SK telecom’s market share falls to 30-year low as consumers turn to MVNOs

Thrifty consumers turn to MVNO that offer cheaper monthly mobile bill alternatives. [Photo by Yonhap]

SK telecom Co., South Korea’s top wireless carrier, saw its market share fall below 40 percent for the first time in nearly 30 years as thrifty consumers turn to mobile virtual network operators (MVNO) that offer cheaper monthly mobile bill alternatives.

According to an analysis by Maeil Business Newspaper into mobile service subscription data provided by the Ministry of Science and ICT on Sunday, SK telecom accounted for 39.9 percent of the entire wireless communications market as of November 2022. It is the first time its market share to fall below 40 percent since it began wireless service operations in 1994.

KT Corp. and LG Uplus Corp., the country’s other two major telcos, held 23.9 percent and 20.8 percent each.

The combined market share of MVNOs, in the meantime, climbed to a record high of 16.4 percent in November. An MVNO does not have its own wireless network infrastructure but instead borrows the network of a larger carrier and resells wireless plans under its brand name.

MVNOs attracted 2 million new subscribers in the past year. That is more than what the top 3 carriers added - SK telcom 800,000, KT 100,000, and LG Uplus 700,000.

Industry insiders noted that LG Uplus could yield the third-largest position to MVNOs this year as more consumers turn to budget operators amid high inflation.