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SK Telecom thrashes the rival in enticing customers (South Korea)

  • August 1st, 2008
  • 12:06 pm

In July, South korean leading mobile carrier has shown good results in gaining customers compare to its rivals, according to the statistics. SK Telecom reports net 26,040 customers last month, with its total subscription base increasing to 22.77 million. KTF stands second in luring a net 20,906 users, while its customer base rose to 14.18 million. LG Telecom Ltd. lures 20,404 customers, with its total number of customers reaching 8.09 million. Comparing the users of 3G services, KTF leads with 6.76 million follwed by SK Telecom with 6.55 million subscribers.

SK Telecom reports 26% drop in net profit Q2 (Seoul)

  • July 24th, 2008
  • 6:57 am

26 percent drop in second-quarter net profit posted by  South Korea’s top mobile carrier, SK Telecom. As SK telecom increased spending to woo subscribers from its rivals. 50.6% of the country’s mobile market is under SK. It earned 295.3 million in April-June.

As estimated by analyst, profits were lower than an average forecast $373.4million.

South Korea is seeing an intensifying war over so-called “third-generation” mobile services, with second-ranked KTF pushing aggressively for growth, and smaller rival LG Telecom entering the market last quarter.
Shares in SK Telecom rose 2.1 percent in the second quarter, while the broader market fell 1.7 percent.

KT to absorb KTF (Seoul)

  • July 23rd, 2008
  • 1:01 pm

The head of KT Corp , South Korea’s top fixed-line and broadband firm, has said full integration with its mobile service unit KTF Co Ltd  would be “desirable”, a KT spokesman said.

Investors and analysts have long expected KT to absorb KTF, the country’s No. 2 mobile carrier and 53-percent owned by KT, to better compete with rivals and lead the market with services bundling fixed-line and mobile communications.

“We are still considering it and no decision has been made on details such as timing,” spokesman Lee In-won said.

However securing approval for a full merger from anti-trust authorities might turn out difficult should KT go ahead with the plan.

KT and KTF are offering products combining mobile services with landline, broadband and Internet TV, but similar products will be soon available from top domestic mobile firm SK Telecom Co Ltd , which took control of No. 2 local broadband operator hanarotelecom inc.

KT shares ended up 1.44 percent at 42,200 won before the news, lagging the wider market’s 1.96 percent gain. KTF shares fell 1.11 percent to end at 26,650 won.

Korea’s Mobile Services Becoming Friendlier (Korea)

  • February 29th, 2008
  • 12:20 pm

A fingernail-sized chip that stores subscriber information is set to change South Korea’s mobile phone culture, allowing people to choose which handset they want to use according to their outfit and occasion. In addition, roaming fees in China are expected to be cut by up to 70 percent starting next month.
Korea’s second-largest mobile carrier said Thursday that it will lift the “lock-in” function on its universal subscriber identity module (USIM) cards starting next month.

The announcement was made by KTF president Cho Young-chu during a ceremony marking the one-year anniversary of the company’s Show third-generation mobile service.

Market leader SK Telecom also plans to lift the lock-in function for its T Live third-generation service starting March 27.

Subscribers to 3G services are currently not allowed to use their USIM card, which stores their subscriber information, in different handsets. That means if a subscriber wants to change mobile phones, he has to go through an authentication and opening process all over again. But starting from March customers will be able to switch from one handset to another just by swapping the USIM card into the new phone.

Customers who buy new handsets will also be spared the trouble of entering phone numbers again as their phone book is stored in their USIM. They can also use mobile payment services as well, by including a credit card function in the chip. All this means that people with more than one handset can choose which they want to use to match their clothes or occasion.

The sharing of USIM cards, however, will be limited in the early stage to handsets linked to the same service provider. Those who want to share their card among phones linked to different carriers will have to wait until the second half of this year.

LG Telecom, which uses code division multiple access (CDMA) technology, is not going to join the move. Both SK and KTF use wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA).

In addition, KTF plans to cut its roaming fees in China by up to 70 percent. Under the plan, KTF executive vice president Kim Ki-chul said Show subscribers who make local calls in China will be charged at local rates starting next month.

For this, KTF will make available to its roaming subscribers a pool of 10,000 Chinese phone numbers through a partnership with China’s top operator China Mobile. The service will be rolled out in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangdong Province before it is expanded to other regions.

KTF also plans to cut its roaming fees in Japan by forming an alliance with NTT DoCoMo, Japan’s largest cell phone company, which holds a 10 percent stake in the Korean operator.

