By Kim Tong-hyung
Staff Reporter
While text messaging is an established communication method among teenagers, the trend is now picking up amongst older wireless users too, as they look for inexpensive alternatives to voice calls to tighten their purse strings in a bad economy.
According to data provided by the three mobile telephony carriers, SK Telecom, KTF and LG Telecom, the subscribers to the companies' flat-rate plans for text messaging have been increasing significantly over the past year.
SK Telecom, the country's biggest mobile telephony carrier with a 50 percent-plus market share, said subscribers to its flat-rate text messaging services for adult users numbered around 146,700 at the end of March, up from the 83,190 at the end of 2008.
The company's most popular flat-rate program is ``Message Premium 1200,'' which is available to users of all ages. For 12,000 won a month, users are limited 1,200 text messages, ``multimedia'' messages with video attachments and mobile instant messages.
SK Telecom said the subscribers to Message Premium 1200 were at around 193,450 at the end of March, more than double the 92,200 six months ago.
KTF, the second-largest mobile telephony carrier, said customers for its flat-rate text messaging services exceeded 800,000 recently.
KTF users can subscribe to flat-rate plans that offer 300 text messages for 5,500 won a month, 700 messages for 9,900 won a month, and 12,000 messages for 15,000 won a month.
LG Telecom, which introduced adult-only flat rates for text messaging in July last year, had gathered more than 40,000 subscribers at the end of March, the company said.
``Our data shows a rise in text messaging among older adults, who are looking into using these technologies as the fastest and most convenient way to communicate without voice,'' said an SK Telecom official.