Korea Telecom, an ICO strategic investor, has spearheaded the development of telecommunications in that country for over a century, now operating more than 20 million telephone lines. Korea Telecom is also the eighth largest basic telecommunications provider in the world.

This is the eighth agreement which ICO has announced, following those in Oman, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Japan, Mexico and with Inmarsat. It confirms the selection of a national partner for the distribution of ICO products and services.

Korea Telecom will have the right to be an ICO distributor in The Republic of Korea, and will be responsible for obtaining licenses to offer ICO services. It will have the task of marketing and distributing ICO services through local distributors and retail outlets and will also ensure the availability of handsets.

Commenting on the announcement of the agreement, Olof Lundberg, Chief Executive of ICO, said: "This distribution agreement further strengthens ICO's position in Asia. The knowledge and experience of Korea Telecom will help to ensure that ICO successfully delivers personal communications in the Asian market.

"ICO dual-mode handsets will give many Korean cellular users the benefits of international roaming for the first time. The ICO system will also enable visitors to Korea to make and receive calls without a change of handset."

Yong-Hee Seo, Vice President and Chief Executive of Wireless Communications Business Group of Korea Telecom, said: "ICO is at the forefront of global mobile personal communications by satellite, and Korea Telecom is delighted to be a partner in this enterprise.

"We are proud of our accomplishments and I believe that this Agreement will be highly conducive to both Korea Telecom and ICO for the establishment of a solid foundation for ICO's service."

ICO's services will be launched in the year 2000. They will be based on a new generation of pocket-size mobile phones which will allow users to make and receive calls at any time, anywhere in the world. The handsets will be dual mode, capable of working on satellite, cellular and PCS networks.

Using their handsets, customers will be able to roam between ICO and mobile networks around the world. If no cellular network is available, the handset will "roam" to ICO's satellite network to offer customers unrestricted mobility and accessibility for their communications needs.

Affordable services will be available to a wide range of users - from people living and working in remote rural areas to the international business traveler. In addition ICO will offer services to the road transport, maritime and aeronautical sectors.