SK Telecom May Delay 3G Roll-Out

SK Telecom May Delay 3G Roll-Out

KOREA : Korea Times - SK Telecom Chief Executive Officer Pyo Moon-soo ( inset ) said the company's roll-out of third-generation (3G) mobile phone service is dependent on the condition of the economy.

``Our priority on 3G network investment will depend on the economic situation, the head of the nation's dominant mobile phone operator said.

``We will flexibly decide the timing of 3G commercial launch, Pyo said in a conference call with analysts and investors on Thursday morning.

The inability of mobile handset and system manufacturers to produce equipment on time is a possible threat to the company's deadline to launch its service.

Pyo said it is far too early to bring out 3G phones, which will be able to download full-motion video in color and music at a speed of 2 megabits per second because of technical problems.

SK Telecom, which boasts some 17 million mobile subscribers, plans to start the commercial 3G service, based on wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA) from the middle of September.

Debate over the merits of 3G has been split among mobile operators, government officials and telecom experts said.

Pyo said the company hasn¡¯t considered investing in an international roaming service for its 3G network, saying the timing isn¡¯t right for the investment.

``It¡¯s not the proper time to spend capital investment on supporting roaming because there are few countries using the 3G service,¡¯¡¯ Pyo said.

Experts said 3G provides the golden opportunity to unite the world behind a single standard so a subscriber could use the same handset anywhere in the world.

Currently, the official 3G standard, known as IMT-2000, includes three incompatible standards: UMTS (Europe) CDMA2000 (the United States) and WCDMA (South Korea and Japan). All are variants of CDMA (code division multiple access), a technology invented during World War II and refined and developed by U.S. technology firm Qualcomm.

Pyo said the company targets 9.5 trillion won in sales this year, up 11 percent from last year.

Last year, SK Telecom netted 1.5 trillion won in profits on sales of 8.6 trillion won, falling short of analysts¡¯ expectations.

In addition, Pyo said the company didn¡¯t change its capital spending program, amounting to 2.5 trillion won this year.

``There will be no reconsideration of our capital expenditure plan for this year,¡¯¡¯ Pyo said. He added the company would do its best to boost share value.

Last month, SK Telecom faced angry investors after the company announced a surprise capital investment plan for 2003. The total amount of investment was some 1 trillion won more than anticipated.

Some analysts said SK Telecom radically increased its capital spending program to sidestep government pressure to lower mobile rates and introduce phone number portability.

However, the move irked investors, making the company¡¯s shares hit their lowest point in 33 months to 173,000 won.

By Kim Deok-hyun The Korea Times.

This Press Release Sponsored by AGILENT TECHNOLOGIES

TODAY'S PRESS RELEASES

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