Ministry sees no drop in cell phone charges

The Ministry of Information and Communication has decided to defy the rising pressure from civic groups, lawmakers and consumers for lower cell phone bills. The ministry said in a written report to the National Assembly obtained by the JoongAng Ilbo that it will not press SK Telecom, KTF and LG Telecom, the nation’s three largest cell phone system operators, to cut their monthly basic fees. The ministry said the carriers require at least their current levels of revenue to finance next-generation mobile telecommunications systems and security improvements. The ministry also said it has decided to keep its ban on subsidized pricing of cellular handsets by carriers basically intact for the next two years. The ministry imposed the ban in March 2003 to tame what it called “excessive competition” for subscribers. It said, however, that at least some subsidies would be allowed if customers of more than two years wanted to change handsets. The ministry also said it would force cell phone users to give up their current mobile telephone numbers if they want to subscribe to next-generation cellular phone services next year. In a bid to stimulate competition among carriers, the ministry had decreed that customers must be allowed to keep their existing cell phone numbers if they changed carriers. Now the ministry wants all subscribers to the new services to switch to a cell phone number with the prefix 010, the same prefix used on all new accounts at all carriers. SK Telecom strongly opposed that idea, concerned that customers will forego the new services rather than lose their phone number. by Jang Ha-won