North Korea - Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband - Statistics and Analyses
Description
North Korea - Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband - Statistics and Analyses
North Korea’s mobile services to fall under total state control following Koryolink’s demise Egyptian mobile operator Orascom was the private sector partner with government-owned North Korea Post and Telecommunication Company (NKPTC) that set up the country’s 3G mobile network, Koryolink, in 2008 following the demise of the Sunnet GSM service that same year. Koryolink’s 25-year license gave it exclusive rights for the first four years along with a block on any foreign investors from entering the market for a further three years. Orascom reportedly invested the hefty sum of $400 million to build infrastructure in Pyongyang and a few other major cities, however the high cost of handsets (designed and built in North Korea to allow the government to have full access to all of the communications going through the devices) meant that only the most wealthy (or privileged) could afford to subscribe. Mobile penetration, as a result, has only been able to reach 19%. Nevertheless, Orascom was able to produce a reasonably healthy return from its venture – or at least it did so on paper. In 2012 (the last year of its monopoly period), Koryolink generated around $360 million in profit. Unfortunately for the majority shareholder, the North Korean government prevented Orascom from repatriating its share of the profit for the full value. Desperately in need of foreign exchange as international sanctions started to bite, the government demanded Orascom to repatriate profits at the unofficial (black market) exchange rate – roughly worth about one-hundredth of the actual amount. The Orascom holding company in Egypt announced in November 2021 that it had, in effect, given up on North Korea and had written off its share of Koryolink in its stock market filing. Negotiations are continuing for Koryolink to become merged with one of the other state-owned mobile operators (Byol), but the final outcome inevitably involves all of North Korea’s mobile services moving under state control.
North Korea’s mobile services to fall under total state control following Koryolink’s demise Egyptian mobile operator Orascom was the private sector partner with government-owned North Korea Post and Telecommunication Company (NKPTC) that set up the country’s 3G mobile network, Koryolink, in 2008 following the demise of the Sunnet GSM service that same year. Koryolink’s 25-year license gave it exclusive rights for the first four years along with a block on any foreign investors from entering the market for a further three years. Orascom reportedly invested the hefty sum of $400 million to build infrastructure in Pyongyang and a few other major cities, however the high cost of handsets (designed and built in North Korea to allow the government to have full access to all of the communications going through the devices) meant that only the most wealthy (or privileged) could afford to subscribe. Mobile penetration, as a result, has only been able to reach 19%. Nevertheless, Orascom was able to produce a reasonably healthy return from its venture – or at least it did so on paper. In 2012 (the last year of its monopoly period), Koryolink generated around $360 million in profit. Unfortunately for the majority shareholder, the North Korean government prevented Orascom from repatriating its share of the profit for the full value. Desperately in need of foreign exchange as international sanctions started to bite, the government demanded Orascom to repatriate profits at the unofficial (black market) exchange rate – roughly worth about one-hundredth of the actual amount. The Orascom holding company in Egypt announced in November 2021 that it had, in effect, given up on North Korea and had written off its share of Koryolink in its stock market filing. Negotiations are continuing for Koryolink to become merged with one of the other state-owned mobile operators (Byol), but the final outcome inevitably involves all of North Korea’s mobile services moving under state control.
Table of Contents
80 Pages
- 1 Key statistics
- 2 Regional Asia market comparison
- 2.1 Market characteristics
- 2.2 Market Leaders
- 2.3 Market Challengers
- 2.4 Market Emergents
- 2.5 TMI vs GDP
- 2.6 Mobile and mobile broadband penetration
- 2.7 Fixed versus mobile broadband penetration
- 3 Country overview
- 4 Covid-19 and its impact on the telecom sector
- 4.1 Economic considerations and responses
- 4.2 Subscribers
- 4.3 Infrastructure
- 5 Telecommunications market
- 5.1 Historical overview
- 6 Regulatory environment
- 7 Mobile market
- 7.1 Mobile statistics
- 7.2 Mobile infrastructure
- 7.3 Major mobile operators
- 7.4 Mobile handsets
- 8 Digital economy
- 8.1 Korea Computing Centre (KCC)
- 8.2 Personal computer production
- 8.3 E-education
- 8.4 E-commerce and E-payments
- 9 Digital media
- 9.1 Broadcasting market
- 9.2 Social media
- 10 Fixed network market
- 10.1 Major network operators
- 11 Telecommunications infrastructure
- 11.1 National telecom network
- 11.2 International infrastructure
- 12 Appendix Historic data
- 13 Glossary of abbreviations
- 14 Related reports
- List of Tables, Charts and Exhibits
- Table 1 Top Level Country Statistics and Telco Authorities North Korea 2022 (e)
- Table 2 Development of North Korea's GDP 2012 2020
- Table 3 Growth in the number of mobile subscribers and penetration 2012 2027
- Table 4 Growth in the number of mobile broadband subscribers and penetration 2015 2027
- Table 5 Historic - Koryolink revenue, EBITDA, CAPEX (US$ million) 2012 2015
- Table 6 Historic - Koryolink ARPU 2012 2014
- Table 7 Historic - Koryolink quarterly revenue, EBITDA, EBITDA margin, capex 2009 2011
- Table 8 Historic - Koryolink quarterly subscribers, MoU and ARPU 2009 2014
- Table 9 Historic Koryolink Fixed line subscribers 2000 2011
- Chart 1 Asia Telecoms Maturity Index Market Leaders
- Chart 2 Asia Telecoms Maturity Index Market Challengers
- Chart 3 Asia Telecoms Maturity Index Market Emergents
- Chart 4 Asia Telecoms Maturity Index vs GDP per capita
- Chart 5 Asia Mobile subscriber penetration vs mobile broadband penetration
- Chart 6 Northern Asia Mobile subscriber penetration vs mobile broadband penetration
- Chart 7 Northern Asia Fixed and mobile broadband penetration
- Chart 8 Development of North Korea's GDP 2012 2020
- Chart 9 Growth in the number of mobile subscribers and penetration 2012 2027
- Chart 10 Growth in the number of mobile broadband subscribers and penetration 2015 2027
- Exhibit 1 Map of Telecom Maturity Index global ranking among countries in Asia
- Exhibit 2 Generalised Market Characteristics by Market Segment
- Exhibit 3 Asia Market Leaders and market developments
- Exhibit 4 Asia Market Challengers and market developments
- Exhibit 5 Asia Market Emergents and market developments
- Exhibit 6 Map of North Korea
Pricing
Currency Rates
Questions or Comments?
Our team has the ability to search within reports to verify it suits your needs. We can also help maximize your budget by finding sections of reports you can purchase.
