5G Plans in the 30,000 KRW Range to Launch Next Year... Latest Phones Also Eligible for LTE Subscription (Comprehensive)

Government Announces 'Measures to Ease Communication Cost Burden'
Galaxy Phones Priced Around 300,000 Won Released...Expansion of 5G for Alttel Phones

The government is accelerating efforts to ease the burden of household communication expenses. Now, LTE plans will be available on 5G devices as well. The minimum 5G plan, currently priced in the 40,000 KRW range, will be lowered to the 30,000 KRW range, and Galaxy devices priced in the 300,000 KRW range will be launched.

Minister Lee Jong-ho of the Ministry of Science and ICT is announcing the 'Measures to Reduce Communication Costs' on the 8th at the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Photo by Jo Yong-jun jun21@

On the 8th, the Ministry of Science and ICT announced the 'Measures to Ease Communication Cost Burden' with these details.

Starting this month, consumers will be able to choose affordable plans regardless of the type of device. Currently, unlocked 5G devices can subscribe to LTE plans, but 5G devices purchased from carrier stores (carrier-locked devices) can only subscribe to 5G plans. The government plans to remove the barriers between device and plan generations, allowing 5G device users to subscribe to LTE plans and LTE device users to select 5G plans, which are relatively advantageous for heavy data usage. This will be implemented sequentially starting this month, with SK Telecom currently revising terms of service and developing IT systems. KT and LG Uplus will also discuss with the government and apply the changes sequentially.

Regarding concerns that 5G users might switch to LTE and weaken 5G momentum, Hong Jin-bae, Director of the Network Policy Office at the Ministry of Science and ICT, said, "For data usage under 30GB, there is a gap where LTE is stronger and 5G is weaker. However, in the first quarter of next year, 5G plans will become more advantageous, so there is no need to choose LTE." On the possibility of integrated 5G-LTE plans, he added, "We will discuss moving towards integrated plans, but we have not yet discussed the carriers' opinions."

Additionally, to accommodate users with low data usage, the minimum 5G plan price among the three major carriers, currently in the mid-to-high 40,000 KRW range, will be lowered to the 30,000 KRW range, and the data allowances for 5G plans under 30GB will be further segmented. The three carriers plan to launch new 5G plans in the 30,000 KRW range in the first quarter of next year. The limited selection of 2-3 plans under 30GB will also be diversified. Minister Lee Jong-ho of the Ministry of Science and ICT stated, "Lowering from the mid-to-high 40,000 KRW range to the 30,000 KRW range is not insignificant in terms of amount," and "We are currently negotiating the segmentation for data usage under 30GB."

To ease the communication cost burden for young people, the choice of low-priced 5G plans combined with mid-low priced devices will be expanded. In the 30GB or less range priced between 30,000 and 40,000 KRW, data allowances will be increased up to twice compared to general plans, and a youth 5G plan with enhanced benefits such as movie coupons will be introduced in the first quarter of next year. The government will quickly negotiate wholesale network access with carriers to allow MVNOs to launch 5G plans about 30% cheaper than those of the major carriers.

To reduce the burden of device purchases, two mid-low priced devices in the 300,000 to 800,000 KRW range will be launched within this year, and 3 to 4 models in the first half of next year, in cooperation with Samsung Electronics. Director Hong said, "Last year, 38.8% of device purchases were for devices priced under 800,000 KRW. Not all consumers want high-end devices priced around 2 million KRW."

The selective discount system, which offers a 25% discount on communication fees for a two-year contract, will introduce a pre-reservation feature in the first quarter of next year to allow automatic renewal on a one-year basis. The 25% discount benefit remains the same as the two-year contract, but the penalty for early termination is reduced. Currently, for a 69,000 KRW plan, the maximum penalty is 138,000 KRW. By splitting the contract into one-year terms, the penalty for early termination is reduced to 69,000 KRW. This reduces the burden of cancellation, making it easier to switch to cheaper plans from other carriers and promoting competition among providers. A URL for re-contract application will be added to contract expiration text messages for convenience.

To break the market oligopoly and promote competition, support for the entry of a fourth carrier will be provided. To encourage new entrants, the frequency allocation fees and conditions will be recalculated to reflect current circumstances, and regional allocation (7 regions) will be allowed. To ensure smooth service provision by new carriers, mandatory opening of essential facilities will be expanded, and institutional improvements will be pursued to allow shared use (roaming) of other carriers' networks during network construction. To reduce initial investment burdens, policy financing (up to 400 billion KRW) and tax credits will also be supported.

To foster MVNO operators, the wholesale provision obligation, which expired last September, will be made permanent. Discussions with the National Assembly for legislation are ongoing. Discounts for bulk data purchases will be expanded, and restrictions on market share for subsidiaries of the three major carriers will be pursued. Minister Lee said, "We are discussing with the National Assembly to make the wholesale provision obligation permanent," and "We will continue efforts to legislate it as soon as possible."

This 'Measures to Ease Communication Cost Burden' concretizes the 'Measures to Promote Competition in the Communication Market' announced last July. Originally scheduled for announcement on the 2nd, it was postponed to the 6th, then delayed again due to being submitted as an agenda item for the Emergency Economic Ministers' Meeting, and was finally released on this day. Regarding this, Director Hong said, "The agenda submission body changed to the Emergency Economic Meeting, so adjustments were inevitably made."

Minister Lee stated, "We will greatly expand the choice of plans and devices and reform the pricing system to match usage, so that the public's communication cost burden can be substantially reduced," and "Through fostering new communication carriers and MVNO operators, we will improve the entrenched oligopoly in the communication market and activate fundamental competition in pricing, services, and infrastructure."

Meanwhile, regarding the LG Uplus internet outage that occurred the previous day, Director Hong said, "We are requesting data related to the network outage from LG Uplus," and "After analyzing the cause, we plan to take necessary measures." On LG Uplus surpassing KT by significantly increasing IoT lines, he said, "We will aggregate total numbers and compile statistics that distinguish between human and IoT lines."