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A fingernail-sized chip that stores subscriber information is set to change South Korea's mobile phone culture, allowing people to choose which handset they want to use according to their outfit and occasion. In addition, roaming fees in China are expected to be cut by up to 70 percent starting next month.
Korea's second-largest mobile carrier said Thursday that it will lift the "lock-in" function on its universal subscriber identity module (USIM) cards starting next month.
The announcement was made by KTF president Cho Young-chu during a ceremony marking the one-year anniversary of the company's Show third-generation mobile service.
Market leader SK Telecom also plans to lift the lock-in function for its T Live third-generation service starting March 27.
Subscribers to 3G services are currently not allowed to use their USIM card, which stores their subscriber information, in different handsets. That means if a subscriber wants to change mobile phones, he has to go through an authentication and opening process all over again. But starting from March customers will be able to switch from one handset to another just by swapping the USIM card into the new phone.
Customers who buy new handsets will also be spared the trouble of entering phone numbers again as their phone book is stored in their USIM. They can also use mobile payment services as well, by including a credit card function in the chip. All this means that people with more than one handset can choose which they want to use to match their clothes or occasion.
The sharing of USIM cards, however, will be limited in the early stage to handsets linked to the same service provider. Those who want to share their card among phones linked to different carriers will have to wait until the second half of this year.
LG Telecom, which uses code division multiple access (CDMA) technology, is not going to join the move. Both SK and KTF use wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA).
In addition, KTF plans to cut its roaming fees in China by up to 70 percent. Under the plan, KTF executive vice president Kim Ki-chul said Show subscribers who make local calls in China will be charged at local rates starting next month.
For this, KTF will make available to its roaming subscribers a pool of 10,000 Chinese phone numbers through a partnership with China's top operator China Mobile. The service will be rolled out in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangdong Province before it is expanded to other regions.
KTF also plans to cut its roaming fees in Japan by forming an alliance with NTT DoCoMo, Japan's largest cell phone company, which holds a 10 percent stake in the Korean operator.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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