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Estelio_
Joined: 01 Oct 2011
Location: Chicago, IL
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 Posted: Sun Nov 13, 2011 4:57 pm Post subject: |
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| s4yunkim wrote: |
| col89 wrote: |
| so I can find the most convenient option with also the most savings. |
The prices of the iPhone, whether in Korea, or somewhere like the US/Canada, are all set by Apple, and are generally quite comparable. (When the phones are purchased with no-contract, no discount program, etc)
Keeping that in mind, in terms of convenience, I would say that your option of getting one from home activated here would probably the most "convenient", as there is no "contract" of any sort to be tied into.
It seems that (perhaps at the fault of telecoms) the word "contract" is mistakenly used in all cases where you get cell phone service. A "contract" only applies to cases where you buy a phone at a discounted (subsidized) price, in exchange for a promise of 2 years of continued usage. When you bring your own phone, such as one from your home country, there is no need for contract, since you are not being provided a subsidy from a carrier. (This is pretty much the case with most mobile phone service providers in the world.)
In essence, if you were to have your friend send you an iPhone 4S from home, (remember that it must be unlocked in order for it function here), you could walk into a kt store and have them activate it with your choice of pretty much any plan you want. Say, if you wanted the basic plan with no included minutes and no data (pay only for what you use), you could get away with a phone bill of 15,000 KRW per month after taxes. Since you are using an iPhone, you could add a data package onto that, or you can just go with an i-Type rate plan, where you get minutes, texts, and data packaged into one rate plan... but like I said, you can choose from almost any mix of rate plans that kt has, since there is no "contract" obligation to use a specific one.
If you decide that you want to buy the phone from kt, you will be entering into a 2 year contract, in which the discount you are provided will depend on which rate plan you use (the higher your rate plan price is, the more of a discount you receive). So if you are planning to use a higher end rate plan anyway, you may be better off by buying an iPhone from kt and then getting the discounts, but if you have more customized needs, or don't want to be hassled with a contract, then perhaps bringing your own phone may be a more convenient method for you.
Hope that helps  |
This is a super helpful post, thanks Chris/s4yunkim!
I am confused about one issue. I have an iphone 4 from AT&T which means that it is a GSM phone. I can unlock it, but I think that Korea runs on WCDMA. So, I unlock my GSM iPhone 4, will it still work in Korea?
Thank you! |
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Drew10
Joined: 31 Mar 2009
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| Posted: Sun Nov 13, 2011 9:22 pm Post subject: |
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| Estelio_ wrote: |
| s4yunkim wrote: |
| col89 wrote: |
| so I can find the most convenient option with also the most savings. |
The prices of the iPhone, whether in Korea, or somewhere like the US/Canada, are all set by Apple, and are generally quite comparable. (When the phones are purchased with no-contract, no discount program, etc)
Keeping that in mind, in terms of convenience, I would say that your option of getting one from home activated here would probably the most "convenient", as there is no "contract" of any sort to be tied into.
It seems that (perhaps at the fault of telecoms) the word "contract" is mistakenly used in all cases where you get cell phone service. A "contract" only applies to cases where you buy a phone at a discounted (subsidized) price, in exchange for a promise of 2 years of continued usage. When you bring your own phone, such as one from your home country, there is no need for contract, since you are not being provided a subsidy from a carrier. (This is pretty much the case with most mobile phone service providers in the world.)
In essence, if you were to have your friend send you an iPhone 4S from home, (remember that it must be unlocked in order for it function here), you could walk into a kt store and have them activate it with your choice of pretty much any plan you want. Say, if you wanted the basic plan with no included minutes and no data (pay only for what you use), you could get away with a phone bill of 15,000 KRW per month after taxes. Since you are using an iPhone, you could add a data package onto that, or you can just go with an i-Type rate plan, where you get minutes, texts, and data packaged into one rate plan... but like I said, you can choose from almost any mix of rate plans that kt has, since there is no "contract" obligation to use a specific one.
