South Korea - Broadband Market - Overview, Statistics and Forecasts

Synopsis

South Korea has the world’s highest number of broadband services per capita. By mid-2011, over 35% of the population and 85% of households were broadband subscribers. FttX accounted for 55% of total subscriptions. Since 2006, Korea’s policy emphasis has been on completing a BcN with wireline speeds of 50-100Mb/s per household and 1-2Mb/s on wireless connections. The plan moving forward is for a UBcN (Ultra Broadband convergence Network) with 1Gb/s speeds on fixed lines or 10Mb/s on wireless by 2012/13.This report provides an overview of South Korea’s broadband market, government initiatives and technologies including cable modem, DSL, Fibre-to-the-Home and Apartment-LAN, and South Korea’s the home-grown WiBro. VoIP and IPTV statistics are also included as well as broadband statistics by technology and broadband forecasts to 2016.

Key Developments:

Broadband population penetration over 35% and growth of fibre as main source of connectivity; BcN targets exceeded by end 2010; UBcN initiatives underway; WiBro subscribers pass half million mark after investments of over KRW 2,000 billion; VoIP subscribers pass the 10 million mark; large investments in WiFi for mobile network offload; South Korea ranked fourth in the world as IPTV subscriptions take-off; cable operators under pressure to share content and reduce pricing; both IPTV and cable operators aiming to transition users to digital services and drive up ARPU in the lead up to analogue services being phased out in 2012.

Companies covered in this report include:

SK Broadband, KT, LG U+, Hanaro Telecom, LG Dacom, LG Powercom

Table of Contents

• 1. Synopsis
• 2. Broadband market
  • 2.1 Background
  • 2.2 ITU/UNESCO Broadband Commission for Digital Development
    • 2.2.1 Broadband success criteria
    • 2.2.2 South Korean innovation
    • 2.2.3 South Korean broadband business model
    • 2.2.4 South Korea bridging the digital divide
  • 2.3 Overview
  • 2.4 Growth drivers
  • 2.5 Broadband speed results
• 3. Broadband statistics
  • 3.1 Operator broadband subscribers
  • 3.2 Broadband subscribers by access type
  • 3.3 Bundled services usage rate by type
  • 3.4 Forecast broadband subscribers – 2011 - 2012; 2016
• 4. Broadband government targets
  • 4.1 Broadband convergence Network
  • 4.2 Ultra Broadband convergence Network
• 5. Broadband technologies
  • 5.1 Overview
  • 5.2 Cable modem
  • 5.3 Digital Subscriber Line (DSL)
  • 5.4 Apartment LAN
  • 5.5 Fibre-to-the-Home
    • 5.5.1 FttX background
    • 5.5.2 FttX statistics
• 6. Wireless broadband
  • 6.1 Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN)/Wireless Fidelity (WiFi)
  • 6.2 WiBro
    • 6.2.1 WiBro background
    • 6.2.2 WiBro deployments and investments
  • 6.3 Broadband via satellite
• 7. Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP)
  • 7.1 VoIP background
  • 7.2 VoIP statistics
• 8. Broadband TV
  • 8.1 Overview of media convergence
  • 8.2 Triple play background
    • 8.2.1 Interactive TV (iTV)
    • 8.2.2 Video-on-Demand (VoD)
  • 8.3 Internet protocol TV (IPTV)
    • 8.3.1 IPTV background
    • 8.3.2 IPTV deployments
    • 8.3.3 3D IPTV deployments
    • 8.3.4 IPTV progress into 2012
• 9. Forecasting methodology
• 10. Related reports

• Table 1 – Broadband internet subscriber growth and penetration rate – 1998 - 2012
• Table 2 – Broadband subscribers and households – March 2011
• Table 3 – Broadband market share by operator – March 2011
• Table 4 – Broadband internet subscriber numbers by system – 1998 - 2011
• Table 5 – Bundled service usage pattern: households using bundled services– 2010
• Table 6 – Forecast broadband subscribers and penetration – higher band: 2011 - 2012; 2016
• Table 7 – Forecast broadband subscribers and penetration – lower band: 2011 - 2012; 2016
• Table 8 – BcN implementation in households/subscribers – 2005; 2006 - 2010
• Table 9 – UBcN implementation goals in households/subscribers – 2009 - 2013
• Table 10 – Broadband subscribers by access type – March 2011
• Table 11 – Cable modem subscribers – 1999 - 2011
• Table 12 – Broadband cable modem (HFC) subscribers by service provider – March 2011
• Table 13 – DSL subscribers – 1999 - 2010
• Table 14 – DSL subscribers by service provider – March 2011
• Table 15 – A-LAN subscribers – 2002 - 2010
• Table 16 – A-LAN subscribers by service provider – March 2011
• Table 17 – FttH subscribers – 2006 - 2010
• Table 18 – FttH subscribers by service provider – March 2011
• Table 19 – KT and SK Telecom WiBro subscribers – 2006 - 2011
• Table 20 – KT and SK Telecom WiBro domestic investment plans – 2006 - 2011
• Table 21 – South Korea VoIP subscribers by major operator and market share – May 2011
• Table 22 – South Korea VoIP subscribers – 2008 - 2011
• Table 23 – IPTV subscribers by operator – 2006 - 2011
• Table 24 – IPTV growth by channels, content providers, after-school classrooms – 2008 - 2010
• Table 25 – IPTV real-time and pre-IPTV subscribers – 2008 - 2010

• Chart 1 – South Korea broadband subscribers and population penetration – 2000 - 2012
• Chart 2 – South Korea share of broadband subscribers by technology – 1998 - 2010
• Chart 3 – South Korea DSL and Fibre subscribers – 2002 - 2010

• Exhibit 1 – Comparison of WiBro and mobile technologies in South Korea
• Exhibit 2 – Types of telecom convergence