Will there be GSM in South Korea & Japan

I think if after all these years they decided not to get GSM, I don't think they will be doing it. They'd probably make an incompatible version of 3G from the rest of the world just to make things worse.

 

SK Telecom in Korea has CDMA 2000 phones that will accept a GSM SIM. This allow you to use your home system phone number and be billed on your home system.

DoCoMo rents wCDMA phones that work on their non-UMTS network. These should accept GSM SIM cards. Vodafone KK has a UMTS network that should allow roaming using a foreign UMTS handset.

In addition, both countries have kiosks at all major airports that rent local phones operating on PDC (Japan), EV-DO (both), and CDMA2000 (both).

Both S. Korea and Japan have had 3G systems in commercial operation for several years. They were the first countries to deploy 3G. Both countries are furiously working on 4G technology. Two Korean companies have dual mode CDMA2000/wCDMA handsets.

There is absolutely no incentive for either country to launch a 2G GSM network that:
(1) works on frequencies that these countries do not use
(2) is not compatible with any of the networks that either country uses and
(3) is technically inferior to the networks that both countries have had in operation for a decade or more.

 

But it will make it easier for roamers. Let's say I travel to South Korea. If I can simply use my existing GSM phone there I would save money by using my own phone instead of renting one. For the carriers, that's roaming revenue.

 

Bobo,

You are correct, however with no domestic GSM market, the installation of an entirely new network infrastructure just for the convenience of roamers would be a world first. SK Telecom already offers phones for GSM roamers SIM Roaming.

Cingular does not set up 900/1800 MHz networks in the US for the exclusive use of roamers from GSM countries in Europe, Africa, and Asia. The cost would be prohibitive for the revenue generated. The same would be true for installing acceptable GSM service in Seoul. GSM roamers coming to the US need to have a true GSM world phone like your V400.

(I wonder when Nokia will bring out a quad band GSM world phone?)

 

and can GSM cellphone work in Korea and Japan?
how about quad band?

 

No 2nd generation GSM, but 3rd generation GSM, yes (3rd Generation GSM is called many things: 3GSM=UMTS=WCDMA=3G GSM...but CDMA,CDMA2000 is NOT WCDMA

 

That's right Japan and South Korea (North Korea is GSM Only no CDMA)
is going WCDMA.

 

They're not going WCDMA (a.k.a UMTS), they had it way before Europe and the US. NTT DoCoMo was the 1st to deploy a UMTS network in the late 90s if I recall correctly.

UMTS is used at 2100 Mhz in Europe and Asia. In the US and North America, it'll start out at 1900 and then at 850. There is also the tedious process of trying to get the 1700/2100 Mhz bands opened for UMTS spectrum. At the moment, it is still reserved by MSS (Mobile Satellite Services).

 

South Korea there's 2 Carriers going WCDMA:
SK Telecom and KT Freetel Co., Ltd (KTF)
But GSM users can Roam in S Korea.
GSM is allover that's why CDMA IS-95
existence is Questionable.


http://www.ktfroaming.com/english/inbound/01_introduction/notice_read.jsp?bbs=iben_whatsnew&seq=4734

http://www.skroaming.com/en/service_02.html

 

I dont know if you missed this, but what they are talking about is that they have CDMA phones that they have altered to accept a GSM SIM card so that they are able to roam there. There is no GSM network there at all.

And also just so that you know, if you have a CDMA2000 1X all the way up to EVDV (when it is deployed) network, it is backwards compatible so that anyone with a CDMA one phone can still access it.

However after reading more, SK also has WCDMA, but as you know, that is not backwards compatible so that is why a GSM phone will not work there.

 

WCDMA is a very misleading term since it is interpreted as being applicable to both 3GSM/UMTS and CDMA2000 networks. Japan (NTT DoCoMo and Vodafone Japan) and South Korea (SK Telecom) have offered 3GSM/UMTS roaming at 2100 Mhz for a few years. I was addressing only the 3GSM/UMTS aspect and not CDMA2000 in my previous post.

 

True enough. However, every WCDMA phone make that I have seen, includes 2 bands or tri band GSM frequencies in order to make them backward compatible phones. Of course, SK, as far as I know, never had 2G GSM to be back compatible too. But including GSM along with WCDMA, is the GSM association's plan for the move from GSM to 3GSM (re WCDMA).

 

A WCDMA Phone can accept a GSM SIM Card,
and works in a WCDMA Network.
That's why this is the path Chosen by GSM Carriers.
This is the Setup w/ KT and ST Telecomin in S. Korea,
you are using a WCDMA Network
NOT a CDMA2000 Network.
That's why CDMA2000 existence is Questionable,
since S. Korea is the Last Stronghold of CDMA
outside the USA.

 

From what I am seeing, SK runs both CDMA2000 and WCDMA, KT only has CDMA2000, however both of them offer the modified phones that will accept a SIM card for roamers.

 

OK, truce. I think what Jones is saying is that the WCDMA phones are not 'modified' to take SIM cards, but rather the SIM technology or protocol is part of the 3G GSM WCMDA phone's normal hardware. That is by predesign.

