KT's new rate plan draws customers
KT officials talk with visitors about new monthly mobile plans at its Olleh Square store in downtown Seoul, Tuesday. The number of new subscribers to the new mobile plans has topped 100,000 since May 8. / Courtesy of KT
By Kim Yoo-chul
KT said Tuesday its new mobile monthly plan has attracted more than 100,000 customers since it offered the new mobile rate on May 8.
Under the seven types of new monthly plans, it has offered unlimited calls and texting services starting from 29,900 won. Those who pay 59,900 won can use wired and wireless calling and data without any limit.
The new plan that charges users based on data use while offering unlimited calling services has been popular among younger customers, it said.
“Our new data plans are very practical and easy to understand. If you want to use more data, then you pay more. If you want to use less data, then you pay less,” spokeswoman Lee Sun-young said.
Comparing to KT's initial unlimited voice call plans at 100,000 won in 2004, the rate has gone down by 70 percent over the past 10 years. Out of nine new plans, seven have been available since May 8.
Lee said new plans between 49,900 and 59,900 won were the most popular among customers between the ages of 20 and 30, while those over 60 were the key users registering for the 29,900 won monthly data plan.
“We are impressed to see consumers’ voluntary shift toward new pricing plans. We understand that KT ignited idling demand from consumers for customer-friendly services,” she said.
Additionally, with the data plan at the rate of 5,000 won per 1 gigabyte (GB), KT offers a data option to consumers at half the price now available from major American carriers such as Verizon Wireless and Google.
After the basic data allowance is exhausted, an additional 2GB will be provided per day without any speed limit. After the 2GB, the speed will be restricted to a maximum of 3-5 megabit per seconds.
A GB is a measure of computer data storage capacity that is roughly equivalent to one billion bytes.