SK Telecom has introduced a 'real' mid-tier pricing plan with finely segmented fee brackets based on 5G data usage. By launching customizable plans that users can design themselves, it has expanded consumer choice and also introduced new plans for youth and seniors. The number of 5G plans has more than doubled from the previous 20 to 45, further broadening pricing options.
Lee Jong-ho, Minister of Science and ICT, stated at a briefing held at the Seoul Government Complex on the 23rd, "Following the emergency economic and livelihood meeting held last month, we have been consulting with telecom companies to diversify plans by user groups and usage brackets to expand users' choice of communication fees." He added, "SKT was the first to register new 5G mid-tier plans, and the Ministry of Science and ICT has approved the terms of use."
The 5G terms of use registered by SKT this time include ▲ three 5G senior plans for users aged 65 and older ▲ four 5G mid-tier plans ▲ eleven 5G youth plans and seven 5G youth online plans for users aged 34 and younger.
Among these, the notable ones are the four 5G mid-tier plans of 37GB, 54GB, 74GB, and 99GB, which will be applied starting May. SKT launched the Basic Plus plan (24GB for 59,000 KRW) last August, considering the average usage of 5G users, but there were criticisms that the lack of plans between 24GB and 110GB limited consumer choice.
The newly established mid-tier plans are based on the Basic Plus plan, allowing users to combine one of four additional data options as they wish. For example, a customer with an average monthly data usage of about 50GB can add 5,000 KRW to the 59,000 KRW Basic Plus plan to use 54GB of data (24GB + 30GB) for 64,000 KRW per month.
Options can be selected once at the desired time (on a monthly basis), or a specific option can be automatically applied every month. When automatically applied, benefits such as the selected discount or bundled discount are applied equally based on the combined fee.
The Ministry of Science and ICT expects that with the addition of these four brackets, users with monthly usage between 24GB and 110GB could save up to 7,000 KRW on their communication fees per month.
The new senior plans effective from the 30th of this month include '5G Senior Plan A (65 years and older)' offering 10GB for 45,000 KRW per month, '5G Senior Plan B (70 years and older)' offering 9GB for 44,000 KRW per month, and '5G Senior Plan C (80 years and older)' offering 8GB for 42,000 KRW per month.
SKT explained, "Considering the trend that data usage decreases with age, we diversified monthly fees and data allowances so that customers can choose more affordable plans at ages 65, 70, and 80."
The 5G senior plans allow overlapping application of selected discounts, basic pension welfare discounts, and bundled discounts. For example, applying selected discounts and welfare discounts to the '5G Senior Plan C' reduces the monthly fee to 19,395 KRW, and with an additional 30% family discount, 5G service can be used for less than 10,000 KRW per month.
Starting in June, a total of 11 plans for 5G customers aged 34 and younger will be implemented, including seven 'Zero (Young) Youth Plans' and four 'Zero Youth Customized Plans.'
First, to allow young customers to use data sufficiently, the basic data allowance will be expanded by up to 50% compared to general plans. Also, the data amounts previously provided separately for shared use and tethering will be integrated to improve convenience for young users who frequently use tethering. Total shared and tethering data will be increased by up to 20GB compared to general plans, depending on the plan.
A new plan called 'Zero Youth 43' priced at 43,000 KRW per month, which is not available in general plans, will also be added. It is the cheapest 5G general plan available to adults aged 19 and older.
SKT expects that more than 6 million customers aged 34 and younger will benefit from these new youth plans.
Minister Lee said, "With this restructuring of plans, users' choice of plans will be greatly expanded, and the more users switch to plans that fit their data usage and age group, the greater the effect of reducing their usage burden will be. We hope that other operators will also be encouraged to launch various plans competitively."
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