ID :
184549
Thu, 05/26/2011 - 09:28
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/184549
The shortlink copeid
Telecom titan KT seeks to boost non-communications revenue
SEOUL, May 26 (Yonhap) -- South Korean telecom giant KT Corp. said Thursday that it will more than double its non-telecom revenues to nearly half of its entire sales by 2015, an apparent move to reduce its reliance on the stagnant telecom business.
While aiming to lift its telecom-related revenues, including its mobile service 22 percent to 22 trillion won (US$20 billion) in 2015 from 2010, KT expects to reap 18 trillion won from cloud computing, mobile software, mobile payments, mobile ads, overseas businesses and other non-telecom areas in the same year, the company said in a statement.
KT's non-telecom revenues stood at 7 trillion won last year, contributing 28 percent of its total annual revenues. In 2015, they will account for 45 percent, it said.
KT, South Korea's dominant fixed-line phone service operator and formerly state-owned company, acquired KT Freetel Co., its smaller mobile affiliate, in June 1, 2009, setting off consolidation in the country's telecom and mobile sector into a three-horse race.
The giant corporation has a vast array of businesses under its wing from a car rental unit to a satellite TV broadcaster that is poised to go public next month. It is set to acquire a local credit card company this year, hoping to develop a mobile payment platform that could become a new revenue source.
South Korea's three mobile operators have been battling to counter the slowing domestic growth in the mobile subscriber base, as the mobile penetration rate has hit the ceiling.
South Koreans own more than one mobile phone on average, according to government data, a deadlock that mobile carriers have tried to overcome by launching overseas businesses or advancing into non-telecom sectors, so-called "convergence" businesses between information and communications technology with health, mobile software, finance and others.
As KT tries to go beyond its backyard and dabble in new businesses, the company is also dealing with mounting complaints about its network quality issues and stiffer competition from bigger rival SK Telecom Co.
KT, which was the first to introduce the iPhone in South Korea at the end of 2009 and has since sold more than 2 million as of January, is facing new challenges as data-guzzling smartphone users and unlimited wireless data plans have started to congest its networks.
Its rival SK Telecom also began selling the iPhone in March, breaking KT's exclusive domestic sales.
The widespread adoption of smartphones in South Korea has spawned another source of headaches for wireless carriers. KT, SK Telecom and the smallest player LG Uplus Corp. have come under government pressure to reduce mobile tariffs, as the government put its finger on costly smartphone subscription bills as one of the factors that drove runaway inflation pressure and placed financial burdens on households.
While aiming to lift its telecom-related revenues, including its mobile service 22 percent to 22 trillion won (US$20 billion) in 2015 from 2010, KT expects to reap 18 trillion won from cloud computing, mobile software, mobile payments, mobile ads, overseas businesses and other non-telecom areas in the same year, the company said in a statement.
KT's non-telecom revenues stood at 7 trillion won last year, contributing 28 percent of its total annual revenues. In 2015, they will account for 45 percent, it said.
KT, South Korea's dominant fixed-line phone service operator and formerly state-owned company, acquired KT Freetel Co., its smaller mobile affiliate, in June 1, 2009, setting off consolidation in the country's telecom and mobile sector into a three-horse race.
The giant corporation has a vast array of businesses under its wing from a car rental unit to a satellite TV broadcaster that is poised to go public next month. It is set to acquire a local credit card company this year, hoping to develop a mobile payment platform that could become a new revenue source.
South Korea's three mobile operators have been battling to counter the slowing domestic growth in the mobile subscriber base, as the mobile penetration rate has hit the ceiling.
South Koreans own more than one mobile phone on average, according to government data, a deadlock that mobile carriers have tried to overcome by launching overseas businesses or advancing into non-telecom sectors, so-called "convergence" businesses between information and communications technology with health, mobile software, finance and others.
As KT tries to go beyond its backyard and dabble in new businesses, the company is also dealing with mounting complaints about its network quality issues and stiffer competition from bigger rival SK Telecom Co.
KT, which was the first to introduce the iPhone in South Korea at the end of 2009 and has since sold more than 2 million as of January, is facing new challenges as data-guzzling smartphone users and unlimited wireless data plans have started to congest its networks.
Its rival SK Telecom also began selling the iPhone in March, breaking KT's exclusive domestic sales.
The widespread adoption of smartphones in South Korea has spawned another source of headaches for wireless carriers. KT, SK Telecom and the smallest player LG Uplus Corp. have come under government pressure to reduce mobile tariffs, as the government put its finger on costly smartphone subscription bills as one of the factors that drove runaway inflation pressure and placed financial burdens on households.
