South Korea saw broadband LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) network services, three times faster than LTE networks in data transmission, expanding nationwide on July 1. South Korea’s top three mobile operators, SK Telecom (SKT), KT and LGU+, have rushed into a heated marketing battle, expanding the coverage of their broadband LTE-A network services nationwide.
Now, users of LTE services can enjoy broadband LTE-A network services, three times faster than LTE networks in data transmission, without having to pay any extra fees. Broadband LTE-A network services will complete downloading a 1GB movie file, which would take 1 minute and 50 seconds on LTE networks, just in 37 seconds at its maximum speed. The top three mobile carriers have rolled up their sleeves to lure in customers with their specialized services: SK has gone for ultra high-definition services, KT educational contents and LGU+ movie” services. With the fierce marketing competition escalating, eyes are on who will have the last laugh in the broadband LTE market. Against this backdrop, the characteristics of the three operators’ broadband LTE-A services and their LTE-A strategies seem to merit our attention.
The nation is in the midst of a full-blown broadband LTE-A battle in July. The domestic mobile communications market is in for a war. The top three mobile carriers have competitively launched broadband LTE-A services nationwide. Broadband LTE-A services are three times faster than LTE services and 15 times faster than 3G services. Broadband LTE-A, a major enhancement of the LTE standard, takes advantage of CA (Carrier Aggregation) technology to combine a 20㎒ bandwidth in the 1.8㎓ band with a 10㎒ bandwidth in the 800㎒ band.
Users of broadband LTE-A services will experience a dramatic reduction in wait times when they download high-volume, high-definition video files. As of now, the Samsung Galaxy S5 Broadband LTE-A is the only smartphone supporting broadband LTE-A services.
Since broadband LTE services are offered by aggregating the existing LTE frequency bandwidths with adjacent bandwidths, mobile carriers do not have difficulty offering Broadband LTE-A services. In other words, there is no need for the replacement of base stations or the building of new base stations. Also, existing smartphone users can receive broadband LTE services without much hassle. However, as LTE-A and broadband LTE-A use different frequency bandwidths (20MHz and 10MHz, respectively), additional base stations should be built.
SKT has become the first to provide broadband LTE-A services in the world. After securing the supply of the Galaxy S5 Broadband LTE-A from Samsung Electronics, SKT kicked off the world’s first broadband LTE-A services in Seoul, the Seoul metropolitan area and large cities, thereby ushering in a broadband LTE-A era. SKT outpaced 300 global operators of commercial LTE services worldwide in the commercial provision of broadband LTE-A services, SKT explained.
S. Korea emerges as an LTE powerhouse.
Since the very first rollout of LTE services in 2011, the nation has raised its international profile as an ICT powerhouse by notching up so many world firsts, including the world’ first LTE-A commercialization in June of 2013.
SKT, which marks the 30th anniversary of its inception this year, introduced mobile communications services to the nation with first-generation analog mobile phones in 1984. After that, SKT pulled off the popularization of mobile phone services in the nation through its world-first CDMA (2G) commercialization in 1996. In 2006, SKT rolled out HSDPA (3G)-based mobile phones, kicking wireless data communications services into high gear.
Above all, following the launch of LTE services in 2011, SKT became the first to commercialize LTE-A services in the world in 2013. The global wireless communications sector started to pay a tribute to SK Telecom’s frontier spirit; SKT has won Outstanding LTE Contribution Award at the annual Global Mobile Awards (the industry’s biggest and the most prestigious award),held at the GSMA Mobile World Congress, for two consecutive years and has received the Best Mobile Carrier award at the Telecom Asia Awards for three straight years. In June of last year, SKT was honored witha prestigious award for Most Significant Development of a Commercial LTE Network – Operator at the LTE World Summit 2013, held in Amsterdam. The LTE World Summit is the world’s largest LTE conference.
SKT provides its subscribers on LTE payment plans with its broadband LTE-A services at no extra charge. As SKT subscribers do not need to pay more for its broadband LTE-A services, SKT expects that the data communications-based market for various convergence services would expand to a great degree.
