Infrastructure designed to support AI, astronomy and other data-intensive research
KT and the Korea Institute of Science and Technology Information (KISTI) have launched Korea’s first single 400Gbps-class international dedicated circuit linking South Korea and the United States, strengthening the country’s global research network infrastructure as demand for high-volume data transfers continues to grow.
KT said Wednesday that the new circuit connects KISTI’s headquarters in Daejeon with Chicago, a major hub for research networks across North America and Europe. The connection serves as an international backbone for the Korea Research Environment Open NETwork, or KREONET.
The new circuit increases bandwidth on the Korea-U.S. segment from the previous 100Gbps to 400Gbps, allowing researchers to transfer large-scale datasets more quickly and reliably.
The expansion comes as data-intensive research in areas such as artificial intelligence, large-scale scientific computing and astronomy continues to accelerate. As research datasets grow from terabytes to even larger scales, high-capacity international networks are becoming an increasingly important component of global research collaboration.
The two organizations worked together to address technical challenges associated with maintaining stable 400Gbps transmission over the long-distance Korea-U.S. route. After completing construction and stability tests across the submarine cable segment, KT and KISTI established an international connection capable of supporting actual research workloads.
The upgraded network is expected to facilitate faster transfers of large research datasets, strengthen KREONET’s global connectivity and support international collaboration in AI, advanced science and interdisciplinary research.
KT is also leveraging its broader international network infrastructure to improve the resilience of the research network. The company currently operates five submarine cable systems, including APG, APCN-2, NCP, TPE and KJCN, providing connectivity across Asia and North America.
For the KREONET connection, KT expanded capacity on the NCP submarine cable, which directly connects Korea and the United States. By reducing the number of intermediate transit points, the company aims to minimize latency and potential routing risks on the international segment.
KT also operates landing stations in Busan and Geoje, South Gyeongsang Province, using a diversified infrastructure configuration. The arrangement enables international traffic to be rerouted if problems occur on a specific network segment.
The move comes as global data traffic continues to expand alongside the rapid adoption of AI and other digital technologies. For research institutions in particular, reliable international connectivity is becoming increasingly critical as collaboration increasingly involves the real-time exchange of massive datasets.
KT plans to further expand its international network capacity in response to rising demand for global data connectivity. The company said it will continue investing in submarine cable capacity and diversifying international landing points to provide more stable connectivity for research institutions and businesses.
