China Mobile is one of the world’s largest mobile operators that provides GSM900/1800 MHz mobile service to its 59 million subscribers, holding 80% of China’s mobile market.
SK Telecom considers the agreement the first tangible result in the telecom area since last week’s ASEM conference and expects it to lead to continuous cooperative relations with China.
Furthermore, following the international roaming service agreement with Japan’s largest mobile operator NTT DoCoMo on August 10, the agreement for international roaming service with China’s largest mobile carrier China Mobile is expected to solidify the status quo that the three countries Korea, China and Japan dominate the northeast Asian mobile market, and have a strong impact on the future effort to build cooperative relationships for the next generation mobile service.
President of SK Telecom Jung Nam Cho said, If the three carriers, the largest in their respective market, can join their forces, together we will have a stronger presence in the international market and have our voices heard. We intend to continue to expand our cooperation in the future.
SK Telecom expects that the rent-a-phone international roaming contract with China Mobile will facilitate the personnel and technological exchanges between the two companies for mutual benefits and help strengthen cooperation for roaming services for the so-called 3G mobile services.
The company says that the agreement has further significance as it opens up a new opportunity for the local handset producers as the roaming service under the contract will use Samsung’s GSM handset SGH_2200 and SK Teletech’s IM-2000 English language handsets.
The company also says, Thanks to the rent-a-phone international roaming agreement between Korea and China, approximately 1.3 million business people and travelers both in Korea and China will be able to enjoy convenient high-quality services every year.
In order to use the new international roaming service, Speed 011 users must sign up for the service at the SK Telecom Roaming Center and pick up the handset at the Airport Roaming Center on the day of departure.
The signup fee is 20,000 won and the rental fee is 2,000 won per day. The phone rate is 2.4 yuan per minute in China and 15.6 yuan for international call from China to Korea. The charges will be added to the monthly phone bill.
