South Korea’s SK Telecom today introduced an open Internet of Things (IoT) platform, based on the oneM2M global standards initiative, aimed at developers.

The ThingPlug platform was jointly developed by SK Telecom and Korean IoT platform service company Daliworks.

Formed in 2012, oneM2M is a global project set up to develop an interoperable standard for M2M and IoT applications.

SK Telecom said it expects ThingPlug to play a crucial role in boosting the IoT ecosystem and that its biggest strength is its application enablement and openness, which allow it to function as a DIY development environment for IoT services.

Developers can download the SDK from the ThingPlug website, and registering their service or device will allow others to use the service as well.

Another feature includes the ability to check, in real time, service status and data via PCs, smartphones and tablets.

The operator said it plans to use ThingPlug for the smart city testbed, which will be created in Busan at the end of this year. Cooperating with the city government, SKT aims to upgrade a variety of public services – such as parking management, building energy management and safety services – to smart IoT services to create a best practice model.

It also plans to hold an IoT hackathon in the third quarter to increase the use of ThingPlug.

“The launch of ThingPlug is significant as it allows anyone to develop an IoT service, leading to the creation of a truly rich IoT ecosystem that brings increased value and convenience to developers across the globe,” said SKT CTO Alex Jinsung Choi.

“We will not only work closely with local governments, solution developers and technology institutes in Korea, but also join hands with IoT players around the world,” Choi said.

SKT and LG Uplus said in December they would make the first commercial IoT deployments based on specifications from oneM2M. The group said that LG Uplus had added oneM2M support to its existing IoT service infrastructure to target the international market.

SKT is also a member of Bridge M2M Alliance (BMA) and serves as the chair company of the Korea IoT Association.