Korean Satellite DMB Handset Sales Gain Speed
September 15, 2005
A competitive analysis of satellite DMB services in Korea by the Electronic Times notes that, since the first S-DMB handset was launched by Samsung in January 2005, a total of seven more S-DMB handsets have been rolled out by Samsung, Pantech and LG. SKT (SK Telecom), the first operator to enter the market, has sold over 160,000 S-DMB phones in 2005, and has accumulated a subscriber base of 150,000. Their best-selling handset alone has sold over 85,000 units since its launch in April. SKT plans to roll out three to four handsets by Samsung and LG in late 2005.
As for KTF (Korea Telecom Freetel), their first S-DMB handset, has sold only 700 units since its release on August 12, 2005, a low performance attributed to lack of promotion. KTF plans to launch another S-DMB by LG in late 2005. LG Telecom also plans to present two S-DMB handsets by Samsung and LG in mid-September 2005.