Vodafone K.K. to Offer 3G W-CDMA Roaming in South Korea
Vodafone K.K. announced today that starting 7 June 2005 it will offer roaming services on SK Telecom Co., Ltd.’s W-CDMA network for its 3G customers, making it possible for them to use in South Korea the handsets that they normally use at home. The agreement marks the first time for an operator in Japan to offer roaming in South Korea on a W-CDMA network. Vodafone K.K.’s Global Roaming Service lets customers use Vodafone K.K. 3G handsets in countries and regions abroad in addition to Japan. Previously, customers traveling to South Korea had to rent dedicated CDMA handsets to roam on local CDMA networks. With the opening of W-CDMA networks in South Korea, however, it is now possible for customers using Vodafone K.K. 3G handsets to take their handsets for use in South Korea, a top-ranking travel destination for Japan residents with over 2.4 million travelers visiting in 2004.
With this new W-CDMA roaming agreement in South Korea, Vodafone K.K. 3G customers will be able to enjoy voice roaming services in 117 countries and regions, and Vodafone live! services in 53 of them as of 7 June 2005. In fiscal 2004, customer usage Vodafone K.K.?fs Global Roaming Service was an approximate 850,000 times, more than double the number of the previous year, which was an approximate 390,000 times in fiscal 2003. Vodafone K.K. will continue to expand its roaming network overseas to offer richer global communications to customers.
*1 Vodafone 902/802/702 series handsets, excluding the 802N. Service area in South Korea is limited to within Seoul.
*2 As of 30 May 2005, according to Vodafone K.K.
*3 According to 2004 data from the Japan National Tourist Organization (JNTO).
South Korea W-CDMA roaming service schedule and tariffs
Service Launch date Tariff
Within roaming country 25 yen/minute
To Japan 125 yen/minute
To other country 265 yen/minute
Voice calls
Receiving call 70 yen/minute
Outroaming (Vodafone K.K. customer usage in South Korea)
Short message service (SMS) 100 yen/message, free to receive
Voice calls Inroaming (SK Telecom customer usage of Vodafone K.K. W-CDMA network area)
Short message service (SMS) 7 June (rates set separately by SK Telecom)
*Vodafone live! and packet communications (mobile data communications) services are scheduled to begin in late June.
Vodafone K.K. is a leading mobile operator in Japan with over 15 million customers and a subsidiary of Vodafone Group Plc, the world?fs largest mobile community. The Tokyo-based company offers a wide range of sophisticated mobile voice and data services including Vodafone live!, which provides mail and internet access to 85% of its customers, and pioneered the picture messaging service called Sha-mail first introduced in November 2000. In December 2002, Vodafone K.K. launched the world?fs first commercial 3G W-CDMA service based on 3GPP international standards. Vodafone K.K.?fs 3G service offers its customers rich content and roaming on 156 networks in 117 countries and regions. For more information, please visit www.vodafone.jp
*Above data is current as of 30 April 2005.
For further information, please contact:
Miyuki Yamanouchi
Vodafone K.K. Public Relations
Tel: 03-6403-1000 (+81-3-6403-1000)
Email: miyuki.yamanouchi@vodafone.com