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Olympics notes: Will North Korean athletes get Samsung phones?
As part of its Olympics sponsorship deal, Samsung Electronics is providing a Note 8 smartphone featuring Olympic branding to every athlete at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics. Samsung will supply more than 4,000 of the phones to athletes and “members of the Olympic family,” which includes officials and International Olympic Committee staff. The hope of the…
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Orascom closes its bank in Pyongyang blaming sanctions
Egypt’s Orascom Telecom has shut down Orabank, a bank it started in North Korea at the same time it launched the Koryolink mobile phone service. The closure was blamed on a new wave of international sanctions hit North Korea, including those from the United States, “becoming increasingly complex and having delved in the territory of financial sanctions.”…
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Orascom has ‘lost control’ of Koryolink
Orascom Telecom and Media Technology (OTMT) says it has effectively lost control of Cheo Technology, the North Korean joint venture cellular operator that uses the Koryolink brand-name and has around 3 million subscribers. The dramatic statement was contained in the company’s latest financial report, which also said that OTMT would no longer be treated as a…
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Koryolink said to have 3 million subscriptions
North Korean cellular operator Koryolink has 3 million subscriptions, according to a report from Reuters. The figure was provided by a Koryolink staffer to Reuters correspondent James Pearson, who was in Pyongyang last week to cover the 70th anniversary of the Workers’ Party of Korea. No more details were provided, which is run-of-the-mill for Koryolink. Orascom…
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Orascom’s no closer to getting its cash from North Korea
Egypt’s Orascom Telecom Media and Technology (OTMT) has reported no significant progress in talks with the North Korean government over two big issues it faces in the country. In its second quarter financial results, Orascom says it’s still trying to figure out how to get its cash out of the country and a possible merger of…
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New cellular carrier is run by local ISP, says source
The new cellular carrier run by the North Korean government to compete with Koryolink is being run by a local Internet service provider, according to a source in Pyongyang. The ISP, called Byol (?) or Star, is targeting the wireless service at North Koreans. Star currently offers wired Internet connections to foreigners in Pyongyang at a…
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Koryolink faces big problems with cash, competition
Orascom Telecom, the majority owner of North Korean cellular network Koryolink, is facing major problems getting its money out of North Korea and now has new competition from its partner, the government, in the form of a rival cellular network. The new network was recently launched in competition with Koryolink and the two parties are currently discussing merging the…
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Instagram block adds speed bump to DPRK’s Internet access
It was always a bit of a paradox: in the country with some of the strictest censorship on the planet, Internet access for the lucky ones that had even less restrictions than neighboring China. In North Korea, the Internet divide between the elite and the rest of the country couldn’t have been wider: you either had everything or you…
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3G Internet service said to resume in Pyongyang
Foreigners in Pyongyang can once again access the Internet from their smartphones, according to a report. Service was suspended last Friday because of an Internet connection problem with no estimated time of restoration, according to a message sent to subscribers by carrier Koryolink. The outage and message were reported by Reuters. During the outage, websites hosted…
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Orascom tackles its North Korean cash problem
The Egyptian company that runs North Korea’s sole cellular network appears to be finally confronting one of its biggest problems in North Korea: the value of its money there. Egypt’s Orascom Telecom and Media Technology (OTMT) said on Tuesday that it is delaying the filing of its latest quarterly financial report while it attempts to…