Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Wangja]

[pkang0202]

US still has a large CDMA network. Verizon Wireless, SprintPCS/Nextel.

And the way things are now, the US isn't going to go to a completely GSM network anytime soon. The country is so freaking big that by the time they finish rolling out one technology, a newer one comes along.

Combine the US market with Korea and Japan's and CDMA phones will be around for the next 5-10 years.

GSM in the US is good, but the data speed is crappy. Personally, I'd love for Korea to go GSM. If one of the big 3 telecoms in Korea went GSM then it would be all over. Koreans would go nuts over the fact you could own multiple phones and just swap the sim cards.

[mrsquirrel]

Strange though isn't it that the phone companies don't realise that the potential to make more money out of selling handsets is there. Why have one handset when you can have three all for the same number.

Or maybe with the release of the WCDMA/GSM phones they have cottoned onto this idea.

[pkang0202]

Mainly because the phone companies will lose out on the "activation" charge when you switch phones. Right now, I don't think phone companies make any money on the handsets. In fact, they lose money because they have to give the phones away for free or at a sharp discount for new customers.

With GSM, you can just buy a phone off the internet or anywhere else and not bother to get it activated. As it stands now, with CDMA, you gotta call the cell company to get the new phone hooked up. Which usually means a ~$30 activation charge. (at least, its like that in the US, not sure about Korea)

Also, GSM will make proprietary formats/software/etc... useless. I remember a year ago, there was uproar cuz Verizon CDMA phones had MP3 capabilities locked out so that you could only listen to songs purchased through Verizon's site.

Look at how much money SK-Telecom or LG stands to lose when their customers don't have to buy ringers/songs/games/etc... through their company anymore.

So, with GSM, the phone manufacturing companies will sell more phones. The actual Telecom companies won't be making any more money. As a consumer I would love to see a GSM network in Korea. However, the business side of my brain tells me that Korean Telecoms have more to lose by going GSM.

If Korean companies were more "risk takers" then you would see GSM. Since Korean companies like to "maintain status quo", you won't see GSM here unless they the companies are forced or pushed to go GSM due to an external factor (new competition).