Wikipedia founder eyes Korea

By Yoon Sung-won

LAS VEGAS ― Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales wants to expand the London-based budget carrier business to Korea in partnership with a major Korean telecom operator.

Wales told The Korea Times he was “very much interested” in launching a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) business in Korea and said he believed the business model of The People’s Operator (TPO) could be successful in Korea’s competitive telecom market.

“If major carriers are competing heavily using advertisements in a market, we can offer an alternative,” he told a media conference after his keynote speech at CTIA Super Mobility 2015 in Las Vegas on Wednesday.

“Instead of spending money on television commercials and billboards, we can use the money for something you care about.

“That will resonate with customers who are sick of paying huge chunks of their money for advertisements. Korea is a connected country where technologies and changes are quickly accepted. That may mean that our business will be easier to get into the market.”

An MVNO, or budget carrier, offers cheaper monthly plans because they operate on nationwide telecom networks established by existing mobile carriers instead of building their own networks.

This means that a partnership with at least one of the three major Korean telecom firms ― SK Telecom, KT or LG Uplus ― is a must for an MVNO business to operate.

Wales said he would “need to work with a local telecom operator for its network infrastructure.”

But Wales has yet to do a deal with any of the nation’s three telecom operators.

It is also unclear if TPO can survive in the highly saturated Korean telecom market. Besides the three major carriers, multiple local MVNOs, led by CJ Hellovision, are already striving to operate here.

TPO was established in London in 2012 claiming to be an ethical mobile carrier. It provides services through the network infrastructure of British carrier EE.

TPO has offered monthly plans ranging from $7.68 to $38.39 since 2013 and depends on viral marketing instead of spending on promotions and advertisements.

Wales became co-chairman of the board in January last year, taking over a “strategic stake in the business.”

He said in his keynote speech that 25 percent of TPO’s profit went to an independent charity group, People’s Operator Foundation.

Customers could also donate to a community group 10 percent of the amount they spent on voice mail, text messages and data.

He stressed that this 10 percent came from the company’s marketing budget, not from the subscribers’ pocket.

As of July, TPO expanded to the United States under cooperation with Sprint, offering a $32 monthly plan that includes unlimited voice mails and text messages as well as two gigabytes of data storage.