South Korea has launched 5G. The pricing plans are the important aspect. KT seems committed to unlimited usage. SK Telecom and LG Plus seem to prefer big buckets of usage.
At least in principle, KT could gain subscribers if consumers decide they really need unlimited usage. But the biggest plans sold by SKT and LG Plus offer data allowances comparable to those offered by many fixed network internet service providers, so as a practical matter there might not be a difference between “a big usage bucket” and unlimited. We will have to see.
According to Yonhap News Agency, here are KT price plans:
5G Slim, 8 GB of data for 55,000 won ($49)
Super Plan Basic, 5 GB of data for 80,000 won ($70)
Special Plan, 50 GB of data for 100,000 won ($88)
Premium Plan, 100 GB of data, for 130,000 won ($115)
With the caveat that the mid-level and high-usage plans for SK Telecom and LG Plus offer buckets so large the difference between a bucket of usage and unlimited usage might be irrelevant, the test will come as customer usage actually occurs, and customers make choices.
As has happened in the past, some consumers will simply prefer the security of knowing they will not incur overages, giving KT an advantage. On the other hand, some consumers might realize the new 5G usage allowances for mid-level and premium plans are so big they need not worry about unlimited usage.
SK Telecom pricing plans:
8GB of data for 55,000 won ($49)
150GB of data for 75,000 won ($66)
200GB of data for 95,000 won ($84)
300GB of data for 125,000 won ($110)
LG Plus plans:
9GB of data for 55,000 won ($49)
150GB of data for 75,000 won ($66)
250GB of data for 95,000 won ($84)
Many users have likely encountered such decisions before. Given a sufficiently-large usage allowance, unlimited really does not matter. But the pattern of usage might matter, convincing some users they are better off with an unlimited usage plan.
