North Korea's only mobile operator makes huge profits from monopoly

What is the current situation of North Korea's mobile communications? Can the only operator rely on its monopoly to make huge profits? This is a topic of concern to the outside world. The latest news shows that the largest mobile operator in North Korea currently earns about 30 million US dollars in profits per quarter.

North Korea's 3G mobile communications mainly rely on Egypt's largest mobile communications operator Orascom. The company and North Korea have established a joint venture operator called Koryolink to operate North Korea's mobile communications network. Orascom holds three-quarters of the shares in the joint venture.

Recently, Oscarm published an audit report on its official website, which provides a glimpse into the financial status of North Korean mobile operator Koryolink.

Data shows that Koryolink's cash holdings were US$510 million at the end of June, which increased to US$540 million at the end of September, meaning the company's cash increase in the third quarter was US$30 million.

According to a blog about North Korea's technology industry, Oscarm was unable to remit profits earned in North Korea to Egypt due to North Korea's current foreign exchange controls.

Oscarm also recently complained publicly that North Korea was preventing the company from remitting its share of profits from its mobile operator joint venture back to Egypt, and is currently negotiating with relevant North Korean regulatory authorities.

In May last year, Oscarm disclosed that the total number of mobile phone users in North Korea is 2 million. However, the latest mobile phone user data was not disclosed in the recently released report.

Other media quoted Oscar executives as saying that it is estimated that there are currently 2.4 million mobile phone users in North Korea, but it is not yet known whether all of these users are smartphone users.

Previously, Oscarm also announced its third-quarter operating results. It lost about $10.2 million in the quarter, which was much smaller than the loss of about $250 million in the same period last year. In the third quarter, Oscarm's revenue increased slightly.

It is not difficult to see that Oscarm is currently in the red and needs the profits of its North Korean mobile operator subsidiary to make up for the losses.

It is reported that Koryolink was established in 2008 and is currently the only mobile communications operator in North Korea. Like the rest of the world, the number of mobile phone users in North Korea has increased significantly in recent years, but mobile phone charges in North Korea remain at a relatively low level.

It is reported that the monthly package fee for North Korean mobile phone users is only equivalent to 15 cents (about 0.9 yuan), which includes 200 minutes of talk time.

According to people familiar with the matter, if the call time exceeds the package, the additional call time charges are very expensive. Some North Korean mobile phone users will use other people's identities to buy another mobile phone to enjoy low-priced call packages.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.