Smartphone mobile service in Seoul ranks among the most expensive of the world's major cities, alongside New York, according to a Japanese government survey.
Japan's Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications released a report on the 27th comparing 4G and 5G mobile rates across six cities: Seoul, Tokyo, New York, London, Paris and Duesseldorf.
The survey examined the leading carrier by market share in each country, comparing what consumers pay by data allowance, based on the cheapest plans available to new subscribers as of the end of last year. For 4G plans with 20 gigabytes of monthly data, subscribers to SK Telecom in Seoul paid 6,916 yen (60,846 won), the highest among the cities surveyed.
Verizon in New York ranked second at 6,684 yen, followed by Telekom Deutschland in Duesseldorf at 4,037 yen and Telefonica UK in London at 3,259 yen. Seoul's cost was 2.3 times that of fifth-ranked NTT Docomo in Tokyo, at 2,974 yen, and 2.8 times that of sixth-ranked Orange in Paris, at 2,495 yen. The ranking held at the 50-gigabyte level, where Seoul again led at 6,916 yen, ahead of Duesseldorf at 6,732 yen, New York at 6,684 yen, Tokyo at 4,954 yen, London at 3,686 yen and Paris at 3,465 yen.
At 100 gigabytes, Seoul ranked second, and third among unlimited data plans, though costs remained high.
Seoul Ranks Second or Third on 5G Plans
The gap narrowed for 5G plans, but Seoul remained on the expensive end. At 20 gigabytes, Seoul cost 4,902 yen, or about 43,127 won, ranking second behind New York at 6,684 yen. At 50 gigabytes, Seoul came third at 5,603 yen, or about 49,295 won, behind Duesseldorf at 6,732 yen and New York at 6,684 yen.
For unlimited data plans, Seoul came in at 8,754 yen, or about 77,017 won, below Duesseldorf at 11,450 yen and Tokyo at 9,332 yen, but above New York at 6,684 yen and London at 4,966 yen. Orange in Paris does not offer an unlimited plan.
The data allowances in the survey reflect plan terms rather than actual consumption. A survey by the Consumers Union of Korea conducted in October last year found the median data use among subscribers was 28 gigabytes, with 40.4% on unlimited plans.
The ministry also compared payments by subscribers to the third- or fourth-largest carrier by market share in each of the six countries. On that measure, customers of Korea's LG Uplus also paid relatively high rates, ranking second at the 20-, 50- and 100-gigabyte levels for both 4G and 5G, and highest of all for unlimited data plans.
Separately, the latest data from Ookla and Opensignal, which measure mobile network performance internationally, place Korea fourth to sixth in the world for mobile download speeds, excluding some West Asian countries such as the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.
