By Jane Han
Staff Reporter
Koreans are widely known for their addiction to the Internet, but a report released Friday shows that they're also the world's No. 1 chatterbugs.
Digieco, a research institute run by KT, the country's second-largest mobile carrier, said South Koreans were on their mobile phones an average of 320 minutes per month in the last quarter of 2008.
This is three times the amount of time spent by Germans at 102 minutes, and 2.3 times the amount of that by Japanese, who spend 139 minutes on the phone every month, according to Merrill Lynch data analyzed by Digieco.
French people were second logging 246 minutes, trailed by the British and Finns who talk 244 minutes and 192 minutes, respectively.
All are countries where only the caller pays for calls.
Among nations where both the caller and recipient are responsible for the bill, the United States was ranked the No. 1 user, with an average monthly usage totaling 829 minutes.
Hong Kong came next with 447 minutes, followed by Canada with 444 minutes and Singapore with 377 minutes, the report said.
KT officials explained that the United States and South Korea are the world's top mobile users and the reason is thanks to cheap prices. Per minute costs are so low that users dial their cell phones even when they're home, they said.
According to the data, it costs $0.11 per minute to make a call in Australia, $0.12 in the United Kingdom and Finland, and $0.26 in Japan. But the price is markedly cheaper in Korea, where users pay $0.08 per minute.
jhan@koreatimes.co.kr
|
[단독] 르노삼성, 본사 모델로 한국 공략
