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Chinese shops offer cheap cellphones to North Koreans
Shops in cities on the Chinese side of the border are attempting to tempt North Koreans with cheap cellphones for use on their country’s mobile phone network, according to a report by Radio Free Asia. The phones are on sale for about half the price they would fetch in North Korea, but are attracting few…
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Inside North Korea’s cell phone use
North Koreans used cell phone messaging to independently organize a soccer group, surprising authorities, according to a new report on cell phone usage in the country. The soccer club was apparently organized by a group at Kim Chaek University of Technology in Pyongyang, and could be one of the reasons that pushed authorities to launch a…
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Lost phone found in Pyongyang?
A smartphone that was lost in South Korea has apparently surfaced in Pyongyang. A South Korean Internet used posted a screenshot from Google’s Android Device Manager that shows the phone on Sungri Street (????) in Pyongyang. The page says the location accuracy is 75 meters. Curtis Melvin, author of North Korea Economy Watch and authority…
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Orascom has $422 million in cash in North Korea
Orascom Telecom Media and Technology (OTMT), the Egyptian company that owns a 75 percent stake in North Korea’s on 3G cellular network operator, has apparently been doing very well in the North Korean market. A recent audit report by Deloitte says the company’s assets in North Korea stand at US2 million, of which 2 million…
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Koryolink hits 2 million subscribers
North Korea’s Koryolink cellular network has hit the 2 million subscriber mark, majority owner Orascom Telecom said this week. The landmark was reached in late May, 15 months after it surpassed the million subscriber mark. Koryolink launched its 3G cellular service in the final days of December 2008 and in the last four years has…
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Koryolink nears 2 million subscribers
Koryolink, North Korea’s sole 3G cellular service provider, is close to hitting the 2 million subscriber mark. The news was disclosed this week by the Koryolink CEO Ezz Heikal in Pyongyang and later confirmed by the company’s head office in Cairo. It means that Koryolink will have roughly doubled its subscriber base in the last 15 months.…
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Mobile Internet service reportedly stopped for tourists
Well, that didn’t last for long. Short-term tourists entering the DPRK can no longer get mobile Internet service, according to Koryo Tours. “3G access is no longer available for tourists to the DPRK. Sim cards can still be purchased to make international calls but no internet access is available,” the Beijing-based North Korean tourism specialist…
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Koryolink mobile Internet charges detailed
Ever since it became known last week that foreigners in Pyongyang would be able to get access to mobile Internet services through Koryolink, the big unanswered question has been ‘how much?’. We now know, thanks to a report from China’s Xinhua News Agency, and prospective users might not like the answer. The news agency said a…
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Koryolink to give foreigners mobile data
Foreigners visiting North Korea should be able to get mobile data service on their cellphones within the coming week, according to a report on Friday. Koryolink, the country’s only 3G cellphone network, plans to allow visitors to buy mobile Internet when they arrive in the country, the AP said in a report from Pyongyang. The…
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Koryolink international calling rates detailed
Over the weekend a series of stories from Pyongyang reported that visitors to North Korea can now buy SIM cards for the local Koryolink network so they can make international calls while in the country. Thanks to an update from Young Pioneer Tours, which was the first to report on the new service, we now…
