SK Telekom launched its first LTE smartphone, and said it plans to offer a total seven LTE phones and one tablet yet this year. The South Korean operator first launched LTE services in July with two modems available and is now expanding the service with new devices and price plans. The first LTE handset available is a new version of the Samsung Galaxy S II, which features a 4.5-inch WVGA display, 1.5 GHz dual core CPU, Super Amoled Plus screen and 1,850mAh battery. Another HTC smartphone will be available this month; three smartphones made by Samsung, LG and Pantech, as well as an 8.9-inch LTE tablet computer developed by Samsung will launch in October; one Samsung smartphone will be released in November; and one Pantech smartphone is planned for December. In addition, the company will offer a multimedia docking system to the first 50,000 Galaxy S Ⅱ LTE subscribers and a KRW 100,000 discount for owners of the Galaxy SⅡ LTE on the purchase of a LTE tablet computer.
The devices come with SK Telecom's new LTE services including HD multimedia service and video calls, multiplayer networking games and the SNS-based navigation service for pedestrians. Video calls will be a core part of the offer, with their speed enhanced from 64Kbps over 3G to over 500Kbps on LTE. Multiplayer networking games will include 'Dungeon Defenders' for Android handsets, available free with the Galaxy S II, and another ten new games launched this year. Customers will also have access to the T Cloud for mass data storage, allowing them to share and view content across their PC, mobile phone and the social network Cyworld.
SK is offering seven new price plans with a combination of voice, SMS and LTE data as well as four LTE data price plans that can be added to standard voice plans. Amid pressure from the regulator to keep prices moderate, the operator is offering a 50 percent discount on the plans until December and making video calls the same price as voice calls until February 2012. In addition customers who take a LTE plan priced at KRW 62,000 or higher before the end of December will be able to use the LTE Additional Data Flat Rate Plan for free until February 2012. While the data plans are volume-based, the operator said customers will be able to continue to use data services after using up their allowance, with extra use charged according to 3G prices or by adding the LTE Additional Data Flat Rate Plan for KRW 9,000 per month.
SK Telecom also announced that it's accelerating plans to increase the LTE bandwidth from 5MHz (one-way) to 10MHz, implementing the change from 1 October rather than end-2011. From the end of this year, it will start deploying the network in its recently acquired 1800MHz band spectrum and offer 1800MHz band equipment from early 2012. SK Telecom is also deploying its LTE network on the Seoul Metropolitan Subway system from the start of October and said it will gradually expand coverage to subway lines in Inchoen and Kyeonggi-do as well.
The company projects that its LTE service will attract around 500,000 users by the end of this year, 5 million users by 2012, 11 million users by 2013, and around 15 million users by 2014. SK plans to roll out LTE to 28 cities by January 2012 and secure national coverage based on 82 cities by 2013.
