Skip to main content

South Korean Mobile Operators Leading VAS

With one of the most advanced wireless services and device markets in the world, the South Korean handset market is among the world's sophisticated pioneers of Value-Added Services (VAS) marketing, according to an In-Stat assessment.

All three mobile operators -- SK Telecom, Korea Telecom Freetel (KTF) and LG Telecom -- have adopted CDMA technology and have migrated to a high speed CDMA200-1X EV-DO network, the high-tech market research firm says.

"Comprehensive value-added services, including mobile banking, mobile finance transactions, mobile wallet, multimedia and location-based services, have all been introduced and are well accepted among Korean mobile users," says Jill Meyers, In-Stat analyst.

"While Korean phone makers are gaining traction in overseas markets, international handset brands are having success entering the Korean market."

I believe that much of the Asia-Pacific region continues to lead the rest of the world in advanced applications of mobile phone devices. Numerous market research studies have substantiated this belief. The ongoing leadership appears to be rooted in superior market development expertise, not technology per se.

The lesson learned: the VAS market opportunity cannot develop with strategies based upon the notion of managed scarcity of high-priced offerings. While this approach may work well for Gucci, it is essentially a "plan to fail" for mainstream mobile phone operators.

Recent research by In-Stat found the following:

- 350 phone models available in South Korea have music-playing functionality, while 159 models enable users to perform bank transactions and make payments with their phone.

- In 2006, more than 16 million mobile phones were sold in South Korea.

- Samsung was the market leader in 2006, with about 50 percent market share, followed by LG and Pantech.

Popular posts from this blog

How AI is Reshaping Business Communication

The typical customer engagement model is undergoing a dramatic transformation, driven by the convergence of Conversational AI, Generative AI  (GenAI), and an emerging technology called Agentic AI. As business leaders seek to automate and enhance their customer interactions, these technologies are creating new possibilities for more natural, contextual, and efficient communication at scale. The numbers tell a compelling story. According to Juniper Research's latest analysis, the conversational AI market is poised for substantial growth. Revenue is projected to surge from $14.6 billion in 2025 to over $23 billion by 2027. Artificial Intelligence Market Development The vendors in this industry are expected to generate a remarkable $57 billion globally over the next three years. This growth reflects the increasing enterprise adoption of AI-powered communication solutions across various sectors. What's particularly interesting is the regional distribution of this market. The Far Ea...