internet access is still only available in internet cafes or outdoor wifi hotspots.

Former Google chief executive Eric Schmidt met with Diaz-Canel last year to discuss improving Cuba’s connectivity.

Relations between Havana and Washington have cooled under US President Donald Trump after a diplomatic thaw under his predecessor Barack Obama briefly raised hopes of a lifting of a trade embargo in place since 1962.

Trump has instead blasted Cuba as part of a “Troika of Tyranny” along with the leftist governments in Venezuela and Bolivia, over its support for Venezuelan socialist president Nicolas Maduro.

He has worked to tighten the six-decade embargo, threatening to extend it to apply to foreign companies trading with Cuba.

 The exhibition, under way at the Bangkok International Trade & Exhibition Centre (BITEC), ends on Sunday.

Pornchai Jantarasupasang, assistant general manager of ARIP, said that the firm is presenting the 2019 event under the concept of Connected life, with displays covering around 14,000 square metres.

The company believes that gaming notebooks will be the most popular products at the event.

The exhibition includes a digital pavilion to showcase “the new era of lifestyles and the next generation of digital life”. It features innovative technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT) and 5G as well as the concepts of smart government, smart car, smart city smart life, smart security and smart home.

The firm expects that around 600,000 visitors will attend, generating around Bt3 billion in revenue for the 150-plus brands displaying their wares.

Pornchai said that the most popular products to be sold during the event will be high-end notebooks with an average price of Bt70,000 for gaming, followed by IT components and mobile devices.

“I think that Commart Connect comes as part of the events that will drive power purchasing for IT products in the country. Over 150 IT brands will create promotional and marketing campaigns to encourage sales and support the demand of customers,” said Pornchai.

He said that workstations will also be popular, since customers are willing to spend much more money to buy high-performance computers to handle video editing and short movies to promote their lifestyles on social media.

He also said that the high-end notebooks in the Thai market have the potential for high growth, since customers want to make purchases that match their lifestyles. The firm plans to conduct another Commart exhibition from July 4-7.

Somyot Chaowalit, chief executive of JIB Computer, said that the firm expects that it will generate revenue of around Bt150 million from the event, with gaming notebooks the top sellers, followed by display monitors and PC products.

The firm this year plans to distribute its IT products and accessories via online channels. It has generated over 15,000 transactions per month with revenue of Bt100 million a month. The firm by the end of this year expects to post revenue of around Bt10 billion, with online sales contributing about 11 per cent of the total.

Some 3 million visitors access its information products via online channels, Somyot said.