The government is expanding support for small and medium-sized budget mobile phone operators to alleviate the burden of household telecommunications costs. The aim is to strengthen the foundation for supplying affordable rate plans by increasing the reduction rate for radio wave usage fees and extending the application period.

The Ministry of Science and ICT announced on the 26th at an emergency economic headquarters meeting held at the Government Complex Seoul that, as part of the 'measures to stabilize people's living costs and reduce the burden on ordinary citizens,' it has decided to increase the reduction rate for radio wave usage fees for small and medium-sized budget mobile phone companies from the existing 50% to 90% and extend the reduction period by three years.

Radio wave usage fees are costs paid by telecommunications operators in exchange for using radio waves in accordance with the Radio Waves Act. Previously, small and medium-sized budget phone companies were receiving a 50% reduction in 2026, and the reduction was scheduled to end thereafter.

The government explained that it pursued this measure considering that budget phone rates are lower than those of the three major mobile carriers and that they are used by a high proportion of young people and vulnerable groups. It was also reported that the recent deterioration in operating conditions for small and medium-sized budget phone companies was taken into account.

If the reduction rate is expanded to 90%, the cost burden on operators will decrease, and there is a possibility that their capacity to lower rates will expand. The Ministry of Science and ICT plans to fully implement the application starting next year through the revision of related regulations.

The Ministry of Science and ICT is also implementing policies to alleviate the burden of data usage. It plans to extend the 'Data Safety Option (QoS)' currently applied to the three major telecommunication companies to budget mobile phone providers as well.

The Data Safety Option is a system that allows continuous data usage at a certain speed. A standard of about 400 Kbps was suggested, which allows for the use of basic functions such as messenger and map search.

The government is also preparing additional comprehensive measures to revitalize competition in the budget phone market. These plans are scheduled to be announced before August.