Korean Job Discussion Forums

[tehdee]

been using my factory unlocked iphone 4 for the last 3 weeks or so on olleh. month to month contract, unlimited data... standard fare.

i am blown away at how slow data transfer is. last year using a berry on skt., i didnt have this much trouble.

especially during peak hours, you may as well forget about using 3gs, and just hope for an olleh/nespot hotspot. if it wasnt for the wifi coverage i dont see how these data plans would be nearly worth it.

are skt's data plans comparable in price? anybody using skt with an iphone?! any input at all appreciated.

[Swampfox10mm]

I'm on the SK Telecom 65,000 per month package. I was at 55,000, which was the lowest package, but I liked to text and talk a lot, so I upped it. This also keeps my phone from being squelched in internet speed so much.

Did you read the article in that other link under the tech forum which said the telecoms are all limiting bandwidth -- especially to low-paying subscribers?

My KT Galaxy S is generally fast enough on 3g, but barely. Youtube still has to buffer some. Depends where I'm at. If I'm around a busy place like Dongdaemun station during rush times, forget it.

[bozibmbr]

I am also planning to use unlocked iphone 4 in korea and was thinking about getting on Olleh..

Any update if KT or SK is better? I arrive in Korea on the 16th and am planning to get my plan right away..

[Swampfox10mm]

From news I have read online, only the packages above 55,000 will have faster speeds. Wish I had a link. I am on SK and have decent speed, but nothing to write home about. My SK home connection is a free one, and it is lousy outside of Korea.

[eamo]

I would guess that 3G speeds are pretty much the same between KT and SK in general, but they might differ in strength from area to area. In one neighborhood or street the KT signal might be better than the SK signal, but in the next neighborhood it might be the opposite.

[hanguker]

I actually saw a video test from a reviewer on Danawa. They went around to various popular venues in Seoul and tested KT and SKT and found that KT had higher speeds 8 times out of 10.

However, I'm not sure how unbiased the researcher was, but it did look like a semi-professional production. I'll post the link if I can find it.

Not sure if this is news as I'm kinda n00b to smartphones...
I was reading up at the KT website and they said that when someone gets a data plan they have free and full access to all of KT's wifi hotspots as well as the 3G.

[SeoulNate]

It is probably the area you are in. Ask a friend who is on SK with the same model to use their 3g and see how it is.

I am on KT and up in Nowon my 3g is blazing fast. Watching youtube videos doesnt require a buffer at all.

[2556375]

I live in Gwangali in Busan.I am thinking about getting a 55 000 won per month cellphone deal with unlimited data 3g,300 minutes free and 300 messages.My aim was to use my cellphone as a modem at home,tethering it to my laptop.Would the speed of downloading and streaming videos be just as fast as if I had a separate landline connection if I tethered my cellphone to my laptop?

[eamo]

[wishfullthinkng]

lg u+ has their lte network operational as far as i know. sk will have theirs up shortly as well. kt has their wibro network and is also in the testing phase of lte 4g, however their lte network won't be deployed until later than the other two.

so if you want the fastest cell network go sk's lte but both lg u+ and sk only have one lte capable phone at the moment which is an nondescript htc clunker.

my advice is endure the crappy kt 3g speeds for another few months and then upgrade to a nice lte phone, whether it be the iphone 5 or the next and newest samsung galaxy.

[pkang0202]

KT's WiBro is cheap, but the speeds are around 25-30Mbps. 5,500w per month for 30GB under a 2 year contract with the WiBro Egg.

SK LTE Network is a bit better getting around 35Mbps. I don't remember the cost, but its more than WiBro, cheaper than LG.

LG's UPlus LTE is insanely fast getting speeds around 70Mbps. However, its expensive. Something like 30,000w for 5 GB's per month.


I'm very tempted to get WiBro, but the 2 year contract is holding me back. Right now LTE service is expensive, but I can see the price dropping within a year. 2 years is a LONG TIME to be stuck on a contract when new technology just launched.

Then again, 3G on my Iphone with KT is almost unusable. I live in Gangnam and forget about doing anything without WiFi.

[2556375]

Allright,you answered a question that no one else could regarding the 3g speed in Korea,thanks.If I open up a contract with a cellphone provider which is the most reliable in terms of customer service and value?I am on an e-2 visa.

[Chokse]

KT's WiBro Egg prices have gone up as of August 1. My wife and I were just into the store checking prices because we are going to get her parents an iPad, but are debating if we should get WiFi only or 3G (we were thinking WiFi iPad with an Egg). Now, the cheapest 2 year plan for an Egg is 1GB of data for 11,000 won per month. They are also no longer offering unlimited data. The largest plan is 50GB per month and is just over 30,000 won per month on the 2 year plan.

Just a heads up for anyone who is thinking of getting an Egg.

[pkang0202]

I hope you aren't referring to me. I was talking about "4G" speeds in Korea. 3G speed here depends on soooooo many variables.

The density of people in the area. Time of day. etc... I live in Gangnam and 3G is unusable during rush hour times.

I can tell you that KT suffers from a lot of dropped calls. Mainly from their network being overloaded all the time. SK seems to have the best coverage. However, I think with the huge exodus of customers fleeing LG and going to KT/SKT, LG is the carrier with the least number of users, therefore logically their towers are less likely to get slammed.

[theloneleaf]