SKT also came out with a variety of SKT-only services that would juice up its broadband LTE-A service. SKT’s special services include “Angles” and “Cloud Game.” Angles is a social multimedia service, which allows high-definition video files, filmed from different angles by up to four users, to be automatically edited into a single file in the cloud and then to be viewed and shared on smartphones.Cloud Game, a cloud-based streaming game platform, allows smartphone users to have access to the cloud server and play the game in real time without having to download and install the game file individually. Broadband LTE-A networks, three times faster than LTE networks, enable smoother streaming of ultra-high-definition, high-volume, multi-player games, SK Telecom explained.
KT has begun its broadband LTE-A service in all of the nation’s 85 cities and major towns and villages. Before the launch of broadband LTE-A services, KT started taking pre-orders for the Samsung Galaxy S5 Broadband LTE-A Special Edition on June 19-27.
The Samsung Galaxy S5 Broadband LTE-A Special Edition comes with a Samsung special back cover, as well as a basic battery cover. The first 10,000 orderers were offered a discount coupon for buying the Samsung Gear Fit, Samsung Electronics’ latest wearable device, at KRW 9,900.
KT is to launch content data packs, related to education and entertainment, with a view to offering its broadband LTE-A subscribers a wider range of contents. Since such data packs are monthly payment plans, in which educational contents for middle and high school students and popular mobile games are available along with limitless data services, subscribers to the new data packs will indulge in a variety of contents without having to worry about data limits.
Introducing broadband LTE-A services, LGU+, the third largest mobile operator in S. Korea, has announced that it will spearhead video LTE services. In addition to offering broadband LTE-A services, LGU+ has successfully upstaged its rivals by unveiling the “3 Band CA (Carrier Aggregation),” a technology enabling a maximum download speed of 300Mbps (four times faster than LTE) and “UpLink CA,” which enable a maximum upload speed of 100Mbps, therefore taking the lead in the competition for next-generation LTE network technology.
With the nationwide launch of its broadband LTE-A services, LGU+ took the wraps off its video-related LTE services, including Uplix Movie, Uplus HDTV New and Uplus tvG. Uplix Movie is a video-on-demand service offering limitless access to 12,000 titles, the largest yet offered in the nation. Uplus HDTV New allows users torewind live TV contents up to two hours back to playback scenes they missed; and Uplus tvG lets users to record videos and simultaneously share the contents with their families and friends via broadband LTE-A networks.
LGU+ also revealed the “LTE8 Limitless 89.9” payment plan, which offers contents as an add-on to its new mobile service plans, which were launched in April this year to provide unlimited voice calls, text messaging and LTE data services. The “LTE8 Limitless 89.9” payment plan charges a subscriber a monthly fee of KRW 89,900 for unlimited voice calls, text messaging, LTE data services and LGU+’s content services (e.g. Uplix Movie, Uplus HDTV New and U+ Pro Baseball), LGU+ says.
Competition among smartphones supporting broadband LTE-A services is expected to heat up. Following Samsung Electronics’ launch of the Galaxy S5 LTE-A, the first smartphone supporting broadband LTE-A services, seven or eight new smartphones are to hit the stores: LG Electronics will release the LG G3 broadband LTE-A in the second half of this year and Pantech will launch a new model of its Pantech Vega series.
SKT offers SKT-only services, such as “Angles” and “Cloud Game.”
The “Subway Free” payment plan (a monthly fee of KRW 9,000) is also available.
SKT’s broadband LTE-A services came with SKT-only special services – for instance, Angles (a social media service in which high-definition video files, filmed from many different angles by up to four users, can be automatically edited into a single file in the cloud and then be viewed and shared on smartphones).
Angles won the top prize at the Service Idea Contest for LTE-Advanced, hosted by SKT last year. SKT awarded the first-place winner with a cash prize of KRW 20 million and developed the ideas into an actual service and timed the launch of this service to coincide with the launch of its broadband LTE-A services.
Another special service offered by SKT is Cloud Game, a cloud-based streaming game platform, which allows smartphone users to access the cloud server and play the game in real time without the need for downloading and installing the game file individually. Broadband LTE-A networks, three times faster than LTE, enable smoother streaming of ultra-high-definition, high-volume, multi-player games, SK Telecom explained.
SKT has also scaled up its video contents in tandem with the launch of its broadband LTE-A services. At the end of May, SKT and SK Broadband Btv (an IPTV service provided by SK Broadband,one of the largest providers of Broadband Internet access in S. Korea) began UHD services for mobile phones for the first time in the world. Btv Mobile opened the “UHD Special Offerings” section separately to offer UHD VoD contents. UHD video contents are four times more vivid than full-HD videos.
