Rate Plans May Soon Be Selected Solely by Data Volume and Speed
The three major telecommunications companies-SK Telecom, KT, and LG Uplus-are preparing to launch a unified rate plan that consolidates their various detailed plans by the end of this year. This move comes amid growing criticism that the approximately 700 different rate plans offered by the three mobile carriers hinder consumers from making rational choices.
According to data submitted by the Ministry of Science and ICT to Assemblywoman Choi Sujin of the People Power Party, who is a member of the National Assembly's Science, ICT, Broadcasting, and Communications Committee, the three telecommunications companies are currently operating 718 rate plans.
Of these, the three carriers are currently accepting new subscribers for 251 rate plans. There are no official statistics for rate plans offered by Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs), but if these are included, the total number of available rate plans reaches several thousand.
According to Assemblywoman Choi, the Ministry of Science and ICT is preparing a rate plan reform to address the situation in which excessively complex mobile plans make it difficult for consumers to make rational choices. The reform is reportedly based on a "unified rate plan" system, which will allow customers to select plans based on data volume or transmission speed, regardless of whether they use 5G or LTE technology.
It was recently revealed that, following criticism during last year's National Assembly audit that LTE plans were more expensive than 5G plans, the carriers stopped accepting new subscriptions for more than half of their LTE plans and failed to properly notify existing subscribers, causing many to miss out on benefits. As a result, there have been calls to simplify rate plans, inform consumers, and guarantee their right to choose.
Authorities are said to be finalizing preparations with the three major carriers to launch the unified rate plan within this year. Assemblywoman Choi stated, "Given how excessively complicated the rate structures of the three telecom companies are, it is necessary to reduce household communication expenses and expand consumer choice by implementing a unified rate plan without distinguishing between 5G and LTE."
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