South Korea’s KT Corp, with 12 million subscribers in South Korea, plans to sell Apple’s iPhone in South Korea.
KT, the country’s No. 2 mobile carrier, outlined details of its mobile application store which is slated to launch in November. SK Telecom opened their version of Apple’s App Store early this month.
Up until now, it has been the policy of the Korea Communications Commission to protect the country’s cellphone manufacturers, like Samsung and LG, by limiting competition in South Korea, says MocoNews. Korean mobile operators compete in the saturated home market, where 97 percent of the population has a mobile phone.
KT, South Korea’s top fixed-line operator and the country’s No.2 mobile carrier, is revamping its service to enable mobile calls and data services on cheaper WiFi and WiMAX networks. KT plans to provide an Integrated IT Hub with a ’3W-based Personal Hub’ including WCDMA, WiBro, and WiFi.
KT also plans to introduce 3G smartphones supporting a triple play with W-CDMA (UMTS), WiFi and mobile WiMAX from Samsung (right), its chief strategy officer told Reuters.
The Samsung Prism will be a triple threat, operating on WCDMA, Wi-Fi and WiMAX networks. The LG Lilac supports Wi-Fi and WCDMA. Both are expected to be available in late November. KT also said that an Android phone would be available on its network next year.
Orange will sell the iPhone 3G and 3GS in the UK. The iPhone’s Orange UK debut comes later this year. Orange—which claims to have the largest 3G network in the UK—will sell the phone through its stores, Web site, telesales channels, and select partners.
O2 previously had a two-year exclusive U.K. deal with Apple. Vodafone will also bring the iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS to the UK and Ireland in early 2010.
Meanwhile, China Unicom said on Monday that it will offer Apple’s iPhone 3G this October. The iPhone 3G will go on sale this October in China for around 5,000 yuan (US$733). The Chinese launch of the iPhone 3G closely tracks the commercial launch of China Unicom’s 3G service, which is based on UMTS.
SK Telecom, the largest mobile carrier in South Korea, with a 50% share of the market, said on Monday that it was selling back its $1.3 billion stake in China Unicom as prospects darkened for its own Chinese business ambition.
China Mobile – the world’s largest operator by subscribers – will begin large-scale outdoor TD-LTE trials next year, according to Marbridge Consulting. China Mobile will deploy 15 TD-LTE base stations at next year’s Shanghai 2010 World Expo. China Mobile plans to eventually launch TD-LTE networks on a commercial, nationwide scale. TD-LTE operates in unpaired spectrum and uses the TDD version of LTE.
The Chinese government awarded 3G licenses for TD-SCDMA, WCDMA, and CDMA 2000 to China Mobile, China Unicom, and China Telecom, respectively, effectively bringing China into the 3G era. China’s LTE subscribers will number no more than 500,000 by 2013, with 80% of those China Mobile subscribers, estimates Research and Markets.
