Cellphone use booming in North Korea
Source: Agencies |
November 21, 2011, Monday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
NORTH Korea is expected to register the 1 millionth cellphone user on its new 3G network by the end of the year, barely four years after people were thrown into prison camps for owning one.
Most of the users are in the capital of Pyongyang.
"There has been an astronomical increase since even two years ago," said Michael Hay, a lawyer and business consultant based in Pyongyang for the past seven years.
"All the waitresses in coffee shops have them, as one example, and use them. Let's not even talk about businessmen. They are never off them, and conversations are frequently interrupted by mobile calls."
Two years ago, there were fewer than 70,000 users. The government ended a ban on cellphones in 2008, signing a four-year deal with Egyptian company Orascom to build the 3G network in partnership with the government.
A report this month by the Nautilus Institute for Security and Sustainability said 60 percent of people aged 20 to 50 use cellphones in Pyongyang, a city of around 3 million people who are strictly vetted by the state for residency permits.
Falling fees
"Especially for the younger generation in their 20s and 30s, as well as the merchant community, a cellphone is seen as a must, and many youngsters can no longer see their lives without it," wrote Alexandre Mansourov in the report.
Calling fees have fallen this year, driving the surge in demand, reports say. And the introduction of the "Euro pack" bundle provides the government with much-needed foreign currency.
But you can't dial into or out of the country, and there's no Internet.
While the 3G network covers 94 percent of the population, it still only covers 14 percent of the territory, according to Orascom.
But the cost of buying a phone and the operating fees, mean owning a 3G device is out of the question for most. Phones cost about US$350 in the country where the average monthly income is about US$15.
Too expensive
"The possession of cellphones was not limited by class, but not many people have cellphones because they are just too expensive," said Kim Seong-hu, 40, who defected to South Korea in April.
Cheap illegal cellphones tapping into Chinese networks are not uncommon, but their range is limited to just the border fringe.
North Korea banned the use of cellphones in 2004 after an explosion at the Ryongchon railway a few hours after a train carrying leader Kim Jong-il passed through. Officials suspect a cellphone was used to ignite the bomb.
Pyongyang's lifting of the ban paved the way for Orascom's entry into the market. It threw some US$400 million into developing the 3G network.
Orascom said last week there were more than 800,000 users on its network, compared to 300,000 at the same time last year.
North Korea is opening up its telecommunication services and encouraging IT development.
Most of the users are in the capital of Pyongyang.
"There has been an astronomical increase since even two years ago," said Michael Hay, a lawyer and business consultant based in Pyongyang for the past seven years.
"All the waitresses in coffee shops have them, as one example, and use them. Let's not even talk about businessmen. They are never off them, and conversations are frequently interrupted by mobile calls."
Two years ago, there were fewer than 70,000 users. The government ended a ban on cellphones in 2008, signing a four-year deal with Egyptian company Orascom to build the 3G network in partnership with the government.
A report this month by the Nautilus Institute for Security and Sustainability said 60 percent of people aged 20 to 50 use cellphones in Pyongyang, a city of around 3 million people who are strictly vetted by the state for residency permits.
Falling fees
"Especially for the younger generation in their 20s and 30s, as well as the merchant community, a cellphone is seen as a must, and many youngsters can no longer see their lives without it," wrote Alexandre Mansourov in the report.
Calling fees have fallen this year, driving the surge in demand, reports say. And the introduction of the "Euro pack" bundle provides the government with much-needed foreign currency.
But you can't dial into or out of the country, and there's no Internet.
While the 3G network covers 94 percent of the population, it still only covers 14 percent of the territory, according to Orascom.
But the cost of buying a phone and the operating fees, mean owning a 3G device is out of the question for most. Phones cost about US$350 in the country where the average monthly income is about US$15.
Too expensive
"The possession of cellphones was not limited by class, but not many people have cellphones because they are just too expensive," said Kim Seong-hu, 40, who defected to South Korea in April.
Cheap illegal cellphones tapping into Chinese networks are not uncommon, but their range is limited to just the border fringe.
North Korea banned the use of cellphones in 2004 after an explosion at the Ryongchon railway a few hours after a train carrying leader Kim Jong-il passed through. Officials suspect a cellphone was used to ignite the bomb.
Pyongyang's lifting of the ban paved the way for Orascom's entry into the market. It threw some US$400 million into developing the 3G network.
Orascom said last week there were more than 800,000 users on its network, compared to 300,000 at the same time last year.
North Korea is opening up its telecommunication services and encouraging IT development.
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