Korea's ICT ministry said Wednesday it has decided to put off a project to launch another mobile carrier in the country, after its previous attempts made no headway due to lack of financially qualified bidders.
Since October 2010, the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Panning has opened bidding seven times with the aim of setting up a new mobile carrier. At present, the market is dominated by three players: SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus.
The government's attempt is in line with its efforts to add more competition and bring down network subscription fees, which can benefit consumers.
"For now, we will not receive further applications for a fourth mobile carrier, as we are not likely to promote the project," a government official said. "But this decision is not permanent."
In January, the ministry announced the result of the seventh bid for the program, where three firms filed applications. There were no winners, as the ministry said all candidates "lacked credibility and viability for their fund-raising plans."
Industry watchers also pointed out the government no longer needs to allow another mobile carrier, as the rise of mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) already provide users with budget subscription plans.
MVNOs refer to mobile service providers that rent networks from the country's three carriers. As this can reduce the cost of managing networks, the firms usually sell budget subscription plans through low-end smartphones.
SK Telecom currently dominates Korea's mobile network market, holding around 50 percent, followed by KT with around 30 percent and LG Uplus with 20 percent. (Yonhap)
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