South Korean travelers are increasingly choosing eSIM services over carrier roaming plans, prompting the country's mobile operators to overhaul roaming products and expand overseas membership benefits.
KT said on the 2nd that it had increased data allowances for its "Shared Roaming" plans, which let customers share data with family and friends, effective from the 1st.
The 33,000-won plan now offers 5 gigabytes of data, up from 4 GB, while the 44,000-won plan rises to 10 GB from 8 GB and the 66,000-won plan to 20 GB from 12 GB. The usage period for the 33,000-won plan and the 19,800-won "Y Shared Roaming" plan for customers aged 34 and under was extended to 30 days from 15 days.
KT is also launching a 77,000-won plan offering 40 GB for customers seeking higher data volumes, and is expanding data allowances for its Y Shared Roaming plans. Daily data for "All-Day Roaming Basic" plans doubles to 1 GB from 500 megabytes, while "All-Day Roaming Plus" plans rise to 2 GB from 1 GB.
LG Uplus ran a pilot Roaming Pass service in Japan from June through August. The carrier said it had completed its membership in Wonderjoy Travel Alliance, a consortium of Asia-Pacific telecom operators, and wrapped up the Japan trial. Once the full service launches, subscribers will be able to use local partner benefits in major destinations including Japan, Singapore and Taiwan.
Wonderjoy Travel Alliance is a global cooperation platform through which carriers in different countries share their membership benefits. LG Uplus offered Roaming Pass subscribers discounts at Don Quijote and Lawson, discounted GO Taxi rides, a Mount Fuji one-day tour and discounts at the NEWoMan shopping mall.
More than 10,000 coupons were downloaded during the pilot period, and nine out of 10 customers who used coupons redeemed the Don Quijote and Lawson discounts, the company said.
SK Telecom (017670) is courting customers with an app-based free calling service. Subscribers to data roaming plans can make and receive calls to Korea or local numbers free of charge while abroad through the A. (A dot) Phone app.
Cheaper and simpler: why travelers pick eSIM
The push to expand roaming products and beef up global membership perks comes as the overseas travel telecom market shifts. Consumer Insight, a research firm specializing in mobile telecommunications, released the results of its 43rd Mobile Telecommunications Survey, which analyzed data and voice call usage abroad among 1,497 people who had traveled overseas within the past year.
In the first half of this year, buying an eSIM locally overseas was the most common way to use data while abroad, at 36%. Carrier data roaming followed at 34%, then buying a local SIM card at 16%, Wi-Fi routers, or pocket Wi-Fi, at 9%, and those who used no paid data at all, relying only on free Wi-Fi, at 6%.
eSIM took the top spot after rising 8 percentage points from 28% a year earlier. Carrier roaming gained just 2 percentage points, to 34% from 32%, while local SIM cards fell to 16% from 20% and Wi-Fi routers to 9% from 12%. Asked why they chose eSIM, 64% cited low prices, the most common answer, followed by large data volumes relative to price at 43% and simple application and activation procedures at 41%.
Customers who chose carrier roaming pointed mainly to the convenience of making domestic calls and sending text messages, cited by 45%. eSIM also scored highest on user satisfaction at 79%, compared with 64% for local SIM cards and 58% each for carrier roaming and Wi-Fi routers.
