An offline hub where anyone can easily understand and directly experience MVNO services has been refurbished. With more comfortable facilities than before, “Budget Phone Square Plus” is positioning itself as a multi-purpose space covering consultations and sign-ups, as well as a place to rest, serving as an MVNO forward base.

The Korea MVNO Association closed the first Budget Phone Square outlet early last year, then opened Budget Phone Square Plus in October the same year on the first floor of the Golden Tower building near Seodaemun Station. The site is supported by KB Kookmin Bank, which provides MVNO services under “KB Liiv M”, and the Korea MVNO Association handles operations.

At first glance, Budget Phone Square Plus looks more like a cafe than a promotional hall. When visitors open the glass door and enter, they first see a space with tables and chairs. A cafe zone where people can drink tea for free is set up on one side, and cables for charging mobile phones and laptops are placed on each table. The aim of serving as a community lounge for local residents as well as MVNO users is reflected throughout the space.

Because MVNO services are mainly online, older people and users unfamiliar with digital environments often have difficulty during the sign-up process. Visitors to Budget Phone Square Plus can compare plans themselves and complete a subscription in one go with help from on-site staff. Leaflets on MVNO products attached to the store walls and a section introducing this month’s events allow visitors to look at current MVNO trends.

A Budget Phone Square Plus official said they are working actively to respond to inquiries about MVNO sign-up procedures. The official said the outlet supports administrative work related to subscriptions, including service consultations and printing documents to confirm activation. The official described it as closer to an “experiential information desk” that helps people understand MVNO services enough to make a choice, rather than a simple sign-up agency.

Budget Phone Square Plus operates on weekdays from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Anyone can drop by freely to rest even without the purpose of subscribing to an MVNO service. It is also accessible, about a 5-minute walk from Seodaemun Station. The association plans to open an in-store meeting room through online reservations and expand its use as a space for small gatherings. It aims to use the site as a base where MVNO operators discuss industry-wide common issues, alongside its role as a community lounge.

Still, the current reality for the MVNO industry is not easy. Companies are concerned about financial difficulties as government policy changes. The Ministry of Science and ICT has been gradually reducing exemptions from spectrum usage fees for smaller MVNOs since last year. Smaller MVNO operators that paid 20 percent of spectrum usage fees last year must pay 50 percent this year and 100 percent next year.

Spectrum usage fees are about 1,200 won per subscriber per quarter. If charged in full, an operator with 100,000 subscribers would have to bear additional annual costs of about 480,000,000 won. For smaller MVNO operators that must compete with the three major mobile carriers, it is not a small burden. Industry analysis says MVNO rates would inevitably rise if full payment of spectrum usage fees becomes reality.

Last year, Ko Myung-su, head of the Korea MVNO Association, asked the government at a press briefing to reconsider the current share of spectrum usage fees borne by operators. He said losses would be inevitable for the MVNO industry if the government proceeds with its plan. The MVNO industry is asking the government to keep spectrum usage fee payments at 20 percent, the level of last year.

An MVNO industry official said MVNO services are in the spotlight as an alternative under the policy of reducing household communications costs, but support measures for smaller operators are not sufficient. The official said the government should also pursue tailored policies that can ease the industry’s burden, along with efforts such as Budget Phone Square Plus to broaden consumer touchpoints.