Posts tagged CHEO Technology
Koryolink nears 2 million subscribers
Apr 26th
Koryolink, North Korea’s sole 3G cellular service provider, is close to hitting the 2 million subscriber mark.
The news was disclosed this week by the Koryolink CEO Ezz Heikal in Pyongyang and later confirmed by the company’s head office in Cairo. It means that Koryolink will have roughly doubled its subscriber base in the last 15 months. Koryolink hit a million subscribers in early February 2012.
Only a few years ago it would have been unusual to see anyone in Pyongyang speaking on a cell phone, but that all began to change in December 2008 when Koryolink launched its service. It’s now available across Pyongyang, More >
Koryolink mobile Internet charges detailed
Feb 25th
Ever since it became known last week that foreigners in Pyongyang would be able to get access to mobile Internet services through Koryolink, the big unanswered question has been ‘how much?’.
We now know, thanks to a report from China’s Xinhua News Agency, and prospective users might not like the answer.
The news agency said a USB modem and SIM card to access the Internet will cost 75 euro and 150 euro (US$100 and $200) respectively, and that’s without data charges.
Data will cost between 150 euro for 2GBs to 400 euro for 10GBs, with an additional 10 euro monthly charge for the SIM More >
Koryolink international calling rates detailed
Jan 23rd
Over the weekend a series of stories from Pyongyang reported that visitors to North Korea can now buy SIM cards for the local Koryolink network so they can make international calls while in the country.
Thanks to an update from Young Pioneer Tours, which was the first to report on the new service, we now know how much those calls will cost.
Visitors have three options for purchasing a SIM card:
- A 50 euro (US$67) card that is valid indefinitely and can be used on repeat visits. An unspecified amount of prepaid calling is included.
- A two-week rental SIM card, which costs 50 euro More >
Policy change allows tourist cell phones, Internet to come, says Xinhua
Jan 20th
The North Korean government is now allowing tourists to keep hold of their cell phones when they enter the country and buy SIM cards on the local network, according to a report by China’s Xinhua news agency.
The report comes hours after Young Pioneer Tours said tourists on their most recent trip were able to take in cell phones.
Quoting an unnamed Egyptian technician with Koryolink, the Egyptian-Korean joint venture that operates North Korea’s sole 3G network, Xinhua reported that the policy changed on January 7 this year.
The technician said visitors should have to register their cell phone when they enter the country More >
North Korea cell phone ban report incorrect, says Orascom
Feb 15th
North Koreans have not been banned from using mobile phones during a mourning period for Kim Jong Il despite a press report to the contrary, according to the majority owner of North Korea’s nationwide cellular network.
The U.K.’s Daily Telegraph newspaper reported on January 26th that the North Korean government had warned citizens they would be “branded as ‘war criminals’ and punished accordingly” if caught attempting to defect or use mobile phones during a 100-day period of national mourning.
The report was widely picked up by other news outlets, including Forbes, Foreign Policy, Global Post, and Computerworld and made for great headlines (“In N. Korea, use a cellphone and die”), but there More >
Koryolink hits a million subscribers
Feb 3rd
Koryolink, North Korea’s only commercial 3G cell phone network, has signed up its millionth subscriber. The landmark was reached just over three years since service was launched.
Koryolink has been adding more than 100,000 new subscribers for each of the last five quarters and was expected to hit the million mark in early 2012.
The company is operated by Cheo Technology, which is a joint venture between Egypt’s Orascom Telecom Media And Technology Holding (OTMT) and North Korea’s Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications. OTMT holds a 75 percent stake and the North Korean government owns the remaining 25 percent.
Koryolink’s service has popularized cell More >
Koryolink sponsors Taekwondo championship
Nov 19th
This week’s earnings report for Koryolink, North Korea’s only widely available cell phone service, highlighted something I missed back in September: the company was a major sponsor of the 17th Taekwondo World Championships. The event took place in Pyongyang from September 6th to 12th.
Koryolink banners were strung around the Taekwando Hall where the international contest was taking place, as can be seen in video from KCNA. The company even had one on the front of the judges desk.
In its earnings report Orascom Telecom, the Egypt-based telecommunications company that holds a majority stake in Koryolink, said the deal was unique in North More >
Koryolink surpasses 800,000 3G subscriptions
Nov 18th
North Korea’s nationwide 3G cellular network could miss an end-of-year target to have a million subscribers despite two successive quarters of record subscriber growth.
Koryolink added 142,000 subscriptions in the third quarter, beating the 131,000 subscriptions added in the previous three months, to end September with 809,000 users. That leaves it 191,000 subscribers short of hitting a million users — a 2011 target that had been talked about at the beginning of the year. Based on current subscriber growth it appears that Koryolink will come close to the million mark but — barring a surge of new sign-ups in the current quarter — More >
Orascom planning 3G Internet service
Oct 17th
Orascom Telecom is planning to add Internet service to its 3G cellular offering in North Korea, according to the Choson Exchange blog.
Writing in a post on Sunday, Geoffrey K. See, the organization’s executive director and founder, says the service is currently being tested but should be available in the near future. The information on the service came from a meeting with Orascom employees in Pyongyang.
At first it will be available to resident foreigners living in Pyongyang. So far there is no approval for a wider service, even in censored form, for the North Korean subscribers. Orascom didn’t provide any details on More >
Koryolink sees another record quarter
Aug 25th
Koryolink, North Korea’s only 3G network operator, added a record number of subscribers in the second quarter of 2011, but the company will have to push harder if it’s to reach a million users by the end of the year.
The company ended the quarter with 666,517 subscribers, according to Orascom Telecom. Egypt’s Orascom holds a 75 percent stake in Cheo Technology, which operates the service under the Koryolink brand name. The remaining 25 percent stake is held by the government-owned Korea Posts and Telecommunications Co. (KPTC).
The company added 131,384 subscribers during the April to June quarter, putting the quarter just More >
