The MVNO operators typically offer rates about 30 percent lower, with no long-term commitment. The new service by the Korea Post is offered in 18 different rate schemes, including five pre-paid plans and 13 different monthly billing plans. (image credit: intelfreepress @ flickr)
SEOUL, South Korea, Sept 30 (Korea Bizwire) – The Korea Post said on September 28 that it began selling low-cost phones on the 27th and signed up 660 subscribers for the first day. Of these, 194 were changing their calling plan only while the remaining 427 bought phone devices as well as signing up for the plan.
The budget phone service, also called “mobile virtual network operator” (MVNO), is made possible by independent phone service providers purchasing blocks of calling time from telecom service operators that own the wireless network infrastructure. The MVNO operators typically offer rates about 30 percent lower, with no long-term commitment.
The new service by the Korea Post is offered in 18 different rate schemes, including five pre-paid plans and 13 different monthly billing plans. The government postal service agency is selling a total of 17 different phone models, including seven LTE phones, two regular smartphones, and eight plain-vanilla mobile phones.
Up until now, MVNO phones have been sold by several independent companies but gained little popularity despite their cost advantage. It was largely due to the paucity of store networks and customer service contact points. As the Korea Post began offering the service, however, the things will be quite different as it has thousands of offices across the country.
Lifestyle (Follow us @Lifestylenews_Korea)
