By Yoon Ja-young
Subscribers of the fourth-generation (4G) long-term evolution (LTE) mobile services have reached 1 million, only three months since LTE handsets went on sale here. Mobile carriers are jostling for leadership in the transition to the ultra-fast mobile service.
According to SK Telecom, the country’s biggest mobile carrier, it has 550,000 LTE service subscribers. LG Uplus, the nation’s smallest player, has 450,000.
The two have competed fiercely since July when they raced to be the first to offer the new service and ended up launching on the same day, though LTE handsets only became available in September.
Encouraged by the fast and steady increase, SK Telecom has announced the goal to reach 5 million LTE users next year. LG Uplus has set its target at 4 million. They plan to complete a nationwide network by early next year, and offer a greater variety of LTE phones in their smartphone lineups.
Offering downloading up to five times faster than 3G, LTE has attracted users addicted to speed.
Although, addiction is never easy to maintain as expensive mobile rates prevent customers from switching to the new service. Mobile carriers offer unlimited data schemes for 3G but not for 4G LTE as massive data traffic weigh on their networks
The introduction of LTE has been an opportunity for LG Uplus, the all-time third player in the market. By focusing on LTE, it has succeeded in taking nearly 45 percent of the new market. Its shares rose by over 11 percent this month, marking the biggest increase among the three telecommunication companies.
KT, the nation’s second largest mobile carrier, meanwhile, is pondering ways to catch up to its two rivals. KT was planning to provide an LTE service in the 1.8 gigahertz bandwidth which it currently uses for 2G. After months of efforts to urge 2G users to switch to its 3G service or other carriers, it finally received the green light from the Korea Communications Commission, the telecommunication regulator, to halt 2G services as the number of users fell to 150,000. It even began advertising its LTE service massively before its launch, slated for Dec. 8. Stopped in its tracks, a court blocked the move, supporting KT’s 2G customers who filed a lawsuit against the communications regulator in a bid to invalidate its approval of KT ending its 2G service. “The court’s ruling is negative for KT, the only one of the three mobile operators in South Korea that has not yet started 4G services,” Laura Acres, senior credit officer of Moody’s Investors said.
KT immediately appealed the court decision, but its LTE service will be delayed by months.
KT took an aggressive marketing strategy to stay in the game with its competitors. It is offering 3G mobile service subscribers the latest LTE phones, which support both 3G and LTE allowing them to enjoy the latest phones at cheaper mobile rates. They can also take advantage of the unlimited data scheme, which isn’t offered for LTE devices by the other mobile operators.