Hi all. So. I have something to show you. But first, don't get too excited ok?
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V Look here! It says SK Telecom.... [KOR SK Telecom] To be exact...
Ok, but before you guys get all excited and ready to blow hundreds of dollars on an iPhone, here's what the deal is.
AND PLEASE, NO BODY TAKE ANY OF THIS OUT OF CONTEXT...
I dont want people to throw all these screenshots around with false information...
As for registering an iPhone 3g/3gs, or any other foreign phone for that matter,
forget it. They aren't gonna let you do it.
The way I have this phone working here is, I obtained a prepaid SIM card from the UK, which allows for roaming to 130+ countries, South Korea being one of them. This also means that my phone number is a UK phone number.
eg: +44 (792) xxx-xxxx
[FYI, any international roaming SIMs will do, as long as they roam in South Korea, you may find different/better prices than the one I use.]
They use a call-back system, as do most all prepaid sims, so making a phone call is a pain, as well as
expensive.
Rates: (Per minute)
Calling the US: 0.17 euros / ~301 won / ~$0.24 dollars
Calling Korean Landlines: 0.15 euros / ~265 won / ~$0.21 dollars
Calling Korean Cell Phones: 0.17 euros / ~301 won / ~$0.24 dollars
Incoming calls from both locations are charged at 0.05 euros / ~88 won / ~$0.07 dollars a minute.
SMS Messages are free to receive, 0.39 euros / ~691 won / ~$0.54 to send out, free to receive.
As you can see, it's cheaper than roaming (with AT&T in the US anyway), but this can get quite expensive if you make calls on a regular basis. Add that fact, that anyone who wants to call you has to call a UK number, which can be expensive for people in Korea who want to call you as well.
You can use Skype to get a local number (a Korean 070 number), which will be local for Korean people to call. It costs $30 if you have a subscription with skype, I think it's $60 without.
You then setup skype to forward it to your SIM's number (the UK number in my case).
The problem is, this method means I get charged $0.29 a minute out of MY skype credit balance, plus $0.07 per minute for receiving the call on my phone.
Sooooooooooo.
$0.21 - $0.24 a minute to call someone
$0.36 a minute if they call you.
That's expensive. Really expensive.
Especially considering that using a plan with SKT/KTF works out to something like 0.06euro / ~108 won / $0.06 per minute outgoing, free incoming.
(And SMS is about the same too)
Something about paying 4 to 6 times the going rate makes my stomach turn...
Another downside is that many services in Korea will send you notifications via SMS, because it's free to receive them here (bank, post office, etc).
Since my number is UK based, they wont send it to me...
So there are rumors spinning around the internet again, saying that KTF will release the iPhone 3g, and possible the 3gs in July, and SKT will follow in September. I guess if that happens, we might be able to pop in a SKT sim chip into our phones... then again, it's been 2 years since Koreans have been rumoring the iPhone's release here, and .. well... we're still waiting.
So technically, yes, it's possible. Financially feasible? Maybe. A smart idea? Not really. Lets just hope the iPhone comes out here soon.
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If anyone's interested, here's the pain the ass I have to go through to make a phone call (incoming calls just come through).
The process is as follows:
Call a Korean, US, etc phone number in international format:
eg: (Calling Korea) +82 (xx) xxxx-xxxx
[When calling Korean numbers, you are required to omit the leading "0" int he area code, so 10 rather than 010]
As soon as I hit [Call], the iPhone tells me that my call failed, then flashes a message saying that my SIM has sent me a text message (although I never actually receive one).
You can hit the home button, or just wait, and after about 5-10 seconds...
You get a call back from that number (callback, get it?)
When you pick it up, it says to you "Thank for for using our service, please wait while we connect your call", and it rings the person you were calling in the first place. If you notice, the number is +008, then the country code (82, since it's Korea), and then the rest of your number that calls you back. You can always input this number as a 2nd number for your contacts so it'll show up that way when they call you.
