"Enhancing Presence in the Altteul Phone Market" LGU+ Announces Measures to Strengthen Win-Win Cooperation with Small and Medium Altteul Phone Providers

Up to 150GB Free Data, KB Partnership Card Discounts
Affordable Phone CS at Over 500 U+ Stores Nationwide... Increased Customer Convenience with Self-Activation Expansion
Reduced Cost Burden with Lowest Network Wholesale Prices... Sales Support through Joint Marketing

[Asia Economy Reporter Eunmo Koo] LG Uplus is significantly strengthening its support for coexistence with small and medium-sized MVNO operators.

On the 3rd, LG Uplus announced that it will launch ‘U+ MVNO Partners 2.0’ to enhance the competitiveness of MVNOs. The core idea is to provide multifaceted support so that small and medium-sized MVNO operators can sustain growth.

Previously, LG Uplus began active support for small and medium-sized MVNOs by launching ‘U+ MVNO Partners 1.0’ in 2019. Within about a year of the program’s implementation, the cumulative subscribers of participating partners grew by 192%, and monthly new performance increased by 200%, according to research.

Building on these achievements, LG Uplus is newly introducing the enhanced U+ MVNO Partners 2.0 and will continue to promote ▲customer-centric product innovation ▲improved customer convenience ▲strengthening operator competitiveness under the theme ‘MVNO customers are also LG Uplus customers.’

Kang Jin-wook, head of LG Uplus MVNO Business, said, “Despite the challenging MVNO market environment, small and medium-sized MVNO operators have been able to sustain growth through ‘U+ MVNO Partners.’ We will support the qualitative growth of MVNO operators with products and services that customers want, and also turn MVNO customers into true fans of LG Uplus.”

Up to 150GB Free Data Provided Monthly... Increased Price Competitiveness with KB Partnership Card Discounts

LG Uplus will support the expansion of postpaid subscribers for small and medium-sized MVNO operators through ‘U+ MVNO Partners 2.0.’ This aims to overcome the problem that the MVNO market is centered on prepaid subscribers, which has limitations in profitability and growth potential.

First, LG Uplus will provide free data to help partner MVNO operators secure product competitiveness. Participating partners will offer up to 150GB of data per month to both existing and new subscribers for 24 months without additional cost.

There are four data plans with free data provided, offering 150GB, 50GB, or 10GB depending on the plan. MVNO operators expect to aggressively acquire subscribers by launching plans with additional data and reduce churn among existing subscribers.

For example, a customer subscribing to a plan costing 18,700 KRW per month with 11GB data (plus 2GB daily, including basic calls and texts) will receive an additional 150GB monthly, allowing a total of 221GB data usage. This effectively means unlimited data usage at around 10,000 KRW.

Through a partnership with KB Kookmin Card, a dedicated discount card for MVNOs will also be introduced. Customers who issue the ‘KB MVNO HUB2 Card’ and subscribe to an unlimited data plan sold by partner operators can receive discounts of up to 29,900 KRW per month for 24 months.

Additionally, a ‘membership product’ offering discounts worth a total of about 120,000 KRW over two years will be launched in collaboration with Naver Pay, GS25, and Olive Young. Customers who subscribe to coupon plans offered by MVNO operators will receive a 5,000 KRW discount coupon usable once per month at partner stores for 24 months.

Furthermore, LG Uplus plans to launch products that can be combined with its wired products or Internet of Things (IoT) services, and upgrade last year’s donation plans?which were popular among customers in their 20s and 30s?to a customer participation model.

MVNO Customer Service at Over 500 U+ Stores Nationwide... Expansion of Self-Activation Operators

Support to supplement the chronic issue of insufficient sales and customer service (CS) channels for small and medium-sized MVNO operators will also be expanded. LG Uplus plans to increase the number of stores handling MVNO customer CS, such as bill payments and service suspensions, from about 190 to over 500. There is also consideration to expand to about 2,000 stores nationwide in the future. Customers who activate MVNO services through partner operators can visit LG Uplus direct stores and retail outlets nationwide for inquiries and consultations.

The ‘self-activation’ service, previously limited to some large MVNO operators, will also be expanded. Currently, only five partner operators support self-activation, but this will increase to 12 within the year. Self-activation allows customers to apply for activation online and purchase a USIM at convenience stores for same-day activation. This improves convenience by enabling immediate non-face-to-face activation without waiting or calling customer centers, while operators can reduce labor and logistics costs.

To improve customer accessibility, the UI/UX of the U+ MVNO Partners dedicated website, which receives 100,000 monthly visitors, will be revamped. Customers can easily check promotions and event information from participating operators and subscribe to postpaid or prepaid plans through the dedicated website. Additionally, a ‘True Fan Operator’ certification system will be operated to certify operators that provide services on par with mobile carriers in subscription and activation and maintain clean business practices.

Device Support and Revenue Improvement for Operators... Joint Marketing to Create True Fans

LG Uplus will also expand device support on behalf of MVNO operators who lack negotiation power with device manufacturers and distributors. It plans to supply various types of devices at affordable prices through negotiations with device manufacturers and used phone distributors.

LG Uplus will supply long-term inventory devices it holds to partner operators at used prices and sell unlocked devices at low prices through a U+ Partners exclusive unlocked device mall. The goal is to provide about 1,000 devices per month to MVNO operators, approximately three times the previous volume.

The biggest concern for small and medium-sized MVNO operators, the ‘network wholesale rate,’ will also be reduced. LG Uplus aims to significantly lower cost burdens for small operators by offering wholesale rates at the industry’s lowest level. Earlier this year, LG Uplus reduced wholesale rates for some data plans by up to 8% compared to the previous year. The wholesale rate for voice calls provided on a pay-per-use basis was lowered by 41% year-on-year. LG Uplus plans to periodically reduce wholesale rates further to ease the burden on small and medium-sized MVNO operators.

LG Uplus is also promoting the launch of a shared USIM that all U+ MVNO Partners participating operators can use regardless of operator. Customers can select the desired U+ MVNO operator’s plan online and purchase a shared USIM at nearby convenience stores to activate it themselves. This is expected to reduce USIM delivery burdens for operators and improve activation convenience for customers.

Additionally, LG Uplus will conduct joint marketing to create true fans by supporting small operators who lack marketing budgets. Beyond ongoing support for major sales channels such as post offices and the MVNO Hub site, LG Uplus plans to continuously support online advertising and promotional materials.