North Koreans get 3G phone network (but phones still banned)
North Korea has always been a secretive, mysterious nation with little external communication. But now it’s at the center of an internal communications mystery.
An Egyptian firm is launching a 3G mobile phone network in the country today. Which would be unremarkable if it wasn’t for the fact that North Korean citizens are banned from owning cellphones.
There are also major questions about the purpose of having a high-speed data network suitable for accessing the Internet given the North Korean government’s tight controls over Internet access in the country.
Orascom Telecom, the firm running the service, isn’t giving many answers other than to confirm the launch. What is known is that the service will be run by a local partnership split 75 percent to Orascom and 25 percent to North Korea’s state-owned communications company.
The Egyptian firm agreed the deal for a 25-year contract in January and the first successful test call on the network came in May.
Radio Free Asia, an American broadcaster, reports the service will initially be limited to the capital Pyongyang. It also says handsets will cost $700, which, even without legal restrictions, would put them out of the reach of ordinary citizens given the average yearly salary is $1,000.
The country has had a mobile phone network since November 2002, but in 2004 it was restricted to use by government party officials. That would certainly suggest the 3G network is for official use only, and the Financial Times quotes Orascom’s chairman as saying the network’s ultimate target is to reach five to ten percent of the population.
Orascom is reportedly investing $400 million in the project over the next three years. The company’s parent group already has interests in North Korea, financing work on Pyongyang’s landmark Ryugyong Hotel and even putting $115 million into a cement plant.
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