The main engines of growth in South Korea's telecom market from 2010 to 2014 will be services built around broadband technologies such as VoIP, IPTV, and mobile data, according to the latest report from Pyramid Research.

Communications Markets in South Korea offers a precise, incisive profile of the country's converged telecommunications, media, and technology sectors based on proprietary data from our research in the South Korean market. The 29-page report provides detailed competitive analysis of both the fixed and mobile sectors, tracks the market shares of technologies and services, and monitors the introduction and spread of new technologies such as WiMax, IPTV, and VoIP. This executive study provides a comprehensive view of the South Korea communications market by analyzing key trends, evaluating near-term opportunities and assessing upcoming risks factors.

South Korea is one of the most advanced communications markets in the world with its 75 percent household fixed broadband penetration rate and 86 percent mobile user penetration rate at year-end 2008. "Despite the expected decline in service revenue in 2009 in U.S. dollar terms, Pyramid Research expects the market to rebound and to grow at a CAGR of 4.9 percent during the next five years, generating $29.5 billion by 2014," notes Tae Hyung Kim, analyst at Pyramid Research and author of the report. The main engines of growth from 2010 to 2014 will be services built around broadband technologies such as VoIP, IPTV, and mobile data. "Due to near saturation in the fixed market, operators are turning to value-added services such as VoIP, IPTV, and broadband applications to create additional revenue streams," says Kim.

VoIP subscribers increased eight-fold from just 0.3 million subscribers in 2006 to 2.5 million in 2008 due to the enactment of VoIP number portability and Pyramid expects the trend to continue throughout the forecast period. "With 18.8 million pay-TV subscriptions in a country of 17.6 million households, South Koreans are familiar with the idea of paying money for premium content," says Kim. "Although cable TV operators dominate the scene with 77 percent share of the pay-TV market, IPTV is a real threat, which all three fixed operators launched in the first quarter of 2009," he explains. With the regulatory obstacles cleared, attractively priced and bundled with other services will enable IPTV to account for 27 percent of pay-TV subscriptions by year-end 2014.

South Korea has one of the lowest levels of mobile data usage among developed markets, largely because of a history of nontransparent and exorbitantly high pricing for content. South Korean consumers, however, are a prime target for mobile content given their familiarity and comfort with online content. "Re-education combined with transparent and affordable pricing levels should be all that is needed to reignite the mobile content market in South Korea," Kim says.

Communications Markets in South Korea is part of Pyramid Research's Asia/Pacific Country Intelligence Report Series. Pyramid Research's premium Country Intelligence Reports are the industry's best available analysis on market trends, regulatory environments, and competitive dynamics for 60 countries worldwide.