South Korea’s telecom and pay-TV services revenue is forecast to increase marginally from $31.8 billion in 2024 to $32.6 billion in 2029 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 0.5%, weighed down by falling mobile and fixed voice service revenue even as mobile data and fixed broadband revenue show steady growth, according to GlobalData, an intelligence and productivity platform.
GlobalData’s South Korea Telecom Operators Country Intelligence Report reveals that the mobile voice service revenue in the country will decline over the forecast period, in line with a steady drop in voice average revenue per user (ARPU), as operators increasingly bundle free voice minutes with their mobile service plans and users increasingly shifting to Internet/app-based communication platforms.
Mobile data service revenue, on the other hand, will increase at a CAGR of 3.6% over the forecast period, mainly due to growing 5G subscriptions, which yield a higher mobile data ARPU.
Kantipudi Pradeepthi, Telecom Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “5G services accounts for the largest share of mobile subscriptions, which will increase rapidly to reach 89.4% in 2029, driven by a strong focus of the government and MNOs on 5G network expansions and service improvements. For instance, in December 2025, the Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT) mandated that all 5G base stations be connected to a 5G standalone core network by 2026.”
In the fixed communication services segment, voice service revenue will decline over 2024-29 due to falling fixed voice service ARPU and subscription losses in both the voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and circuit-switched segments. Fixed broadband service revenue will show steady growth, primarily supported by FTTH/B service adoption.
Pradeepthi adds: “Growing demand for higher-speed broadband connectivity and operators’ efforts to expand and modernize their fiber-optic network infrastructure across the country will support growth in FTTH/B service revenues over the forecast period.”
Pay-TV service revenue in South Korea is expected to see a marginal increase, at a CAGR of 1.2% during 2024-29. While a continued drop in cable TV and DTH subscriptions will drag down overall revenue growth, a steady rise in IPTV subscriptions will lend support to the overall market and help prevent a further decline in total pay-TV revenue.
Pradeepthi concludes: “SK Telecom leads the mobile services market in terms of subscriptions and will continue to hold the top position throughout the forecast period, driven by its discounted and promotional pricing offers with unlimited and shareable data options. The company is also focusing on M2M/IoT services to drive opportunities in the enterprise segment.
“KT leads the fixed voice, fixed broadband, and pay-TV segments, by subscription shares and will maintain its leading position through the forecast period, supported by its strong position in the FTTH and xDSL segments. The operator has been promoting discounted multiplay packages bundling fixed broadband and pay-TV services to increase their broadband adoption rates.”