SKT predicted that the launch of its new services would give rise to a new wave of smartphone-, appcessory-based broadband LTE-A services, offered by various service providers.
Broadband LTE-A networks’ capability for high-speed and high-volume data transmission would galvanize ultra-high-definition video, cloud and multi-networking services; and varied industries, such as healthcare and education, will come up with new convergence services, which are expected to create new values.
Also, SKT has launched the “Subway Free” payment plan, which charges users a monthly fee of KRW 9,000 for limitless data services only in subways and subway stations in Seoul and in the Seoul Metropolitan Area. This is the first location-based payment plan in the nation. Of course, there is a caveat. When the amount of daily data use exceeds 2GB, the speed of data services will be reduced to 400Kbps. In addition, SKT is planning to launch the “Cloud Game Pack” payment plan, specifically designed for “Cloud Game, at an earlier date”
KT charges ahead with its giga services.
KT is scheduled to launch education content data packs.
On July 1, KT also went nationwide with its broadband LTE-A services, which cover 84 cities, towns and villages. KT plans to launch a full-scale high-volume data services in celebration of the launch of its broadband LTE-A services. KT will launch content data packs, related to education and entertainment, to help users of its broadband LTE-A services take full advantage of broadband LTE-A’s faster data transmission in using diverse contents.
KT, which is offering wider Wi-Fi coverage than any other operator in the nation, looks to head up the so-called Gigatopia (a mobile environment connected through superfast gigabit technology) by offering the most convenient broadband-LTE-A services and giga Wi-Fi services, which live up to growing demand for faster, high-volume data services.
For the first time in the nation, KT has been setting up “Olleh GiGA WiFi” services, more than three times faster than Wi-Fi services, in popular chain stores nationwide, such as Starbucks, CGV, VIPS, Outback Steakhouse, Kyobo Bookstore and Mister Pizza. Olleh GiGA WiFi services can serve 512 users (15 times more than Wi-Fi can handle) simultaneously, so more users can use high-volume data services in a faster manner.
“KT is drawing up monthly payment plans, designed to offer educational contents for middle and high school students and popular mobile games together with limitless data services. KT subscribers will enjoy limitless access to a wide range of diverse contents,” a KT official said.
LGU+ leads the pack in LTE video services
LGU+ offers limitless access to 12,000 film and TV drama titles.
Declaring the opening of a video LTE era, LGU+ rolled out a slew of new video-related services before the launch of its broadband LTE-A services.
“Though SKT underlined that its broadband LTE-A services are faster, the important thing is what you are going to offer at such higher speeds. Our fundamental belief is that furnishing customers with greater value is all important. In that sense, we have launched LTE video services in consideration of customer preferences,” said Kang Shin-koo, Head of LGU+’s marketing team.
In a situation where mobile carriers are jostling for a bigger share of the broadband LTE-A service market, LGU+ has sought to differentiate itself from its rivals by dangling various video LTE services, backed by its network competitiveness.
LGU+ is poised to take the initiative in the broadband LTE-A service market by presenting its video-related special services, such as Uflix Movie, U+HDTV NEW, U+Navi Real and U+tvG.
Uflix Movie, the nation’s equivalent of Netflix,is a video-on-demand service offering limitless access to 12,000 titles (including movies, American TV dramas, etc.), the largest in the nation. The number of titles offered by Uflix Movie is scheduled to swell to 13,000 within this year.
LGU+ has celebrated its launch of broadband LTE-A services with the rollout of additional special services, including the LTE8 Damoa Video (KRW 9,000) and the LTE8 Video Pack (KRW 9,000). Since separately using additional services (e.g. Uflix Movie, U+HDTV NEW, Pro Baseball, U+Box and games) will charge subscribers KRW 22,300-33,000 monthly, joining the LTE8 Damoa Video or the LTE8 Video Pack will save users 60%~73% on their mobile bills.
LGU+ predicts that the advent of broadband LTE-A services would lead to a world where videos replace everything. With the launch of video-related special LTE services, LGU+ is set to move beyond simply upgrading its network technology and to entrench itself as the LTE leader by winning the hearts and minds of customers via customized, differentiated services.
