DPRK to Open Mobile Service in Early 2003

Home>>World

Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Monday, December 16, 2002

DPRK to Open Mobile Service in Early 2003

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) will formally launch the Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM) in Pyongyang in early 2003, sources said on condition of anonymity.

DISCUSSION

CHINESE

SEND TO FRIEND

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) will formally launch the Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM) in Pyongyang in early 2003, sources said on condition of anonymity.

The wireless network, covering an area with the semidiameter of some 40 km around Pyongyang in the first phase, is set to be installed all through the country in two years.

The mobile phone network in Pyongyang has been completed with a capacity of some 300,000 to 400,000 users except for the billing system, said an expert from Thailand's Loxley Pacific Company, which runs the service in the DPRK.

Loxley Pacific, a joint venture formed by Thailand's Loxley Group and other two private enterprises, obtained the license in 1998 from the Posts and Telecommunications Ministry of the DPRK to establish the GSM service .

The monthly rent for foreigners is 50 US dollars, and the dialing price is 0.05 US dollar every six seconds for calls within Pyongyang, and 0.1 US dollar for calls outside Pyongyang,said an official from the DPRK Posts and Telecommunications Ministry. The charges for locals have yet to be confirmed.

Subscribers have to pay 500 US dollars initially for domestic calls and 750 for international calls, said a source from the DPRK Diplomatic Missions Service Bureau.

Some 300 high-ranking officials and businessmen gained the access to mobile service as early as last April, in a pilot program of the Loxley Pacific Company prior to the formal launch of the system.

Application forms for the mobile service have been distributed to local organizations and diplomatic missions here.

The Posts and Telecommunications Ministry has designated a mobile-phone shop at the DPRK International Communications Center,where such cellular phones as Motorola, TCL, Bird, Philips and Nokia are displayed. Many locals have swarmed into the shop to select cellular phones these days.

The DPRK is accelerating the development of wireless telecommunications, as the country has realized its role in promoting the national economic development and attracting foreign capitals, analysts say. The penetration of program-controlled telephones in the DPRK is estimated at below 5 percent.

The prospects of the mobile service, however, are in doubt, for ordinary people in the DPRK can not afford the service as their monthly earning accounts for only 2,000 Korean won (approximately 13 US dollar) on the average. Some foreign diplomats here also say the charges are too high.

Questions?Comments? Click here

DPRK Bans Use of US Dollars

DPRK Free from HIV/AIDS: Official

Chinese Economy to Enjoy Bright Future ( 17 Messages)

China Hopes for Constructive US Role in Reunification: Jiang ( 26 Messages)

China Air Force Equipped with J-10 Fighter-bomber ( 3 Messages)

Chinese Scientists Finish First Detailed Map of Rice Genome ( 2 Messages)

Nanjing Marks 65th Anniversary of Japanese Massacre ( 28 Messages)