Qualcomm Inc (QCOM)

[khemara_qc]

Koreans Hungry for New Cell Phones



By Kim Tae-gyu
Staff Reporter
Korean handset owners are the quickest in the world in upgrading their mobile phones, with a replacement cycle of 12-18 months, market research institutes said on Friday.

The LG Economic Research Institute (LGERI) said average Koreans switch their cell phones every 12 months, based on its analysis of the local market and rollout of new products.

Domestic cell phone makers like Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics and Pantech Group, estimated the rotation cycle to be somewhat longer, at around 18 months.

In either case, the figure represents the shortest term in the world compared to nations in Europe and North America, regions with high wireless network penetration rates.

According to research firm Gartner Dataquest, the cell phone replacement cycles are 21 months in the United States, 30 months in Canada, 24 months in Russia.

Most Europeans upgrade their cell phones after using them two or three years. Even industry leader Nokia's homeland of Finland was reported to lag behind Korea's enthusiasm for next-generation products.

Experts said the brisk cell phone switches here are attributable to trend-sensitive Koreans, who react keenly to new applications or expansion peripherals.

The replacement cycle is expected to further accelerate this year as coverage of the number portability system expands and high-end phones continue to hit the shelves.

Under the number portability scheme, SK Telecom customers can switch their service provider from this year while retaining their phone numbers. The same rule will be applied to KTF from this June and LG Telecom from next year.

When defecting to other operators, cell phone users are required to switch their devices because SK Telecom-serviced phones use a different frequency range to KTF and LG Telecom.



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03-12-2004 19:10

http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/tech/200403/kt2004031219083111780.htm