'God Seongbi' Budget Phones with 20GB for 10,000 Won Launched One After Another... "Effect of Wholesale Price Reduction"
by Kim Bokyung
Published 04 Mar.2025 12:32(KST)
Wholesale Data Price Drops Below 1 KRW
Greater Discounts for Bulk Purchases
"Minimum Price per Line to Reach 1,100 KRW by 2026"
With the reduction in wholesale prices for MVNOs, new 5G 20-gigabyte (GB) plans priced in the 10,000 KRW range have started to be introduced to the market.
On the 4th, the Ministry of Science and ICT announced that MVNOs using the network of the wholesale service provider (SK Telecom) are offering plans with 20GB of data included as a basic package, priced between 18,000 KRW and 19,000 KRW.
Recently, MVNO operators 'Smartel' and 'Keunsaram Connect' launched products called '5G Smile Plus 20GB' and '5G Hamkke Iyagihae S,' respectively, both priced under 20,000 KRW per month. There is a growing trend among young consumers who purchase unlocked phones and then subscribe to MVNO plans to use affordable services, known as the 'value-for-money group.'
Earlier, on the 21st, the Ministry of Science and ICT finalized a revision to the notification expanding the method for calculating wholesale prices for mandatory wholesale services. They applied a 'cost-based method' for determining MVNO wholesale prices, based on costs related to wholesale provision such as network operation expenses and facility usage fees.
As a result, the wholesale price for data was reduced by 36.4% (from 1.29 KRW/MB to 0.82 KRW/MB), and the wholesale price for voice was lowered by 5.1% (from 6.85 KRW/min to 6.50 KRW/min). In particular, with the data wholesale price dropping below 1 KRW, 5G 20GB plans priced in the 10,000 KRW range have become feasible.
The range and scale of discounts on wholesale prices for MVNOs using large volumes of data have been expanded, and a new annual pre-purchase system was introduced, allowing MVNOs to further reduce wholesale prices by purchasing data for one year in advance. Utilizing these systems is analyzed to result in up to a 52% reduction compared to previous prices.
The Ministry of Science and ICT stated, "For small and medium MVNOs, the minimum usage fee per subscriber line, which is currently 1,400 KRW, will be gradually reduced to 1,100 KRW by 2026."
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