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SKT, KT and LG Uplus reduce new mobile customer registration charges [TeleGeography CommsUpdate](TeleGeography CommsUpdate Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) All three of South Korea's mobile operators have reportedly reduced the registration fee charged to new customers by 50%, in line with a previously agreed government strategy, according to Telecom Asia. As noted in TeleGeography's GlobalComms Database, following the election of President Park Geun-hye in February 2013, the government said it would work towards reducing telecoms charges. To that end, the state set out detailed policy objectives, including the proposed reduction and eventual abolition of initial subscription fees by 2015. In line with this, in December 2013 all three of South Korea's mobile network operators implemented a 40% reduction in their initial subscriptions charges. Subsequently, in January 2014 the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning (MSIP) outlined plans to further reduce initial subscription fees in the second half of 2014, so that such fees would be reduced to 50% of their existing level. In line with such plans, market leader SK Telecom (SKT) is now said to have cut its sign-up fee to KRW10,800 (USD10.64), while rivals KT Corp and LG Uplus have reduced their respective charges to KRW7,200 and KRW9,000. SKT has reportedly claimed that the move could lower customers' bills – and its billing revenue – by as much as KRW70 billion per year, with KT saying it expected the impact of the change to be as much as KRW30 billion. (c) 2014 PriMetrica, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info). |