SK to allow Internet call service

The nation's top mobile carrier SK Telecom Co. said Wednesday it will allow its mobile phone subscribers to make Internet calls over its cellular network, a step that local mobile carriers have previously delayed for fear of losing profits from voice minutes.

The measure will allow subscribers to make cheap phone calls using services from companies like Skype Technologies SA while connected SK's 3G cellular network, SK Telecom said in a statement.

Mobile carriers and the government currently limit the use of mobile Internet phone calls to wireless fidelity (WiFi) networks. SK Telecom will apply for government approval.

The service, known as mobile voice over Internet protocol, or m-VoIP, was seen as a free-ride to the trillions in investment that mobile carriers make to build the cell phone infrastructure.

Programs like Skype allow mobile phone users to make inexpensive calls through the Internet without paying voice minutes charges to mobile carriers. But SK Telecom said it ceased to view the service as a threat to its revenues from voice minutes sales.

"We started to see it as complimenting mobile phone service, rather than replacing it," said Choi Jong-bok, a spokesman for SK Telecom.

The service, which is likely to offer the biggest discounts in overseas phone calls, is limited to SK Telecom's subscribers paying more than 55,000 (US$45.8) won in monthly basic fees. SK Telecom also limits the minutes and data that can be used through Internet phone calls.