SK Telecom will extend its promotion offering additional overseas roaming data through the end of the year. The move follows expanded demand, including a rise in the share of customers choosing high-capacity roaming plans and family roaming users topping 5 million.

SKT said on Monday it will extend its 'T Roaming Data Add-on' promotion from August to Dec. 31.

SKT has been running a promotion since April 23 that provides up to 16 GB of extra data to customers who sign up for its baro roaming plans. Customers can continue using data at speeds of up to 1 Mbps after they use up all provided data.

Since the promotion began, the share of customers choosing baro plans of 8 GB or more that come with the extra data benefit has risen by about 15 percentage points from earlier. Cumulative family roaming users have exceeded 5.05 million. Family roaming is a service that allows up to 5 family members to share data for an additional 3,000 won. SKT said 78 percent of households using T Roaming choose family roaming.

T Roaming allows users to use roaming after arriving overseas without buying or installing a separate SIM. Users also keep the phone number they used in South Korea. It also offers a feature that lets users switch carriers by selecting a telecom provider themselves depending on local network conditions. SKT provides roaming services under contracts with about 500 telecom operators in 195 countries worldwide.

SKT will provide an additional 1 GB of data to customers aged 34 or younger. Customers using '0 Youth' plans or Best and Light plans can receive a 50 percent discount on roaming fees. They can also use baro voice calls and text messages for free. SKT said more than 70 percent of roaming plan subscribers use baro voice calling. Average call time per person was estimated at about 40 minutes.

Jae-woong Yoon (윤재웅), head of SKT's Product and Brand Division, said the company decided to extend the promotion so that customers planning trips during Chuseok and the year-end holiday season can also enjoy the benefits. He said SKT will continue to do its best so customers can use telecom services overseas in the most convenient and safe way.