SK Telecom revamps pricing strategy

South Korean operator SK Telecom has introduced new data-share plans for LTE and 3G users. In addition, it has lowered monthly prices for existing data-share plan users, and customers on LTE sharing plans can now also add one data-only device, such as a tablet, to their plan free of charge.

The new “T&T Sharing” plans offer an unlimited volume of voice calls to other SKT subscribers, as well as unlimited texting to friends on any network in the country. The plans are offered in seven different price tiers.

SK Telecom said that the plans were created to avoid it having to pay heavy mobile handset subsidies.

The operator said it has 50 per cent of South Korea’s market share and over 50 per cent of the total number of calls made in 2012 were intra-network calls. It hopes that by revamping the plans, customers will pay less each month for services, which in turn, will strengthen customer retention. The measures were taken in an effort to lead the market to stabilisation, SK Telecom said.

“SK Telecom will continue to develop and launch innovative smartphone price plans to move away from the fierce competition focused solely on heavy mobile subsidies,” said Park In-sik, president of SKT’s network operations business.

“Going forward, SK Telecom aims to create a new trend in the Korean market through customer-centred price plans and value-added services that can truly benefit users.”