4 Posts about 'Samsung Electronics'
New Mobile Operator in Korea :: 2010/06/15 17:14
Currently, there are three mobile operators in Korea, SK Telecom, KT and LG Telecom. A new mobile operator will launch their mobile service in July of next year. KMI (Korea Mobile Internet) submitted the application for providing their own service to the Korean Communications Commission on 11th June.
They announced to build up WiBro (Mobile WiMAX) network and provide VoIP service based on WiBro and mobile broadband service next year. In Korea, SK Telecom and KT are already providing WiBro service, but they only cover mobile broadband service, not voice (VoIP) service on WiBro network. Also, KMI said that they will focus on MVNO business, so customers can use cheaper mobile services rather than the existing providers' services.
The major shareholders of KMI includes Samsung Electronics and Samsung Electronics is expected to provide WiBro network equipments instead of invest in KMI directly. KMI mentioned that about twenty companies participated in the investment, but they did not disclose the list of the companies this time.
To be honest, I am not sure whether they can make a soft-landing in the Korean mobile market as a new service provider which has a starting capital of 410 bil won (around $0.35 bil). Above all, They need about $2 bil to build up the nationwide WiBro coverage. Also, in the Korean mobile market, the existing three mobile operators such as SK Telecom, KT and LG Telecom poured marketing expenses of around $8 bil into the market for 2009. It may be asked whether they can bear the attack of the other mobile operators in the saturated mobile market.
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Many Changes led by iPhone :: 2010/06/04 17:13
Since KT launched iPhone in November of 2009, the Korean mobile market has experienced a lot of changes. Above all, when I am on my way to work everyday, I am able to witness many people who are doing something with their iPhone. As well as the rapid increase of iPhone users, iPhone has made many changes in an interesting Asian market.
According to TrendMonitor (http://www.trendmonitor.co.kr), the Korean consumers' interest about smartphone is drastically increasing in 2010. At their same consumer research which was surveyed in April of 2009, 37% of 1,000 prospective consumers had intentions to buy smartphones, but about 68% responded that they have strong intentions to buy smartphone at this year's same research. This result shows a tremendous change of Korean mobile handset market. Although smartphone users have steadily increased in the global market, only early adopters have chose smartphones in the Korean market. Most of people have used feature phones and Korean mobile operators have also pushed feature phones to their market and customers. However, the iPhone opened the impregnable fortress against smartphone. Since the last November, around 0.7 mil Korean people chose iPhone. As well as iPhone, other smartphones also got good grades. For instance, KT's strong competitor, SK Telecom attracted around 0.6 mil new subscribers with Samsung Omnia 2. According to KT's research institute, there would be 4.9mil smartphone subscribers - about 10% of total mobile subscribers - in the late this year. Also, 20% of total subscribers will use smartphones in 2011 and 33% in 2012.
Until 2009, Nespot, KT's Wi-Fi hotspot service, was a nuisance of KT. Since 2002 when KT launched this service, Nespot has barely survived. For several years, KT had been maintaining around 0.3 to 0.4 mil subscribers. I think that this service might be under a severe deficit operation for the last several years. However, since KT released iPhone, they repositioned the Wi-Fi hotspot service as a complementary network of mobile networks such as WCDMA. They provided free Wi-Fi services to iPhone users and utilized the strategy as a marketing communication tool. Also, KT announced that they will invest more money to build up Wi-Fi zones from currently 16,000 spots to 30,000 spots. As a result, their competitor, SK Telecom decided to build about 10,000 Wi-Fi zones named T-Zone and open this network freely to all people, including their competitors' customers as well as their own customers. In near future, Korean people might be able to use free public Wi-Fi service everywhere.
1. The rise of smartphone
2. Good fight of foreign manufacturers' handsets
The rise of smartphone made another change in the Korean market. This is that foreign handset manufacturers began fighting well against strong Korean manufacturers such as Samsung and LG. Until 2009, the Korean mobile handset market was dominated by pure Korean players, including Samsung, LG and Pantech. Motorola was only one foreign manufacturer has survived in the Korean market. However, iPhone gave other foreign players wonderful opportunities to go into the Korean market. As KT attacks SK Telecom with their exclusive iPhone, SK Telecom selected a strategy that they target smartphone-friendly consumers with a lot of types of smartphone. According to SKT's announcement about their smartphone lineup from April through June, they will launch ten smartphones and six of them will be supplied by foreign manufacturers, including HTC, Motorola, Sony-Ericsson and RIM. This change makes the existing rulers such as Samsung and LG get be nervous about the situation. I believe that the new tension in this saturated market will become a new starting point of new innovation and development.
SK Telecom's prospective smartphone lineup
3. New spotlight on Wi-Fi
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LGE's Counterattack in Korean Mobile Handset Market. :: 2009/07/21 01:11
For several years, Samsung Electronics had governed the Korean mobile handset market. Samsung's mobile handset had been recognized as a unchangeable number one handset to most of Korean consumers.
However, I want to venture to say... "LGE's counterattack finally begins."
Still, quantitative statistics regarding the Korean mobile handset market shows that Samsung's mobile handsets is governing the Korean market through maintaining around 50 % market share. However, I am feeling that many young people just started to be attracted by LGE's innovative handset design. Recently, LGE launched several popular mobile handsets such as lollipop, cookie phone and arena phone. Many young people are enthusiastic on the innovative designs and user interfaces. On the other hand, Samsung maintain their classical designs.
I believe that LGE will overcome the old barrier of Samsung withing several years in the Korean mobile handset markets. Because I believe young people's enthusiasm on LGE's innovative handsets will spread out continusously.
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WiBro (Mobile WiMax) as an official IMT-2000 Interface :: 2007/10/19 13:58
Today, The ITU Radio Assembly approved WiBro (Mobile WiMax) as an official IMT-2000 Interface. WiBro became a sixth radio interface of IMT-2000 which has W-CDMA, CDMA2000, TD-SCDMA, EDGE and DECT.
Korea is one of leading countries for WiBro (Mobile WiMax). KT already launched the WiBro service early this year and got about 60,000 users until last September. In addition, SK Telecom must invest a lot to WiBro under aggrement with MIC (Ministry of Information and Communication). In addition, there are many WiBro equipment manufacturers including Samsung Electronics, Posdata. Korean government and companies expect that WiBro would be extended to global markets.
However, there are some barriers that disturb WiBro to be pomoted to usual people. One of barriers is the prohibition of voice calling function on WiBro devices. Korean government granted WiBro license to KT and SK Telecom whth conditions attached that WiBro should be used for only data service, not voice service.
I am wondering whether Korean government will change the existing rule that WiBro should be used for only data service. WiBro as a standard of IMT-2000 can be used for data & voice service.
This issue might cause great impact on korean communication market. What is the final conclusion??
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