If you decide that you want to buy the phone from kt, you will be entering into a 2 year contract, in which the discount you are provided will depend on which rate plan you use (the higher your rate plan price is, the more of a discount you receive). So if you are planning to use a higher end rate plan anyway, you may be better off by buying an iPhone from kt and then getting the discounts, but if you have more customized needs, or don't want to be hassled with a contract, then perhaps bringing your own phone may be a more convenient method for you.
Hope that helps |
This is a super helpful post, thanks Chris/s4yunkim!
I am confused about one issue. I have an iphone 4 from AT&T which means that it is a GSM phone. I can unlock it, but I think that Korea runs on WCDMA. So, I unlock my GSM iPhone 4, will it still work in Korea?
Thank you! |
Yes. Just take it into a KT store and they can activate it for you. |
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s4yunkim
Joined: 28 Dec 2008
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| Posted: Sun Nov 13, 2011 10:15 pm Post subject: |
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Short answer: Yes, your AT&T iPhone 4S will work in Korea.
Long answer:
Since you said you will be bringing an AT&T iPhone, I will try and explain it using carriers from the US.
Currently, the most common communication standards for mobile phones are GSM/WCDMA and CDMA.
(Note that WCDMA is not the same as CDMA).
GSM and CDMA are both "2G" technologies.
GSM uses SIM cards, and is a technology used by T-Mobile and AT&T in the US.
CDMA does not use SIM cards, and is a technology used by Verizon and Sprint in the US.
These two technologies are NOT compatible, meaning that you cannot use a GSM phone on a CDMA network, and vice versa.
"WCDMA", also known as "UTMS", is a "3G" technology, which is backwards compatible with the (2G) GSM standard.
(This means that if you have a WCDMA phone, and you either walk out of a WCDMA network, or turn off the WCDMA radio, you will still be able to use your phone on a GSM connection.)
It's probably because of this backwards compatibility that although most all phones on those standards are actually WCDMA phones, people still call them "GSM phones".
So in the US, "2G" means either GSM or CDMA, and "3G" means WCMDA (an expansion on GSM) or EVDO (a technology used by Verizon and other CDMA carriers).
In the case of Korea, it was a bit simpler:
"2G" = CDMA
"3G" = WCDMA
You will notice that "GSM" is not listed, meaning that "GSM ONLY phones (2G)" will not work here. (But since most phones produced now are WCDMA+GSM phones, those will have no issue working here.) For a while, Korea was CDMA only, and was a closed system (meaning that you could not activate non-Korean phones here), so when you combine the fact that Korea supported only CDMA, with the fact there was no GSM support to begin with, you get the bit "your phone wont work in Korea because it's CDMA only".
So in essence:
1. GSM phones will NOT work in Korea, due to a lack of GSM service.
2. Most modern phones, although called "GSM", are actually "WCDMA" phones with "GSM" support. (Meaning they will work in Korea).
3. CDMA only phones will not work in Korea (this includes the Verizon iPhone 4)
4. The iPhone 4S is the only exception to these rules, as both the "GSM/WCDMA" and "CDMA" iPhone 4Ses have been known to be activatable on our network, as they have both antennas in either model. (I have not thoroughly tested the Verizon and Sprint iPhone 4Ses, but I have seen a Verizon 4S activate on our network, so under some circumstances it must work.)
5. The only iPhones that will work in Korea are:
* iPhone 3G
* iPhone 3GS
* iPhone 4 (non-Verizon)
* iPhone 4S
(The original iPhone and the Verizon iPhone 4 cannot be activated in Korea, as far as I know.)
REMEMBER! That regardless of where you bought your phone, it has to be unlocked, and able to accept a SIM card in order for it to work in Korea!
Hope that answers your question
--Chris
Manager, Expat Marketing Team
KT (Korea Telecom)
Last edited by s4yunkim on Wed Dec 19, 2012 10:27 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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col89
Joined: 08 Aug 2011
Location: Geoje
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| Posted: Fri Nov 18, 2011 12:00 am Post subject: |
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Hi Chris,
Can I speak with you offline on some messenger, or something? I'm in a sticky situation with one of my co-workers who insisted on helping me out when I originally intended getting a contract, but now whenever I ask exact questions about the contract she gets confused and angry -- the typical language barrier -- and says that I should just get one from her friend, as originally suggested. I have never taken out a contract before and, naturally, I have doubts about taking a two-year phone contract, especially when I have only ten months remaining in the country.
