[Digital Today reporter Jin-ho Lee] South Korea's telecom industry has pushed back against Japan's Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications analysis of international mobile fees, saying there are problems with the comparison criteria and plan selection.

The telecom industry said on Sept. 27 that the Japanese ministry recently released data comparing mobile fees in six cities: Tokyo, New York, London, Paris, Dusseldorf and Seoul. It compared fees by splitting data allowances from 2 GB to unlimited, based on 44 minutes of voice calls and 60 text messages.

Based on 4G 20 GB, the ministry's analysis showed SK Telecom's monthly fee in Seoul at 6,916 yen, the highest among the six cities. Verizon in New York was 6,684 yen, NTT Docomo in Tokyo was 2,974 yen and Orange in Paris was 2,495 yen. The ministry's analysis said Seoul was 2.3 times Tokyo and 2.8 times Paris.

South Korea's telecom industry, including the Korea Telecommunications Operators Association (KTOA), immediately objected. It said the Japanese ministry arbitrarily set standards, including applying an older plan that is more expensive than plans actually available, and failing to properly reflect Japan's additional charges for voice and texts.

In particular, in the comparison of monthly 4G 20 GB fees, the ministry applied an older LTE plan for South Korea at about 6,916 yen. The industry explained that cross-subscription between 4G and 5G plans is possible in South Korea and an integrated plan was launched in July, so an actually available 24 GB plan at about 4,200 yen should be applied.

The industry also argued there are problems with the way Japan's fees were calculated. Of the countries surveyed, five countries excluding Japan provide unlimited voice and texts, but Japan charges separately. KTOA said, "To compare under the same conditions, Japan's fees need to add an unlimited voice add-on service and text usage charges."

It also cited as an issue that the Japanese ministry included NTT Docomo's 'Ahamo', an online-only second-brand plan, in the comparison. The industry explained that international fee comparisons by the OECD and others generally exclude special plans with restricted subscription conditions or limited accessibility.

After recalculating under the same conditions, including unlimited voice and texts and excluding special plans, the industry said South Korea's mobile fees ranked third to fourth among the six countries. Japan, meanwhile, falls to fourth to sixth from the previous range of first to fourth.

The industry stressed that not only fee levels but also data usage, telecom carrier profitability and network quality should be considered together. KTOA data showed South Korean users' average monthly data usage is 28.80 GB, ranking high in the OECD, while the amount paid per 1 GB of data is $1.01, ranking in the mid-to-lower range.

KTOA said, "There needs to be restraint in concluding South Korea's telecom fee level based on international fee comparisons grounded in artificial and arbitrary analysis," adding, "Network quality, market performance and provided data volumes should be considered comprehensively."