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SK Telecom revealed on Thursday, Aug. 19, that it will be offering its metaverse platform called ifland to 80 countries around the world. The South Korean mobile service provider will be launching its virtual meeting platform overseas by the end of this year.
According to Yonhap News Agency, SK Telecom Inc.’s move is part of its plans to join the global metaverse frenzy. The company unveiled ifland just last month and it allowed users to communicate with others through avatars that can be personalized according to the users’ likeness.
The avatars in the metaverse could also be placed in various online settings from cafes, studios, stadiums, and more. Such a platform is growing and its popularity has been booming since last year. The pandemic boosted its popularity as the younger generations and tech-savvy individuals are getting into it while staying at home.
Now, as more people are getting to know what metaverse is and how they are being used, SK Telecom is expanding its business in this virtual world line through developing ifland further and turning it into a global platform.
The company’s plan is to launch it in at least 80 regions worldwide for now. Then again, SK Telecom has yet to reveal the specific countries it selected for the ifland’s initial global launch.
It was mentioned that SKT is planning to attract more users through Kpop content. This means it will be holding fan meetings regularly on the platform and offer a service where users can make their own virtual world or environments.
What’s more, users may be able to buy and sell on the platform as SKT is also considering adding a market system this year. The mobile carrier’s push for its metaverse business is also to bolster the public's adoption of its 5G network service.
"The metaverse is expected to evolve fast in coming years, as it became a buzzword unnoticeably," The Korea Times quoted a company official as saying at a press conference this week. "To cope with the rapidly changing trend, we push to introduce ifland in around 80 countries within this year."
Yang Maeng Seog, SK Telecom's head of metaverse biz, added, “In the end, we dream of a metaverse world where people come in to create new content and carry out economic activities.”