I guess I'm still stuck between a rock and a hard place, and I just need some sound advice from someone who knows what they're talking about, phone-wise.
If you don't want to speak on messenger, can you send me a PM on the boards? I tried to do that originally but I've not yet reached 25 posts, so I'm automatically restricted with the forum!  |
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Drew10
Joined: 31 Mar 2009
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| Posted: Fri Nov 18, 2011 2:19 am Post subject: |
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I'll do the best of my ability to help you out. As well.
PM Sent. |
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col89
Joined: 08 Aug 2011
Location: Geoje
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| Posted: Fri Nov 18, 2011 4:36 am Post subject: |
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| Thanks, Drew. I've just sent you a PM right there. |
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Estelio_
Joined: 01 Oct 2011
Location: Chicago, IL
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| Posted: Fri Nov 25, 2011 8:11 pm Post subject: |
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| s4yunkim wrote: |
Short answer: Yes, your AT&T iPhone 4S will work in Korea.
Long answer:
Since you said you will be bringing an AT&T iPhone, I will try and explain it using carriers from the US.
Currently, the most common communication standards for mobile phones are GSM/WCDMA and CDMA.
(Note that WCDMA is not the same as CDMA).
GSM and CDMA are both "2G" technologies.
GSM uses SIM cards, and is a technology used by T-Mobile and AT&T in the US.
CDMA does not use SIM cards, and is a technology used by Verizon and Sprint in the US.
These two technologies are NOT compatible, meaning that you cannot use a GSM phone on a CDMA network, and vice versa.
"WCMDA", also known as "UTMS", is a "3G" technology, which is backwards compatible with the (2G) GSM standard.
(This means that if you have a WCDMA phone, and you either walk out of a WCMDA network, or turn off the WCDMA radio, you will still be able to use your phone on a GSM connection.)
It's probably because of this backwards compatibility that although most all phones on those standards are actually WCDMA phones, people still call them "GSM phones".
So in the US, "2G" means either GSM or CDMA, and "3G" means WCMDA (an expansion on GSM) or EVDO (a technology used by Verizon and other CDMA carriers).
In the case of Korea, it was a bit simpler:
"2G" = CDMA
"3G" = WCDMA
You will notice that "GSM" is not listed, meaning that "GSM ONLY phones (2G)" will not work here. (But since most phones produced now are WCDMA+GSM phones, those will have no issue working here.) For a while, Korea was CDMA only, and was a closed system (meaning that you could not activate non-Korean phones here), so when you combine the fact that Korea supported only CDMA, with the fact there was no GSM support to begin with, you get the bit "your phone wont work in Korea because it's CDMA only".
So in essence:
1. GSM phones will NOT work in Korea, due to a lack of GSM service.
2. Most modern phones, although called "GSM", are actually "WCDMA" phones with "GSM" support. (Meaning they will work in Korea).
3. CDMA only phones will not work in Korea (this includes the Verizon iPhone 4)
4. The iPhone 4S is the only exception to these rules, as both the "GSM/WCDMA" and "CDMA" iPhone 4Ses have been known to be activatable on our network, as they have both antennas in either model. (I have not thoroughly tested the Verizon and Sprint iPhone 4Ses, but I have seen a Verizon 4S activate on our network, so under some circumstances it must work.)
5. The only iPhones that will work in Korea are:
* iPhone 3G
* iPhone 3GS
* iPhone 4 (non-Verizon)
* iPhone 4S
(The original iPhone and the Verizon iPhone 4 cannot be activated in Korea, as far as I know.)
REMEMBER! That regardless of where you bought your phone, it has to be unlocked, and able to accept a SIM card in order for it to work in Korea!
Hope that answers your question
--Chris
Manager, Expat Marketing Team
KT (Korea Telecom) |
Chris, thanks! This was so detailed and helpful. I am so glad you have been willing to help us navigate this confusing process. This was exactly the answer I was hoping to receive!
An At&t iPhone 4 will work! It is WCDMA and can accept a SIM card.
Now, I just need to unlock the phone. This is exciting news! |
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