Posts tagged Orascom
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 >
Koryolink hits half a million 3G subscriptions
May 20th
Are things starting to get tough for Koryolink?
North Korea’s only 3G cellular provider has published its quarterly results and the headline numbers look good.
Subscriptions are at a record 535,133 and quarterly revenue has never been higher at US$25.8 million, but look a little closer and you’ll see the company is having to push harder to get new customers and existing customers are spending less.
Quarterly growth was 103,214 subscriptions, the third highest yet recorded since service began in the final weeks of 2008. That growth made the January to March quarter the first since mid 2009 where quarter-on-quarter growth failed to More >
Koryolink 2010 full-year results
Apr 19th
Full-year results for Koryolink, North Korea’s only 3G cellular carrier, have been announced by Egypt’s Orascom Telecom. Orascom holds a 75 percent stake in Cheo Technology, which is the company that operates the Koryolink service. The remaining 25 percent stake is held by the government-run Korea Posts and Telecommunications Co. (KPTC).
The results show continued strong performance for the unit, which has been trying to expand use of the service by offering lower prices.
You can read the headline take in this story: North Korea’s Sole 3G Operator Sees Users and Revenue Surge, PC World.
The network expansion has continued and the company More >
Report: Cell phone rentals to visitors suspended
Feb 21st
North Korea has suspended a cell-phone rental service for visiting foreigners, according to Japan’s Kyodo News.
The suspension began in January and could, speculates Kyodo, “reflect concern in the North over the flow of information about democracy demonstrations sweeping the Middle East.”
Telecommunications systems, including cell phones and the Internet, have proved instrumental in the growing civil unrest that has already engulfed several Middle Eastern states. In Egypt the government shut off both networks at the height of the unrest.
North Koreans don’t have access to the Internet, but at least 300,000 of them carry cell phones, according to data from the operator. More >
3G users to hit 1 million this year, says report
Feb 4th
North Korea is expecting the number of 3G users in the country will reach 1 million this year, according to a Chinese television report.
The prediction was made by a staffer of Chesin Commercial Corp., the government-linked company that runs North Korea’s international e-mail service, in an interview with Chinese Central Television (CCTV).
“It is expected that mobile phone users will reach one million in 2011,” the man, identified as Lee Churl Suh, told the Chinese state-run broadcaster in Pyongyang.
It was included in a report that focused on the popularity of cell phones in North Korea. The report was distributed to broadcasters More >
Orascom CEO meets Kim Jong Il
Jan 24th
The CEO of Egypt’s Orascom Telecom was given a dinner in his honor hosted by Kim Jong Il on Sunday night, KCNA reported on Monday. (Scroll down for updates)
Naguib Sawiris arrived in the North Korean capital on Friday and his meeting with the North Korean leader was the first reported details of his activities.
The report said Kim, “warmly welcomed his DPRK visit taking place at a time when Orascom′s investment is making successful progress in different fields of the DPRK, including telecommunications. He had a cordial talk with him.”
[Read my report at Network World]
A reception with Kim Jong Il is More >
Koryolink Q3 2010 results
Nov 9th
Third-quarter financial results for Koryolink have been announced by majority-owner Orascom Telecom and what a quarter it was! The network managed record growth and revenue, thanks largely to network expansion.
Koryolink is North Korea’s only 3G cellular network and is operated by CHEO Technology, a joint venture in which Orascom holds 75 percent and the state run Korea Posts and Telecommunications Co. holds the remainder.
I covered the headline figures in this article at PC World: Koryolink Logs Big Jump in North Korean Cell Phone Users.
Here, I’d like to look a little bit more closely at the numbers.
Quarterly revenue hit a record More >
DPRK Cell-phone dialing codes
Aug 31st
A post on NKEconWatch has some hard-to-find information about cell phone dialing codes in North Korea. The details show how basic communications controls exist based on the type of account and customer.
SUNNET (2G GSM network, from 2002)
+850 193 801 plus 4-digit number (when being called from overseas) 193 801 plus 4-digit number (when calling SUNNET to SUNNET) 193 801 plus 4-digit number (when calling from Pyongyang “381” landlines to SUNNET)
KORYOLINK (3G network, from late 2008)
+850 192 250 numbers are for foreigners +850 192 260 numbers are for locals
Pyongyang “382” landline numbers cannot reach SUNNET cell phones. SUNNET subscribers can call More >
Cell Phone Demand Stays Strong at Koryolink
May 13th
Koryolink, North Korea’s only 3G cellular operator, saw sales more than double in the first three months of this year as it expanded its network coverage and enjoyed continued demand for its service.
At the end of March the company had 125,661 subscribers, a gain just under 34,000 subscribers over the quarter, according to majority-shareholder Orascom Telecom. The Egyptian company, which invests in cellular operators in developing nations, owns 75 percent of Koryolink.
