The tug-of-war between the government and mobile carriers over the launch of effective rate plans has reached a compromise.

The Ministry of Science and ICT announced on the 23rd that it had accepted SKT's application for a new 5G rate plan submitted on the 17th, taking into account customer usage patterns and age group characteristics.

The 5G terms of use reported this time include the following: △Establishment of three new 5G senior rate plans for users aged 65 and over, △Establishment of four new 5G mid-range rate plans, △Establishment of 11 new 5G youth rate plans for users aged 34 and under, △Establishment of seven new 5G youth online rate plans.

Starting with the launch of the '5G Senior Rate Plan' at the end of March, the '5G Customized Rate Plan' will be launched in May, and the 5G '0 Youth Rate Plan' will be launched in June, sequentially. Through this, SKT's 5G rate plans will increase from 20 to 45.

The Ministry of Science and ICT has been negotiating with mobile carriers to expand consumers’ choice of telecommunications rates. The intermediate rate plan was launched in the name of being cheaper than the expensive 5G rate plan, but the actual price is not much different, so there has been controversy over its effectiveness.

■ 4 new 5G mid-section types

Last August, SKT's 5G mid-rate plan Basic Plus (24GB, 59,000 won) did not have plans between 24 and 110GB, limiting consumer choice.

This time, SKT will be introducing four new rate plans on May 1st, offering 37GB, 54GB, 74GB, and 99GB. A service will also be introduced where users of the 24GB (KRW 59,000) plan can pay an additional amount (KRW 3,000-9,000) and recharge data (KRW 13-75) from one of the four additional data options if they run out of data.

There are a total of four options available for the 5G customized rate plan: △KRW 3,000 per month (+13 GB), △KRW 5,000 (+30 GB), △KRW 7,000 (+50 GB), and △KRW 9,000 (+75 GB). For example, a customer whose monthly data usage averages around 50GB can add 5,000 won to the Basic Plus plan priced at 59,000 won per month to use 54GB (24GB + 30GB) of data for 64,000 won per month.

With the addition of four new sections, users with monthly data usage of 24 to 110 GB will be able to save up to 7,000 won in monthly telecommunications charges by switching to the newly introduced plan, or sign up for a plan that provides 24 GB of monthly data and use the data top-up service only in months when they run out of data, thereby making their spending more efficient.

For example, a user who uses 35GB per month can save 7,000 won in monthly communication fees by changing from the existing 110GB (69,000 won) section to the newly introduced 37GB (62,000 won). Customers whose monthly data usage averages around 50GB can add 5,000 won to the Basic Plus plan priced at 59,000 won per month, allowing them to use 54GB (24GB + 30GB) of data for 64,000 won per month.

Options can be selected once (monthly) at a time desired by the customer, or a specific option can be automatically applied every month. If applied automatically, the selected contract discount or combined discount benefit can be applied equally based on the total fee.

■ Establishment of 3 new 5G senior rate plans

The 5G Senior Rate Plan will be launched first on March 30. It is a three-type rate plan with subscription age segmented into 65 years old and above, 70 years old and above, and 80 years old and above. We took into account the usage patterns of users aged 65 and older who use relatively less data, and the fact that even within the senior population, the average monthly data usage decreases with increasing age.

There are three types of rate plans: △ '5G Senior Type A (65 years old and over)' which provides 10 GB of data for 45,000 won per month, △ '5G Senior Type B (70 years old and over)' which provides 9 GB of data for 44,000 won per month, and △ '5G Senior Type C (80 years old and over)' which provides 8 GB of data for 42,000 won.

Users over 65 years old who use less than 10GB per month can save 4,000 to 7,000 won (8 to 14%) on their monthly telecommunications charges by subscribing to the newly introduced rate plan. Even after using up the basic data allowance, data can be used at a speed of up to 1Mbps without additional charges. This is a speed that is sufficient for sending and receiving messenger messages.

■ 11 new ‘0 Youth Rate Plans’ for customers aged 34 or younger
SKT will be introducing a total of 11 new plans starting June 1st, including △ 7 types of '0 (Youth) Youth Rate Plans' for 5G customers aged 34 or younger, and △ 4 types of '0 (Youth) Customized Youth Rate Plans'. In addition, for the 36GB (KRW 59,000) section of the 5G youth rate plans, a service will be created where users can pay an additional amount (KRW 3,000-9,000) in the month when they run out of data and recharge their data (15-100GB). A new plan, '0 Youth 43', costing 43,000 won per month, which is not included in the general rate plan, has also been added.

The existing rate plan and monthly fee level will remain the same, and the basic amount provided will be increased by up to 50% compared to the general rate plan to ensure that young people can use enough data. Data sharing and tethering limits will also be expanded.

The Youth Plan also offers special benefits preferred by the younger generation, such as discounts on coffee, movies, and roaming charges, and offers a 50% discount on roaming charges when using the roaming plan.

In the briefing that day, the Ministry of Science and ICT comprehensively considered the fact that SKT submitted a wholesale price for its cheap phones and a wholesale provision plan for four new mid-range rate plans, and decided to accept the report, deeming that there was little concern that it would hinder fair competition by excluding cheap phone operators from competition.

He also said, "KT and LGU+ are also preparing to launch new rate plans internally and are expected to report them as soon as possible."

Kim Ji-hyung, head of integrated marketing strategy at SKT, said, “SKT is working hard to introduce 5G rate plans that meet the needs and expectations of customers by considering their diverse usage patterns,” and added, “In addition to the launch of several 5G rate plans this time, we will continue to introduce various products and services for customers in the future.”

Minister Lee Jong-ho said, “I expect that SKT’s introduction of various rate plans this time will help ease the burden of telecommunications costs for citizens who have been struggling with high prices, even if only a little. I also hope that this will spark competition among other operators to launch various rate plans.”