North Korea riding high on mobile communication

www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Communist country North Korea, known for its human rights abuses and for tight controls on outside information, is riding high on mobile communications with the mobile telephone subscriptions due to reach 120,000 early next year. The mobile service was started in the country just a year ago by an Egyptian provider.

According to the marketing manager of the joint venture called Koryolink with Egypt’s Orascom, with the set up a 3G mobile network, the success is bigger than what was expected.

The mobile phone service in North Korea began in November 2002, but shut down after 18 months and the handsets were recalled.

According to the official media of North Korea, the telecom network has expanded nationwide and the fiber-optic cables has been laid from the capital to all provinces and the broadcasting sector has been renovated. A company manager, whose name wasn’t given, said that mobile use was not only spreading among the political and business elite, but even citizens are availing the facility in the capital city, Pyongyang.