South Korea, the paradise of telecom operators

          South Korea, the paradise of telecom operators

REPORT - With its 57 million mobile subscribers, with only 50 million inhabitants, South Korea is a land of innovation for telecom operators.

South Korea and its 57 million mobile phone subscribers, with only 50 million inhabitants, are a country apart in the global telecoms landscape. It has set itself a new challenge: being the first nation in the world to exploit 5G, this new mobile phone technology programmed to be even more efficient than 4G.

The homeland of Samsung and LG can claim to be the only country in the world to have 100% of its territory covered in 3G / 4G. Corridors of the Seoul subway, campaigns, high-speed lines of the KTX - the local TGV - nothing escapes the cover of the operators. The Koreans were not mistaken, 86% had adopted the 4G, they consume five times more data in mobility than the French (5.4 GB per month in South Korea against 1.2 on average in France), on average paying 38 euros per month for their mobile (compared to 16 euros in France).

Comprehensive services

The three local operators, SKT, number one in the market, the incumbent operator KT and the challenger LG Uplus took advantage of the arrival of the 4G to raise their prices, which the French have failed to do. Koreans offer "unlimited" data packages, much appreciated by young people. In fact, computing is a bit complicated, but it comes down to offering 70 GB of data in 4G per month. The sums allocated to mobile telephony by Korean consumers may seem high, but the range of services offered is wide. The Wi-Fi network of operators is much more developed, almost all public places are covered, public transport included. Just have a mobile subscription to benefit from it. To this are added television channels, online music and services related to the Internet of objects, especially in the area of ​​the connected home.

Yet, Korean telecom operators are looking for growth drivers. The market is mature, users can spend no more time on their mobiles than they already do. "In two years, the average revenue per subscriber dropped by 1%, the number of subscribers increased by 1%, the consumption of data on mobile has exploded: + 100%. This situation is waiting for many mature countries, "said Andrew Cope, CEO of Nokia Korea.

"In two years, the average revenue per subscriber dropped by 1%, the number of subscribers increased by 1%, the consumption of data on mobile has exploded: + 100%. This situation is affecting many mature countries "

The whole country is dreaming about the deployment of 5G, with a specific objective in mind: the PyeongChang Olympic Winter Games in February 2018. So to speak tomorrow at the telecoms level. "The South Korean government has asked the three local operators to work together on the subject to deploy a 5G network on the Olympic sites, even before the international standards for this technology are set, which are expected for 2019-2020, "Said Jun Young Shin, director of development for LG Uplus. All the players in the sector, manufacturers, equipment manufacturers, operators and researchers at the prestigious University of Advanced Science and Technology (KAIST) are mobilized to achieve this goal with the support of the Ministry of Technology.

Overcoming Japan

The ambition is twofold: to demonstrate to the world the Korean know-how in terms of mobile telephony and, above all, to anticipate Japan, this still hated neighbor, who has the same ambitions for "his" Olympics in August 2020 in Tokyo. In 2018, there will probably be few terminals compatible with the 5G, and it should essentially be tablets, more suitable for watching videos. The goal of the 5G is to deliver rates approximately 1000 times higher than those of 4G, to reduce energy consumption and to support 1000 times more connected objects. To smartphones, PCs and tablets will be added all the Internet products of the objects. To succeed in this challenge, operators and equipment manufacturers rely on intelligent antennas, capable of transmitting a targeted signal to a terminal and assigning new frequencies to the telecoms. The industry as a whole is investing hundreds of millions of euros in 5G. Operators hope to be able to reconnect with the growth of their revenues by offering new services and equipment manufacturers such as Nokia, boosting investment, currently stalled in a country like South Korea and declining sharply in most mature countries Already well equipped in 4G.

The Korean experience is closely watched by the Europeans. The leaders of Bouygues Telecom, for example, carry out frequent study trips in the country. "We're seeing an acceleration of the 5G schedule. In order not to be late, we must now take technological bets. The analysis of the Korean market is a way of validating some of our choices, "explains Didier Casas, deputy general manager of Bouygues Telecom. The Commission has asked Europeans to accelerate and invest without waiting 2020, the date when the standards were originally to be stopped.

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