▶주메뉴 바로가기

▶본문 바로가기

The Korea Herald
검색폼

THE INVESTOR
March 29, 2024

Samsung

Telecom carriers cautious about Samsung’s NewNet deal

  • PUBLISHED :November 17, 2016 - 17:47
  • UPDATED :November 17, 2016 - 17:47
  • 폰트작게
  • 폰트크게
  • facebook
  • sms
  • print

[THE INVESTOR] The nation’s top three telecom carriers are closely watching Samsung Electronics' latest acquisition of NewNet Communications Technology as the deal could dampen their profits especially in the lucrative international roaming business.

The Canadian company, more widely known as NewNet Canada, is specialized in rich communication services that enable smartphone users to send and receive texts, images, and videos without installing extra apps like Facebook Messenger and Skype. 




The firm also offers the voice-over-Wi-Fi, or VoWiFi, solution, which means free phone calls within the wireless network area.

According to industry sources, Samsung is mulling to adopt the features on its upcoming Galaxy S8 smartphone that comes out early next year.

But local telecom carriers -- SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus -- are cautious about the recent purchase of the Korean tech giant that dominates almost 70 percent of the smartphone market in Korea and 20 percent globally.

The firms have already suffered from profit declines in the saturated market, with mobile messengers, including the No. 1 KakaoTalk, gobbling up their text messaging profits.

Now their lucrative roaming services that have often been the target of criticism due to high pricing are also expected to be hit hard by Samsung’s planned free voice calls.

Last year, almost 13 million people used the three firms’ international roaming services, with their combined earnings reaching 346.8 billion won (US$300 million).

Network equipment provider Cisco predicts the VoWiFi will make up 53 percent of the entire mobile voice call by 2020, which compares to 15.7 percent last year.

In the US, AT&T handles 4 million VoWiFi calls a day, while the figure for its archrival T-Mobile is about 22 million.

By Kim Young-won (wone0102@heraldcorp.com)

EDITOR'S PICKS