Mobile phone industry in South Korea
Encyclopedia
The mobile phone
industry in South Korea
is described in this article.
There market shares of the three companies are believed to be: SK Telecom's 50 percent, Korea Telecom's 30 percent and LG Telecom's 20 percent.
The Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI) supports Qualcomm
's research and development of CDMA and CDMA2000
technology.
Regarding the Korean mobile phone industry's overseas experiences, SK Telecom has helped the first mobile phone service companies in Mongolia
, Uzbekistan
, Cambodia
, etc. In China
, it helped China Unicom
's CDMA implementation, both technically and financially.
Samsung and LG have the largest market shares in Korea. Nokia
already discontinued its sales operations in Korea.
Mobile phone
A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...
industry in South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
is described in this article.
History
- 1984, Korea Mobile Telemunications Service, Korea TelecomKorea TelecomKT Corporation is a South Korean integrated wired/wireless telecommunication service provider. KT has an information & communications business, and has the largest portion of the South Korean local telephone and high-speed Internet business...
's subsidiary which later became SK TelecomSK TelecomSK Telecom Co., Ltd. or Sunkyoung Telecom is a South Korean wireless telecommunications operator, controlled by the SK Group, one of the country's largest chaebol. As a part of SK Group, SK stands for Sun Kyung.SK Telecom is a provider of mobile service in Korea, with 50.5% of the market share as...
, started its mobile communications service, using the car phoneCar phoneA car phone is a mobile phone device specifically designed for and fitted into an automobile.In the late 1970s and 1980s, the car phone was more popular than the regular mobile phone... - 1998, Korea Mobile Telemunications Service started South Korea's first mobile phone service.
- 1996, Korea Mobile Telemunications Service started the world's first cdmaOne service in IncheonIncheonThe Incheon Metropolitan City is located in northwestern South Korea. The city was home to just 4,700 people when Jemulpo port was built in 1883. Today 2.76 million people live in the city, making it Korea’s third most populous city after Seoul and Busan Metropolitan City...
. In the same year, Korea Telecom FreetelKTFKTF was a South Korean telecommunications firm, now merged into Korea Telecom, specializing in cellular, or mobile, phones. Since 1999, it has also developed extensive overseas operations. The company is credited with developing customised ring back tones...
(KTF), which later got merged with Korea Telecom, its parent company, began its service. - 1997, Korea Mobile Telemunications Service was sold to SK GroupSK GroupSK Group is the third largest conglomerate in South Korea. The SK Group is composed of 92 subsidiary and affiliate companies that share the SK brand and culture....
and changed its name to SK TelecomSK TelecomSK Telecom Co., Ltd. or Sunkyoung Telecom is a South Korean wireless telecommunications operator, controlled by the SK Group, one of the country's largest chaebol. As a part of SK Group, SK stands for Sun Kyung.SK Telecom is a provider of mobile service in Korea, with 50.5% of the market share as...
. In the same year, LG TelecomLG TelecomLG U+ is a South Korean telecommunications and Mobile phone operator controlled by the LG Group, one of the country's largest chaebol. It was formerly known as LG Telecom....
started its business. - 2002, Korea Telecom Freetel merged Internet companies invested by Samsung GroupSamsung GroupThe Samsung Group is a South Korean multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea...
and became KTFKTFKTF was a South Korean telecommunications firm, now merged into Korea Telecom, specializing in cellular, or mobile, phones. Since 1999, it has also developed extensive overseas operations. The company is credited with developing customised ring back tones...
. - 2009、KTF was merged with Korea Telecom.
- 2010, LG Telecom, LG Dacom, LG Powercom were merged into LG U Plus.
Mobile phone service providers
There are three mobile phone service providers.- Korea Telecom
- Korea TelecomKorea TelecomKT Corporation is a South Korean integrated wired/wireless telecommunication service provider. KT has an information & communications business, and has the largest portion of the South Korean local telephone and high-speed Internet business...
(KT) in 2002 absorbed KT FreetelKTFKTF was a South Korean telecommunications firm, now merged into Korea Telecom, specializing in cellular, or mobile, phones. Since 1999, it has also developed extensive overseas operations. The company is credited with developing customised ring back tones...
(KTF), its mobile phone service provider, and offers its services, using CDMA2000CDMA2000CDMA2000 is a family of 3G mobile technology standards, which use CDMA channel access, to send voice, data, and signaling data between mobile phones and cell sites. The set of standards includes: CDMA2000 1X, CDMA2000 EV-DO Rev. 0, CDMA2000 EV-DO Rev. A, and CDMA2000 EV-DO Rev. B...
and HSPAHigh Speed Packet AccessHigh Speed Packet Access is an amalgamation of two mobile telephony protocols, High Speed Downlink Packet Access and High Speed Uplink Packet Access , that extends and improves the performance of existing WCDMA protocols...
networks. It is currently deploying an LTE network.
