Despite a series of hacks at telecom operators, the mobile communications market in Oct. remained quiet with no major changes.
According to the Korea Telecommunications Operators Association (KTOA) on the 3rd, the number of mobile number portability cases in Oct. came to 600,066, down 6.8% (43,809 people) from Sept.'s 643,875.
KT, which recently suffered unauthorized small-amount charges, saw subscribers fall by 6,523. LG Uplus, which belatedly reported hacking signs, turned to a net decline of 199. Compared with more than 950,000 people who switched carriers after SK Telecom implemented a full waiver of early termination fees for all subscribers following the hacking incident in Apr., the change is minimal.
SK Telecom was the only one among the three telecom operators to increase subscribers. The net increase in Oct. was 4,389. However, the net increase was cut to about half compared with the previous month (13,224). SK Telecom was said to have moved to defend market share by more than doubling subsidies for mid- to low-priced devices.
Last month's number portability share by operator was tallied at 18.8% for SK Telecom, 17.6% for KT, 18.1% for LG Uplus, and 45.5% for budget phones. Budget phones, which had a net decline of nearly 15,000 in Sept., saw 68,271 people flow in last month for a net increase of 2,333.