Aimed at customers who buy devices directly from manufacturers without going through a carrier—so-called "self-sufficient phones"—SK Telecom's second telecom brand Air has reached about 100 days since launch, but subscriber growth appears to be slowing. Starting on the 19th, SK Telecom began an ad touting a "felt price of 100 won" for its 100GB monthly plan (47,000 won per month) as it seeks a turnaround.
According to data compiled by Mobile Index on the 20th, in the roughly 100 days since the Air app launched on Oct. 13 last year, the app was installed about 110,000 times in total. That is about 1,100 per day on average. Compared with day 30 after launch (about 60,000 installs and roughly 2,000 per day), the average daily installs fell by about 45%. Because Air limits sign-ups to the app only, installs serve as a gauge of subscriber scale.
By the numbers, the "boom" the industry expected has not materialized. Some had said it could be a "game changer" that would shake up the budget mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) market focused on self-sufficient phone customers, but the early momentum failed to carry. Against this backdrop, on the 19th SK Telecom marked the Air app's 100th day by ramping up marketing and putting front and center an offer for new subscribers to use the 100GB monthly plan (47,000 won per month) at a "felt price of 100 won" for the first month. With subscriber growth slowing, it is aiming for a reversal through a promotion.
SK Telecom has previously boosted Air app installs with a similar strategy. In November last year, it ran ads saying users could get the 7GB monthly plan (27,000 won) for a "felt price of 500 won," and as a result, Air app installs totaled 46,721 for the month. Some in the industry, however, say the latest "felt price of 100 won" ad is exaggerated. SK Telecom says it gives new subscribers 46,900 points in the first month so they can use the 47,000-won 100GB plan for 100 won, but the points that can actually be applied to bill payment are capped at 5,000. In effect, customers must pay 42,000 won in cash, and the remaining points (41,900 points) can only be used to purchase products in the SK Telecom Air shopping mall. One point converts to 1 won. A telecom industry official said, "Capping the point discount on the bill at 5,000 won per month is unlikely to help increase subscribers."
In the industry, many point to defending average revenue per user (ARPU) as the reason SK Telecom offers points while limiting the bill discount. Another telecom industry official said, "If points are heavily used for bill discounts, ARPU will drop and it could hit revenue, so they appear to be steering users toward paying in the product mall." According to SK Telecom, points accumulated by customers over the past 100 days have surpassed 1 billion points. On a simple conversion, that means more than 1 billion won in marketing expenses were spent.
Meanwhile, some think the situation could turn around when Samsung Electronics releases the Galaxy S26 in March. A telecom official said, "Because Air launched during the year-end and New Year off-season with no new smartphone releases, the subscriber growth rate did not pick up," adding, "It will be worth closely watching Air subscriber trends through self-sufficient phone purchases after March, when the Galaxy S26 launches in Korea."