   

 

KTF’s net income drops 41 percent as SAC doubles (South Korea)

  • January 24th, 2008
  • 12:37 pm

Korean mobile operator KT Freetel (KTF) saw its 2007 net income drop 40.7 percent on higher marketing costs as the company was gaining more subscribers and more 3G customers. Subscriber acquisition costs almost doubled year-on-year due to substantial increase of sign-ups and 3G migration, the company said. Total marketing costs climbed 40.9 percent during the year. In the fourth quarter, net income dropped to KRW 53.1 billion versus KRW 106.6 billion in Q4 2006. Net income for the full year stood at KRW 244.1 billion, significantly down from a net income of KRW 411.7 billion the year before. Fourth quarter revenues went up to KRW 1.9 billion from KRW 1.3 trillion in the year-ago quarter. And revenues for the full year rose 12.1 percent to KRW 7.3 billion. Service revenues grew to KRW 1.5 trillion in the fourth quarter, boosted by VAS, roaming and data revenues. EBITDA in the fourth quarter fell 12.2 percent to KRW 413.7 billion. Fourth quarter capex was KRW 261.6 billion, up 32 percent from the third quarter and full year capex totalled KRW 1.2 trillion, down 8.8 percent year-on-year due to the decreased investment in WCDMA. KTF ended Q4 with 13.72 million mobile subscribers, compared with 12.91 million at the end of 2006.

   

KTF, DoCoMo buys 33% in Malaysia’s U Mobile (South Korea)

  • December 3rd, 2007
  • 2:50 pm

Korean operator KT Freetel and Japan’s NTT DoCoMo have agreed to acquire 33 percent of U Mobile, a new Malaysian 3G mobile operator that is scheduled to launch commercial service in 2008. Upon approval of the Malaysian government, KTF and DoCoMo will invest USD 100 million each, giving each company 16.5 percent of shares with voting rights. KTF and DoCoMo will jointly participate in U Mobile’s management and draw on their 3G expertise to enhance U Mobile’s competitiveness. The two companies intend in future to promote international roaming services through U Mobile’s 3G network for their respective customers traveling in Malaysia.

   

Macquarie ends Hanaro bid, SK new favourite - report (South Korea)

  • November 12th, 2007
  • 10:44 am

Australian investment bank Macquarie Group has ended its bid for the 39.4 percent stake in South Korean communications firm Hanarotelecom, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. A consortium of private equity companies (AIG, Newbridge Capital and TVG Capital Partners) plans to sell its almost 40 percent stake, or 91.4 million shares, in Hanarotelecom this year and media reported Macquarie was the likely buyer offering KRW 12,000 per share. Local operator SK Telecom is rumoured to be interested in the stake which would have further consequences for the market. Analysts expect that if SK buys Hanarotelecom, the government may allow rivals KT and KTF to merge. An SK Telecom spokesperson told Dow Jones the company is considering bidding for the hanarotelecom stake. Hanorelecom’s broadband services would be highly complementary to SK Telecom’s mobile and wireless services.

   

Korea ends September with 66.6 mln telephony subscribers (South Korea)

  • November 1st, 2007
  • 2:21 pm

Korea ended September with 66.58 million telephony subscribers, up 0.5 percent from August, according to figures from the communications ministry. Of the total, 23.31 million are fixed-line users while 42.80 million people have a mobile subscription, up 0.7 percent. KT is the fixed-line market leader with 91 percent market share and 21.21 million fixed-line subscribers, followed by hanarotelecom with an 8.4 percent market share and 1.96 million fixed-line users. The country ended September with 42.80 million mobile users, led by SKT with a 50.5 percent share of the market followed by KTF with a 31.7 percent share and LGT with a17.8 percent share of the mobile market. Some 41.14 million mobile customers have mobile internet services. During the first nine months of this year, 6.79 million used mobile number portability to switch providers and 521,194 people used fixed number portability.

   

DoCoMo and KTF Announce Venture Fund (Japan)

  • October 16th, 2007
  • 1:35 pm

NTT DoCoMo and KT Freetel just announced that in November they will set up a venture fund in Korea to invest in promising mobile and IT firms. Through the fund, DoCoMo and KTF expect to identify promising companies for tie-ups in technology and other opportunities in the mobile and IT sectors. The fund will will operate for six years, with an option for a two-year extension, and will be managed by KTBnetwork Co., Ltd.

DoCoMo and KT Freetel will each invest 13.5 billion won (1.7 billion yen), in the fund, named as KTF-NTT DoCoMo Mobile Investment Limited Partnership, each taking a 45 percent stake. KTBnetwork will invest 3 billion won (378 million yen) for the remaining 10 percent stake. Joint investment undertakings are one of the goals of the business and capital partnership agreement concluded between DoCoMo and KTF on December 15, 2005.

   

 
 

 

LG Electronics debuts global roaming WCDMA phone (South Korea)

  • October 8th, 2007
  • 2:43 pm

LG Electronics has launched the LG-KH1600 global roaming WCDMA phone, writes the Chosun Ilbo. The LG-KH1600 features a secret notebook that can store information on credit cards or bank accounts, electronic dictionary, mobile storage, unit converter and subway map. The phone offers automatic roaming services in 121 countries. LG’s new phone permits automatic roaming services for video calls as well, while in countries using the GSM system, the phone offers services for audio calls. The phone is priced in the mid KRW 300,000 range and will be sold by KTF.