SKT, KT, LGU+ in fierce battle for 5G customers
Yoo Young-sang, second from right, head of SK Telecom's MNO business, and models distribute pamphlets to promote the firm's 5G services, in front of one of its stores in Gangnam, Friday. / Courtesy of SK Telecom
By Jun Ji-hye
SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus are engaged in a fierce battle to sign up new customers to their just-launched fifth-generation (5G) network services.
But the competition is drawing criticism that the companies are merely depending on the number of new subscribers rather than competing to offer more substantial 5G services.
The country's three mobile carriers launched the world's “first” commercial 5G mobile networks for a select group of customers Wednesday, just two hours before U.S. mobile carrier Verizon began its service.
On Friday, the Korean firms started selling Samsung's Galaxy S10 5G, the world's first dedicated 5G smartphone.
LG Uplus said it was going to offer subsidies of up to 475,000 won ($417) to new subscribers, which could drive down the price of the 256GB model to 850,000 won.
The move came as the high price for the new device is considered a major barrier for the 5G market.
“We offer the largest subsidies for the Galaxy S10 5G among domestic mobile carriers,” an LG Uplus official said. “We decided to offer an unprecedented level of subsidies so more customers can experience our 5G services without the financial burden.”
In response, SK Telecom said later Friday it was going to upgrade its subsidies for the new smartphone to a maximum of 546,000 won, more than double its initial plan, fueling the competition to secure 5G customers.
A customer buys a Samsung Galaxy S10 5G smartphone at a KT store in Seoul. / Courtesy of KT
The mobile carriers are also encouraging retail store owners to promote sales. They have offered incentives in addition to existing rebates to retailers, industry sources said, citing internal documents from KT and LG Uplus.
They said KT offered an additional 100,000 won as an incentive to smartphone retailers who sold Galaxy S10 5G models, Friday and Saturday, while LG Uplus provided an additional 270,000 won.
Some sources said offering such incentives could be in violation of the law that restricts phone subsidies.
The two mobile carriers have yet to clarify their position regarding this.
A customer receives his Samsung Galaxy S10 5G smartphone at an LG Uplus store in Seoul. / Courtesy of LG Uplus
Amid the competition at this early stage of 5G services, KT said it had 30,000 subscribers as of 5:50 p.m. Saturday.
LG Uplus said it had sold out of 5G smartphones as of 6 p.m. the same day.
“We plan to secure additional supplies,” the LG Uplus official said.