Posts tagged Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications
North Korea bans WiFi at embassies
Sep 9th
North Korea has banned the use of satellite Internet connections and WiFi networks by foreign embassies and international organizations unless they get government approval.
The switch, which came in mid August, gives credibility to an earlier report that unencrypted wireless networks at embassies were being used by North Korean citizens to gain uncensored access to the Internet.
Foreign missions and aid agencies were notified of the change in policy on August 20 in a communique from the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the full text of which was published on Monday by NK News.
In it, the country’s State Radio Regulatory Department said unlicensed WiFi More >
Koryolink subscriptions hit 2.4 million
Sep 8th
Subscriptions to Koryolink, North Korea’s only 3G mobile phone network, have just passed the 2.4 million mark, according to the latest figures from the operator.
The figure represents a significant slowdown in growth in the last year over the previous year and points to the first big spurt in subscriptions being over. The carrier might have to start working harder to continue attracting new users.
At the end of June, the network had just over 2.4 million subscribers, according to Orascom Telecom Media and Technology, the Egyptian company that owns 75 percent of the company.
The last time the company announced subscriber data was in May More >
Orascom has $422 million in cash in North Korea
Dec 16th
Orascom Telecom Media and Technology (OTMT), the Egyptian company that owns a 75 percent stake in North Korea’s on 3G cellular network operator, has apparently been doing very well in the North Korean market.
A recent audit report by Deloitte says the company’s assets in North Korea stand at US$512 million, of which $422 million is sitting in cash. The figures were obtained using the official exchange rate on September 30. Due to currency controls imposed by the government, that cash isn’t readily available to OTMT to withdraw from the country.
“North Korea has implemented currency control restrictions and, in particular, rules More >
Ham radio operators to refine DPRK plans
Jul 2nd
Members of the Intrepid DX group hold their banner next to a monument in the DPRK. (Image: P5 Project blog)
Two ham radio operators hoping to get permission to set up a temporary amateur radio station in North Korea have returned from a trip to the country and have plans to visit again.
Paul Ewing (N6PSE) and David Flack (AH6HY) of the “Intrepid DX” group wrote that they will refine their proposal and “continue to communicate with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications.”
The two want permission to lead two groups of twelve people each on a More >
Ham radio operators hope to put North Korea on the air
Jun 11th
A group of amateur radio operators are hoping to get permission from the North Korean government for a month-long trip to the country during which they’ll set up a ham radio operation.
If they manage to pull off the plan, they’ll have succeeded where few have before.
North Korea has no amateur radio operators and government-sanctioned transmissions by foreigners in the country are extremely rare. This makes North Korea the rarest country for contacts in the amateur radio world.
The project is still in the planning phase but is being led by operators with experience of both North Korea and operating in usually closed countries. More >
Koryolink hits 2 million subscribers
Jun 2nd
North Korea’s Koryolink cellular network has hit the 2 million subscriber mark, majority owner Orascom Telecom said this week.
The landmark was reached in late May, 15 months after it surpassed the million subscriber mark.
Koryolink launched its 3G cellular service in the final days of December 2008 and in the last four years has expanded service to cover all major towns, highways and railways in North Korea.
“When we first acquired the license in North Korea, people thought the service will only be provided to a few privileged individuals,” said Naguib Sawiris, Executive Chairman of Orascom Telecom Media and Technology in a statement. “We are More >
Pyongyang denies GPS jamming
May 19th
North Korea denied on Friday that it played any part in a two and a half week long jamming of Global Positioning System (GPS) signals in the border area between North and South Korea.
The denial was carried in several state media outlets and said allegations that the DPRK was behind the jamming were part of “a new farce and smear campaign.”
The jamming took place between April 28 and May 14 and resulted in several hundred civilian aircraft and ships experiencing disruption to their navigation systems, according to reports. It made GPS signals unavailable or unreliable but didn’t result in any serious accidents. South Korean More >
DPRK radio transmitters a national secret
Apr 25th
When North Korea launched a modernization of its broadcasting network in 2011, the Chinese company chosen to supply new TV and radio transmitters to the country faced a problem.
The location of broadcast towers in North Korea is so much of a state secret that engineers from the company weren’t permitted to travel to the DPRK to help install the transmitters, the company, Beijing BBEF Science and Technology, said on its website.
Instead, eight North Korean engineers spent a month in China being trained on how to install and operate the devices, which included a medium-power TV transmitter, several shortwave radio transmitters and a powerful 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 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 >
