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Competition is heating up among providers of high-speed downlink packet access (HSDPA), a 3.5-generation (3.5G) mobile communications service that enables video conversations and high-speed wireless Internet. KTF first offered the service nationwide on March 1, and SK Telecom is getting into the game by extending its 3.5G service across the country from Thursday.
¡ß Competition good for customers
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SK Telecom is about to roll out its nationwide 3G service which it calls 3G+.
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SK Telecom, Korea's biggest wireless operator, is taking its 3.5G service nationwide two months earlier than it originally planned in an attempt to head off KTF and offer a competing service to meet growing demand. The competition is good for consumers. KTF cut the fee of its wireless Internet service in half with the start of its 3.5G service. SK Telecom responded by offering lower prices, charging W30 (US$1=W939) per 10 seconds for video, which is about 15 percent cheaper than the W36 per 10 seconds that KTF charges. The cost of sending multi-media messages, which combine text, pictures, and/or videos, will be reduced from W50 to W30.
¡ß Marketing clash already started
While KTF released three 3.5G cellphone models in early March, SK Telecom doesn't have a 3.5G phone ready yet. SK Telecom will offer wireless Internet service with an HSDPA modem for computers while it works on preparing a HSDPA phone for release in May.
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KTF calls its 3G mobile service SHOW and its marketing emphasizes that they are the first with nationwide coverage./Provided by KTF
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Meanwhile, a vicious marketing war has already begun. SK Telecom fired the first salvo with a commercial in February that featured the tagline "No show to show others." That's a direct shot at KTF's 3.5G service which is called SHOW. KTF responded with a commercial that shows a map of Korea entwined in a spider's web. The obvious meaning is that KTF's 3.5G network, completed before SK Telecom's, covers the whole nation and eliminates any areas that had spotty cellphone coverage. But there's a hidden meaning: the web also suggests that KTF will devour SK, whose "Wings of Happiness" logo resembles a butterfly. An industry insider said, "A scene where a butterfly was caught in the web was included in the original version of the ad, but finally it was cut after indications that the idea was too severe."
¡ß No more fibbing about where you are
The new service could change the way many people live. While video conversations sound convenient, there are many people who aren't looking forward to it. It could be embarrassing to have a video conversation when you don't want the other party to know where you are. KTF provides an option that allows you to use a saved background image instead of the actual scene, and SK Telecom plans to offer a similar service in the third quarter, but it's impossible to totally cover your tracks. That means you can either not answer the phone or turn off the video service.
The real merit of 3.5G service is high-speed wireless Internet. Once the service improves, you'll be able to watch high-definition TV on your cellphone. Because it uses wireless Internet instead of broadcast frequencies, you'll enjoy clearer pictures and more options than the current DMB service.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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