Telecom 3 Companies Receive Backlash Even After Providing More Data

Three Major Telecoms Offer Free Data for March
Limited Actual Benefits on Charges
High-Priced Plans May Not Be Fully Utilized

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Nahum] The three major telecom companies will provide free data to their subscribers throughout March. Although the intention is to participate in stabilizing the livelihood economy, there is criticism that this measure is merely a token gesture forced by government pressure, as the actual benefits in terms of fees are not significant.

On the 10th, the three telecom companies?SK Telecom, KT, and LG Uplus?decided to provide free data for the entire month of March in line with the government's livelihood stabilization measures. Specifically, SKT and KT will provide an additional 30GB of data to customers aged 19 and older. The 30GB data capacity allows users to enjoy nearly 30 hours of HD-quality videos on major online video services (OTT) such as YouTube and Netflix within a month. Customers can use the additional 30GB on top of the basic data included in their current plans without any separate application process.

LG Uplus will double the basic data amount included in the customer's subscribed plan. For example, a subscriber to the '5G Simple+' plan, which provides 31GB of data, will receive an additional 31GB, allowing a total usage of 62GB.

The telecom companies expect that 33.73 million people, accounting for 67.1% of the total 50.3 million mobile phone subscribers, will directly benefit from this free data provision policy, emphasizing that this is an unprecedented and bold measure.

However, users' reactions have been lukewarm. User A said, "To see a real cost-saving effect, you need to downgrade to a lower-tier plan from your current plan, but this requires going through various cumbersome procedures," adding, "The amount you can save this way is only a few thousand won."

For users on expensive plans such as unlimited data, even if additional data is provided, they may not be able to use it all. The additional data provided by the telecom companies must be used up within March. Any unused data will expire. Kim Juho, team leader of the Livelihood Hope Headquarters at the People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy, pointed out, "If the free data could be used over several months, the sincerity of the telecom companies would have been felt," adding, "This measure is nothing more than a token gesture."

What users want is a direct reduction in communication fees, not an indirect cost-saving effect. According to the '2022 Q3 Household Trend Survey' by Statistics Korea, the average monthly communication fee per household in the third quarter of last year was 131,000 won, an increase of 2.8% compared to the same quarter the previous year. Spending on communication equipment such as mobile devices (7.1%) and communication services (1.5%) both increased.

The burden of rising communication fees leads to demands for the introduction of mid-tier plans. Consumers want more choices through the introduction of 40GB to 100GB plans, which would result in a real reduction in fees.

So far, telecom companies have maintained extreme pricing policies that force users to either use very little or a lot of data. Although a mid-tier 5G plan offering 24 to 31GB of data at 50,000 to 60,000 won was launched last August, there are no plans in the 40GB to 100GB range. Considering that the average traffic per 5G subscriber is 28GB, the newly created plans still do not meet consumer demand.

For now, the government plans to negotiate with telecom companies to launch additional plans in the currently lacking 40 to 100GB range within the first half of the year and to consider releasing various plans such as period-selectable plans. They also plan to launch senior plans that are cheaper than general 5G plans and discuss ways to segment benefits by age groups among the elderly. Currently, LG Uplus operates a 5G senior plan, and SK Telecom and KT are expected to launch related plans next month.

The government also announced that it will extend the validity period of the MVNO wholesale provision obligation system and support the emergence of affordable 5G MVNO plans by lowering wholesale prices for 5G plans. Additionally, it will strengthen promotion of communication fee reduction programs for vulnerable groups to ensure that no one misses out on benefits due to lack of awareness.

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