- LG U Plus
- LG U Plus (LGU+), a member of LG GroupLG GroupLG Corp. is the second-largest South Korean conglomerate company following Samsung, and it is headquartered in the LG Twin Towers in Yeouido-dong, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul. LG produces electronics, chemicals, and telecommunications products and operates subsidiaries like LG Electronics, LG Display,...
, also provides CDMA2000 and LTE3GPP Long Term Evolution3GPP Long Term Evolution, usually referred to as LTE, is a standard for wireless communication of high-speed data for mobile phones and data terminals. It is based on the GSM/EDGE and UMTS/HSPA network technologies, increasing the capacity and speed using new modulation techniques...
networks.
- SK Telecom
- SK TelecomSK TelecomSK Telecom Co., Ltd. or Sunkyoung Telecom is a South Korean wireless telecommunications operator, controlled by the SK Group, one of the country's largest chaebol. As a part of SK Group, SK stands for Sun Kyung.SK Telecom is a provider of mobile service in Korea, with 50.5% of the market share as...
(SKT) of SK GroupSK GroupSK Group is the third largest conglomerate in South Korea. The SK Group is composed of 92 subsidiary and affiliate companies that share the SK brand and culture....
also offers its service, using CDMA2000 and HSPAHigh Speed Packet AccessHigh Speed Packet Access is an amalgamation of two mobile telephony protocols, High Speed Downlink Packet Access and High Speed Uplink Packet Access , that extends and improves the performance of existing WCDMA protocols...
networks.
There market shares of the three companies are believed to be: SK Telecom's 50 percent, Korea Telecom's 30 percent and LG Telecom's 20 percent.
Mobile phone industry
In South Korea, the Ministry of Information and Communication (MIC) is the telecommunications authority.The Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI) supports Qualcomm
Qualcomm
Qualcomm is an American global telecommunication corporation that designs, manufactures and markets digital wireless telecommunications products and services based on its code division multiple access technology and other technologies. Headquartered in San Diego, CA, USA...
's research and development of CDMA and CDMA2000
CDMA2000
CDMA2000 is a family of 3G mobile technology standards, which use CDMA channel access, to send voice, data, and signaling data between mobile phones and cell sites. The set of standards includes: CDMA2000 1X, CDMA2000 EV-DO Rev. 0, CDMA2000 EV-DO Rev. A, and CDMA2000 EV-DO Rev. B...
technology.
Regarding the Korean mobile phone industry's overseas experiences, SK Telecom has helped the first mobile phone service companies in Mongolia
Mongolia
Mongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest...
, Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan , officially the Republic of Uzbekistan is a doubly landlocked country in Central Asia and one of the six independent Turkic states. It shares borders with Kazakhstan to the west and to the north, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to the east, and Afghanistan and Turkmenistan to the south....
, Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
, etc. In China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, it helped China Unicom
China Unicom
China Unicom or China United Netcom Ltd , is a Chinese state-owned telecommunications operator in the People's Republic of China.-History:...
's CDMA implementation, both technically and financially.
Handset
- Samsung ElectronicsSamsung ElectronicsSamsung Electronics is a South Korean multinational electronics and information technology company headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul...
- LG ElectronicsLG ElectronicsLG Electronics is a global electronics and telecommunications company headquartered in Yeouido, Seoul, South Korea. The company operates its business through five divisions: mobile communications, home entertainment, home appliance, air conditioning and business solution...
- Pantech CuritelPantech CuritelPantech Curitel is a South Korean company specializing in manufacturing mobile phones. It was established in 2000. Its market is mainly domestic, but Pantech Curitel also has interests in Brazil, Japan, Hong Kong, China, India, Europe, Australia, Taiwan, USA, Mexico and Canada. It is currently the...
Samsung and LG have the largest market shares in Korea. Nokia
Nokia
Nokia Corporation is a Finnish multinational communications corporation that is headquartered in Keilaniemi, Espoo, a city neighbouring Finland's capital Helsinki...
already discontinued its sales operations in Korea.
See also
- Mobile phoneMobile phoneA mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...
- Telecommunications in South Korea
- List of telephone operating companies#Korea, South
- List of mobile network operators of the Asia Pacific region#Korea, Republic of
- List of mobile phone makers by country#South Korea
- Culture of South Korea#Cellular phones
External links
- Korea Telecom official site (Korean & English)
- LG U Plus official site(Korean & English)
- SK Telecom official site (Korean & English)