Approval for SK Telecom 2G Service Discontinuation... 01X Numbers Can Be Retained Until June Next Year

[Asia Economy Reporter Seulgina Jo] SK Telecom's 2G mobile communication service will be discontinued. It has been seven months since the application for discontinuation approval was submitted in November last year after two rejections. The government will allow subscribers who wish to keep their existing 01X numbers to maintain those numbers until June 2021 through temporary number portability or number display services.

On the 12th, the Ministry of Science and ICT announced that it approved SK Telecom's partial discontinuation application for the period telecommunications business to terminate 2G service, imposing user protection conditions. As of June 1, SK Telecom's 2G service users account for about 384,000 subscribers, representing 1.21% of total subscribers.

The Ministry of Science and ICT, together with technical expert groups and equipment manufacturers, conducted four on-site inspections of nationwide exchange offices, base stations, and optical repeaters operating the 2G network. The inspections confirmed that due to network aging over 25 years, failures have surged, and some items are difficult to repair due to a shortage of spare parts, making continued operation of the 2G network difficult. Over the past three years, failures in exchanges, base stations, and repeaters have increased by 132% and 139%, respectively.

A Ministry of Science and ICT official explained, "As a result, network recovery is partially impossible, and service quality is deteriorating. Considering user safety and other factors, it was judged that continuing to operate the 2G network is no longer appropriate from the perspective of user protection."

Along with this discontinuation approval, protection measures have been prepared for the approximately 384,000 remaining subscribers who will no longer be able to use SK Telecom's 2G service.

First, in case of increased device purchase costs or fee burdens when selecting services of 3G or higher, subscribers can receive free devices (choose from 10 types) and discounts through a compensation program according to their choice. Measures were also taken to allow the use of seven existing 2G rate plans on 3G and LTE networks. These rate plans are currently used by 72.9% of the remaining subscribers.

Furthermore, if remaining subscribers wish to switch to 3G or higher within SK Telecom, the transition can be made by phone without visiting a store, and for those aged 65 or older or with disabilities, staff visits for switching are also possible. Subscribers who wish to keep their existing 01X numbers can maintain their numbers until June 2021 through temporary inter-generation (3G, LTE, 5G) number portability or 01X number display services.

Regarding specific discontinuation procedures and timing, the process will proceed only after users are fully informed. SK Telecom will begin the discontinuation process at least 20 days after approval and must diligently notify users of the discontinuation immediately after approval.

Additionally, the discontinuation process will be carried out in stages starting from areas with severely aged equipment (province → metropolitan cities → capital region → Seoul), with user protection periods at each stage. At least seven days must pass after starting the discontinuation process in each region before moving to the next, and users must be notified at least 20 days before equipment removal work begins.

Even after approval, SK Telecom is required to implement user compensation measures for two years after termination and maintain 2G rate plans as presented in the business discontinuation plan to minimize user complaints and damages.

The Ministry of Science and ICT stated, "By conditionally approving this discontinuation application, necessary measures have been taken to allow existing 2G users to enjoy 3G or higher services with less risk of network failure and without additional cost burdens."

Going forward, the ministry plans to conduct fair and prompt reviews of similar period telecommunications business discontinuation applications so that companies can respond timely to market changes and investment environments, while minimizing user damages from business discontinuations to safely and conveniently advance our network environment.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.