"Switching to Altteul Phone?" Flood of 5G Plans

[Asia Economy Reporter Seulgina Jo] The budget phone industry, approaching an era of 10 million subscribers, is continuously releasing affordable 5G mid-range plans. It is expected that as the contracts of early 5G subscribers expire two years after commercialization, more users will switch to cheaper budget phones.

According to industry sources on the 5th, U+ Budget Mobile recently launched two new 5G plans, expanding its 5G lineup to a total of three plans.

The two newly introduced plans are ‘USIM 5G (150GB+)’ offering 150GB of data for 49,900 KRW per month, and ‘USIM 5G (12GB+)’ providing 12GB of data for 34,900 KRW per month. Notably, the 12GB data plan fills a gap not found in the 5G plans of the three major carriers.

U+ Budget Mobile explained, “As two years have passed since the introduction of 5G services and contracts are nearing expiration, we established new 5G plan tiers to significantly reduce the communication cost burden for customers.” Along with this, U+ Budget Mobile lowered the price of the ‘USIM 5G (180GB+)’ plan, which offers 180GB of data, from 60,800 KRW to 53,870 KRW per month.

Sejong Telecom’s budget phone brand Snowman also launched three new small-to-medium data plans, including the lowest-priced 5G plan in Korea. The 5G plan offering 1.5GB of data has a monthly base fee of only 4,950 KRW. The 3.5GB data plan costs 9,900 KRW per month, and the 7.5GB data plan is priced at 22,000 KRW per month.

Budget phone provider Enext Telecom also introduced some of the lowest-priced products among domestic budget phone plans. Using the LG Uplus network, the plans include ▲ A-God Value 1.5GB?120 minutes (120 minutes voice, 100 texts, 1.5GB data) ▲ Data Worry-Free 5GB?100 minutes (100 minutes voice, 100 texts, 5GB data + 1Mbps) ▲ Reasonable Data 11G (basic voice, basic texts, 11GB data + daily 2GB + 3Mbps).

These plans offer additional monthly discounts for seven months, allowing users to enjoy the lowest prices domestically. After discounts, the fees are ▲ A-God Value 1.5G?120 minutes (1,100 KRW) ▲ Data Worry-Free 5GB?100 minutes (6,600 KRW) ▲ Reasonable Data 11G (19,580 KRW). Additionally, further discounts are available when using the exclusive A Mobile partnership discount card.

Unlike general mobile carrier plans, budget phone plans can be used without contracts. Customers whose 5G contracts have ended can simply replace their SIM card in their existing phone or purchase a 5G unlocked phone to use the service.

According to the Korea Telecommunications Operators Association (KTOA), last month, the number of subscribers switching from the three major carriers to budget phones increased by 56,638.