This Page is about Discount Cellular Telecommunication Companies in South Korea, and introduced as a large picture and will be rarely updated in detail, as the scene is ever-changing with more companies joining this recent phenomenon .
cellular service has been offered in South Korea largely by conglomerates but much smaller companies were allowed to join the band-wagon from 2012 . NOT to say they are /really/ small companies as some are subsidiaries of the same ol’monopolizing companies alike discount airlines here . in essence they are what their defining term implies : cheaper rates (say, about -30%), while providing /almost/ the same service, as they piggy-back and use band-width of fore-mentioned large telecommunication conglomerates . as of early July 2015 :
- 14 discount carriers use KT telecommunication lines
- while 10 companies piggy-back on SKT carrier service
- and 7 offer the newer LGT which became more compatible with iPhone 6 and 6S
watching discount carriers and customers migrating to, for a year : the three larger main carriers began unlimited voice call plans in April 2013, then soon the new concept of made-to-fit subscription plans – configurable between voice calls, SMS messaging and data use . and understanding users’ switching to more data : they began data-centralized payment plans from this May 2015 . even at the time of this writing the biggies are instigating more ways to counter increasing migration .. which seem to have reached almost 10% of cell users now . so at a time when discount carriers seem to have lost the bargain war as that was the whole point to begin with, if you look into each newer companies’ plans there are some accent points to take advantage of, which are changing and many as each carrier has their own to list all here . including that, the smaller carriers do come without and still lack :
- begins with major brand-name,
- substantial discount packages with land-line, Cable-TV, internet connection and cellular service put together – possible from large conglomerate companies operating in multiple business sectors,
- compatibility with your previous number or service,
- then various optional service long-provided by the biggies such as two phone number and international roaming abroad (plus many more but as I personally put much emphasis on these two) – but a few are catching-up quickly .
- so far all seem to lack roaming discounts, which the three larger carriers are offering about W10,000 per day for unlimited data roaming in most developed cities .
- lastly : enjoy it while you can, for many would probably be bought-off by larger companies or close-down, because what-ever exodus may eventually slow down (already showing signs) as main carriers research ways to compete, and government benefits on these endeavours are going to cease next year //
( MIGRATION ) using the same phone number from KT, SKT or LGT to switch to discount carriers is smooth . for the other-way around in the earlier days : the larger main carriers refused to accept-back if you left them, but now they do .
[ COMPATIBILITY ]- your smart-phone should be produced after July 2008, with the ability to insert a USiM card as cellular device before have this function built-in . the size of SiM cards in Nano, Micro and normal do not matter now, as they can be cut or used with a cheap adaptor .
- most Korean-made cell-phones are carrier locked (domestically only and are unlocked for foreign use), so you may use a discount carrier which uses that same band-width or ask to have it unlocked (possible by a simple phone call if you are not tied to any subscription plans). even if calls are possible across carriers : SMS messaging may not work, as well as 3G and LTE data transfers .
one last handicap for those working and/or living outside of major cities and not saavy with the internet and On-Line process : is that most do NOT have any brick-and-motar offices aside from their head-quarters in Metropolitan SEOUL and largely out-source their customer support to regional Post Office . one exception is companies borne from department stores and super-marts such as eMart and HomePlus, who now have their own small-scale carrier service .
– End of October 2015, Korea Tech BLog –