 

I think it goes both ways actually, read this on the on both of their websites, and there is also a similar explination for the providers in Japan.

http://www.ktfroaming.com/english/inbound/01_introduction/overview.jsp

http://www.skroaming.com/en/service_02.html

Now do you see what it is saying that they have CDMA phones that are able to take a GSM SIM for use there?

So I take it that if you have one of the newer UMTS handsets, you should be able to use that there, on the KT network, but I have to wonder, if I am reading right, in Europe, UMTS is set up in the 2100 band, so I wonder what band KTs network is using?

 

What I see on the SK page is that GSM and Wcdma phones can use the SIM but not CDMA. Cingular has no roaming agreement with SK...one must rent a CDMA 1800 phone. Verizon has a roaming agreement for CDMA. There are 3 menu's one for GSM, WCDMA, CDMA

Maybe I'm reading this wrong, but I don't think they are talking about RIMs, just SIM inside of WCDMA (3GSM) or GSM (2gsm).

But I'm new to this with Korea.

 

It is very clear to me that you have NEVER traveled in Asia.

Japan's number 2 provider, KDDI, is CDMA2000. My Japanese friends have told me that KDDI's CDMA phones are what business people use if they will be traveling to the US. (almost all Japanese wCDMA phones are single mode/single frequency which means no roaming in the Western Hemisphere).
Taiwan has CDMA2000.
China Unicom runs a CDMA2000 network.
Thailand's Hutch is CDMA2000.
Vietnam has CDMA2000.

While it is true that most of these countries also have 2.1 MHz wCDMA, the mere fact that they have a wCDMA/UMTS network does not exclude any other 3G technology.

 

SK Telecom's CDMA service runs on the original cellular band: 800 MHz. LGT and Freetel run their CDMA service on 1,700 MHz. There is no 1,800 MHz CDMA (IS95 or 2000).

 

Ok, then it is a misprint on Cingular's web page. Thanks.

 

Vietnam
Vietel Corporation (Viettel Mobile)
GSM 900
Live

Vietnam Mobile Telecom Services Company (Mobifone)
GSM 900/1800
Live

Vietnam Telecom Services Company (GPC) (VINAPHONE)
GSM 900
Live

Vietnam Telecom Services Company (GPC) (Mobifone)
GSM 900
Live

Taiwan
Chunghwa Telecom
GSM 900/1800
Live

Far EasTone Telecommunications Co Ltd
GSM 900/1800
Live

Far EasTone Telecommunications Co Ltd
3G
Live

KG Telecom
GSM 1800
Live

MobiTai
GSM 900
Live

Taiwan Mobile Co., Ltd (Pacific GSM 1800)
GSM 1800
Live

VIBO Telecom Inc
3G
Live


Thailand
ACT Mobile Company, Limited (ACT GSM 1900)
GSM 1900
Live

ACT Mobile Company, Limited (TOT Mobile)
3G
Planned

Advanced Info Service PLC (AIS GSM)
GSM 900
Live

Digital Phone Co Ltd (GSM 1800)
GSM 1800
Live

TA Orange Company Limited
GSM 1800
Live

Total Access Communications Co (DTAC)
GSM 1800
Live


China
China Mobile
GSM 900
Live

China Unicom (CHINA UNICOM GSM)
GSM 900
Live


Hong Kong (China)
China Resources Peoples Telephone Company Ltd
GSM 1800
Live

Hong Kong CSL Limited (HK CSL)
GSM 900/1800
Live

Hong Kong CSL Limited (HK CSL)
3G
Live

Hutchison Telecom (HK) Ltd (3)
GSM 900/1800
Live

Hutchison Telecom (HK) Ltd (3)
3G
Live

New World PCS (New World Mobility)
GSM 1800
Live

SmarTone Mobile Communications Limited (SmarToneVodafone)
GSM 900/1800
Live

SmarTone Mobile Communications Limited (SmarToneVodafone)
3G
Live

SUNDAY Communications Ltd
GSM 1800
Live


Korea (South), Republic of
KT Freetel Co., Ltd (KTF)
3G
Live

SK Telecom
3G
Live

Japan
NTT DoCoMo, Inc
3G
Live

Vodafone K.K. (J-Phone)
3G
Live

3G is WCDMA, some cdma are being shut down
for lack of Customers.

 

The Nokia E70 (expected soon) apparently has one version that's GSM 900/1800/1900/wcdma. Does this mean that I can buy it in plug in my GSM SIM, and then roam in S Korea over the WCDMA? Does CDMA roaming in S Korea of this sort handle GSM roaming?

 

Welcome to WA, krulwich!!

SK does have a UMTS 2100 network meaning that any Eurasian phone with the 2100 Mhz band will work on such a network in South Korea. WCDMA is a synonym applied to 3GSM/UMTS. It means the same thing. WCDMA has nothing to do with 3rd generation CDMA (CDMA2000).

PM Bugwart about South Korea, he has some experience when it comes to SK.