Korea to Combine Fixed & Mobile Services
KT Corp., the country’s largest fixed-line and broadband carrier, has been granted a license for its “One-Phone” services, allowing customers to use both fixed-line and mobile phones with one device, the Information and Communication Ministry said yesterday. Inbound fixed-line phone calls will transit automatically to the mobile handset when the user is inside the house or office.
“We have allowed KT to push the One-Phone service on condition that the company charges phone rates separately for the fixed-line and mobile services instead of offering discounts and that it open its networks to other mobile service providers for similar bundling packages,” said Seok Je-bum, director of the ministry’s telecommunication competition bureau.
Seok said the company would be prevented from providing subsidies for its access-point dardware devices and mobile handsets. The One-Phone terminal, currently in development by Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. and expected to be introduced next week, is expected to fetch around 500,000 won. KT officials said the access-point hardware device will cost around 100,000 won. The government will also ban KT from bundling One-Phone services with its fixed-line network and broadband services.
“We expected the One-Phone services to open a new chapter in convergence technology with the potential to link fixed-line telephony with mobile networks and high-speed Internet,” said Seok.