North Korea launched 4G mobile service in September 2023, but initially service was only available in a few major cities, including the capital of Pyongyang.
“Kangsong Net will begin providing 4G mobile service,” said a notice posted on the Kangsong Mobile Communications 3.0 mobile app on Sept. 8, 2023. Daily NK confirmed the notice had been posted after recently gaining access to the app.
Kangsong Net, operated by the Pyongyang Mobile Communication Management Bureau, is one of two telecoms operating in North Korea. The other is Koryolink, operated by Cheo Technology (a joint venture between Egypt-based Orascom and North Korea’s Ministry of Post and Telecommunications).
“The 4G mobile communications network is a next-generation network that has been developed to compensate for the inadequate data transmission capabilities of the 3G mobile communications network and to meet increasing public demand for data transmission,” the notice said.
The notice went onto say, “The 4G mobile communications network will continue to provide the same voice calls that are a signature service of the 3G mobile communications network, along with data transmission through the 3G network. But the 4G network will also support real-time television viewing, real-time video calls, high-definition video viewing and various data services including photograph transmission. All those services will be available at high data transmission speeds, and at a low cost.”
Compared to 3G, the 4G network represents a major improvement both in speed and bandwidth, making it suitable for real-time streaming and high-speed data transmission. Since data transmission is dozens of times faster over 4G than over 3G, online gaming and video calls became feasible. A 4G network is also the basis for the transmission of large files, including media files, and cloud-based services.
At the outset, it appears that 4G service was only available in Pyongyang and a few other major cities.
“For now, 4G mobile service is available in the central districts of Pyongyang. Service will soon be provided in each provincial capital and along major railroads and highways,” said a notice posted on the app on Sept. 7, 2023.
“We plan to keep rapidly expanding the areas where 4G mobile service is available,” it added.
This implies that the 4G mobile communications infrastructure was not established nationally at that time. However, given that the notice was issued more than a year ago, it is likely that 4G service has since expanded to more regions.
The notice claimed that 4G service is more affordable than 3G, but 4G service plans run as much as 50 times higher than 3G plans.
A section of the app titled “data transmission services” provides information about user signup and fees. The section details three 3G service plans, with signup fees and monthly fees varying with the amount of data.
Assuming that users are paying with foreign currency, the first data plan (100 megabytes per month) carries a signup fee of 110 North Korean won and a monthly fee of 132 won. The second plan (500 megabytes per month) costs 440 won for signing up and 220 won monthly, and the third plan (1 gigabyte per month) costs 286 won for signing up and 330 won monthly.
North Korea uses conventional won denominations to represent online purchases made with foreign currency. Generally speaking, 110 won stands for 1 U.S. dollar, but there are occasionally minor fluctuations in the exchange rate.
All 4G service plans come with a standard signup fee of 550 won. For domestic currency payments, there are two plan options: a basic plan offering 70 megabytes of data for 1,500 won per month, and a plus plan with 150 megabytes of data for 3,000 won per month.
For foreign currency payments, six different plans are available. The entry-level plan provides 0.5 gigabytes of data for 110 won (approximately $1) per month. Moving up, customers can choose 1 gigabyte for 220 won ($2), 5 gigabytes for either 440 won ($4) or 660 won ($6), and 10 gigabytes for 1,100 won ($10) per month. The highest tier offers unlimited data for 5,500 won ($50) monthly. Using the exchange rate of 110 won to the dollar, this unlimited data plan costs approximately fifty times more than the cheapest 3G data plan.
Daily NK works with a network of sources in North Korea, China, and elsewhere. For security reasons, their identities remain anonymous.
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November 14, 2024 at 12:30PM
by DailyNK(North Korean Media)