Interview with Byong-moo Park, CEO, Hanaro Telecom

How far have service providers contributed to the overall development of VoIP in South Korea?

It is a bit early to discuss the contribution of each service provider. But, considering core capabilities of major service providers like KT, Hanaro Telecom, and Dacom, these carriers are expected to maintain competitive advantage in the mainstream market, while new VoIP service providers will target niche markets.

Is a high broadband penetration alone strong enough factor to drive VoBB in South Korea?

 No, we need to promote and increase the awareness about VoIP through a stable service quality, differentiated value for customers, and so on. Most importantly, we have to provide value-add that is differentiated from PSTN.

Has the recent merger with Thrunet enhanced your VoIP business in anyway?

The VoIP service is now being provided to former Thrunet subscribers. So that in a way provides us a ready-made customer base to sell our VoIP services.

You are leading the VoBB market in South Korea. Who do you regard as your main competitor in this area going forward?

Common carriers, who have their own networks such as KT, are our potential competitors even though they are not competing with us for now.

What in your experience is key to a successful VoBB offering?

The key strategies for VoIP service providers would be the efficient use of broadband network and maintaining competitiveness of voice services.

How would you compare the residential VoBB market to the enterprise market in Korea?

I think overall VoIP is gaining more traction in the enterprise segment rather than in the residential segment. In the residential market VoIP as the local call service has been a strong proposition for customers.

What is your perspective about VoIP regulations in Korea? Are the regulations encouraging for the industry or they impede the growth of VoIP in Korea?

I don't think the current regulations on VoIP have much impact on the development of the VoIP industry.

What marketing strategy are you pursuing to further strengthen your position in the VoIP market?

We will continue to leverage VoIP service to further strengthen the competitiveness of existing broadband and voice businesses. We are planning to promote VoIP within the niche market with a large proportion of long-distance/international call service users, and also within large enterprise segment that seeks to save call charges. There are also wholesale markets to explore such as the special category telecommunications operators, portals etc.