North Korea launched 4G cellular service in September 2023, however initially service was solely obtainable in just a few main cities, together with the capital of Pyongyang.
“Kangsong Internet will start offering 4G cellular service,” stated a discover posted on the Kangsong Cellular Communications 3.0 cellular app on Sept. 8, 2023. Day by day NK confirmed the discover had been posted after just lately having access to the app.
Kangsong Internet, operated by the Pyongyang Cellular Communication Administration Bureau, is considered one of two telecoms working in North Korea. The opposite is Koryolink, operated by Cheo Know-how (a three way partnership between Egypt-based Orascom and North Korea’s Ministry of Publish and Telecommunications).
“The 4G cellular communications community is a next-generation community that has been developed to compensate for the insufficient information transmission capabilities of the 3G cellular communications community and to fulfill growing public demand for information transmission,” the discover stated.
The discover went onto say, “The 4G cellular communications community will proceed to offer the identical voice calls which are a signature service of the 3G cellular communications community, together with information transmission by the 3G community. However the 4G community can even help real-time tv viewing, real-time video calls, high-definition video viewing and numerous information providers together with {photograph} transmission. All these providers will probably be obtainable at excessive information transmission speeds, and at a low price.”
In comparison with 3G, the 4G community represents a serious enchancment each in pace and bandwidth, making it appropriate for real-time streaming and high-speed information transmission. Since information transmission is dozens of instances sooner over 4G than over 3G, on-line gaming and video calls grew to become possible. A 4G community can be the idea for the transmission of enormous recordsdata, together with media recordsdata, and cloud-based providers.
On the outset, it seems that 4G service was solely obtainable in Pyongyang and some different main cities.
“For now, 4G cellular service is accessible within the central districts of Pyongyang. Service will quickly be offered in every provincial capital and alongside main railroads and highways,” stated a discover posted on the app on Sept. 7, 2023.
“We plan to maintain quickly increasing the areas the place 4G cellular service is accessible,” it added.
This suggests that the 4G cellular communications infrastructure was not established nationally at the moment. Nonetheless, provided that the discover was issued greater than a yr in the past, it’s probably that 4G service has since expanded to extra areas.
The discover claimed that 4G service is extra inexpensive than 3G, however 4G service plans run as a lot as 50 instances greater than 3G plans.
A piece of the app titled “information transmission providers” gives details about person signup and charges. The part particulars three 3G service plans, with signup charges and month-to-month charges various with the quantity of knowledge.
Assuming that customers are paying with overseas foreign money, the primary information plan (100 megabytes per 30 days) carries a signup payment of 110 North Korean received and a month-to-month payment of 132 received. The second plan (500 megabytes per 30 days) prices 440 received for signing up and 220 received month-to-month, and the third plan (1 gigabyte per 30 days) prices 286 received for signing up and 330 received month-to-month.
North Korea makes use of typical received denominations to characterize on-line purchases made with overseas foreign money. Typically talking, 110 received stands for 1 U.S. greenback, however there are sometimes minor fluctuations within the trade price.
All 4G service plans include a normal signup payment of 550 received. For home foreign money funds, there are two plan choices: a primary plan providing 70 megabytes of knowledge for 1,500 received per 30 days, and a plus plan with 150 megabytes of knowledge for 3,000 received per 30 days.
For overseas foreign money funds, six completely different plans can be found. The entry-level plan gives 0.5 gigabytes of knowledge for 110 received (roughly $1) per 30 days. Transferring up, prospects can select 1 gigabyte for 220 received ($2), 5 gigabytes for both 440 received ($4) or 660 received ($6), and 10 gigabytes for 1,100 received ($10) per 30 days. The very best tier provides limitless information for five,500 received ($50) month-to-month. Utilizing the trade price of 110 received to the greenback, this limitless information plan prices roughly fifty instances greater than the most affordable 3G information plan.
Day by day NK works with a community of sources in North Korea, China, and elsewhere. For safety causes, their identities stay nameless.
Please ship any feedback or questions on this text to dailynkenglish@uni-media.web.
Learn in Korean
