Shared Plans and Promotions for Multiple Users... Half Price for 20s
Altteul Phone's Own Product Development Also Underway
With the summer vacation season underway, the number of people traveling abroad is increasing. While data usage is essential overseas, expensive fees can be burdensome. The telecommunications industry is launching various roaming plan promotions targeting overseas travelers.
According to a Consumer Insight survey, in the second half of 2022, 36.1% of overseas visitors used carrier roaming for data usage, the highest proportion. This is an increase of 12.1 percentage points compared to three years ago. This was followed by USIM (33.8%) and pocket Wi-Fi (22.3%).
Roaming plans are convenient because you can use calls and data just as you do in Korea, but they are more expensive than other methods. Wi-Fi routers are cheaper than roaming and allow data sharing with companions, but carrying a separate device is inconvenient. Purchasing a local carrier's USIM allows you to use a large amount of data at a low cost, but you cannot receive calls or texts sent to your Korean number.
Telecom companies are offering plans and promotions that multiple people can share to reduce consumer burden. SK Telecom is running a 'Family Roaming Promotion' until December 28, where if a family travels together, only one member needs to subscribe to the Baro roaming plan, and with an additional 3,000 KRW, the whole family can share data. For example, a family of three can subscribe to a 6GB plan (39,000 KRW) plus family roaming (3,000 KRW) for 42,000 KRW, allowing each person to use data roaming for 14,000 KRW.
KT operates the 'Data TogetherON' roaming plan, which can be shared with up to two family members or friends. The 'Data TogetherON Asia-America' plan costs 33,000 KRW for 4GB, 44,000 KRW for 8GB, and 66,000 KRW for 12GB. If three people share the 12GB plan, it is 11,000 KRW cheaper per person than subscribing individually to 4GB plans.
Targeting budget-conscious people in their 20s is also active. SKT offers a 50% discount on roaming plans to '0 Youth Plan' customers without a separate application. LG Uplus provides a half-price discount on the 'U+ Safe Roaming Zero Premium' product for customers in their 20s called 'Youth.' If the discount is applied by the 30th of this month and the Zero Premium roaming product is used until August 31, during the summer vacation period, roaming fees are discounted by 50%.
MVNOs (Mobile Virtual Network Operators), which operate by leasing networks from the three major carriers, generally provide the carrier's roaming service as an add-on service. For example, if a user of MVNO company A uses carrier B's network plan, they can subscribe to a roaming product with the same configuration as carrier B's roaming plan as an add-on service.
Recently, some MVNO operators have started differentiating their services by launching their own roaming plans. Findairect launched an eSIM data roaming product in May through direct partnership with a local Vietnamese carrier. The daily rate is 60% cheaper than the three major carriers, and there is no speed restriction (QoS) after data depletion. Partnerships with Japanese and Taiwanese carriers are also under consideration.
Purchasing a local carrier's USIM allows you to use a large amount of data at a low cost but has the disadvantage of not receiving calls or texts sent to your Korean number. By purchasing a local carrier's eSIM and using it as a dual SIM with a Korean USIM, you can receive calls from Korea while using data on the local eSIM. Findairect's roaming product targets this demand. However, Apple supports eSIM only on iPhone models from the iPhone XS onward, and Samsung Electronics supports eSIM mainly on the Galaxy Z Fold/Flip4 and S23 series, limiting compatible devices to the latest flagship smartphones.
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