SK Telecom Co Ltd overview

他家的open question不好答，先从Reuter上弄了些资料：

SK Telecom Co., Ltd. (SK Telecom), incorporated in March 1984, is a wireless telecommunications services provider in Korea. The Company had approximately 19.8 million subscribers as of April 30, 2006. SK Telecom provides digital cellular services to its subscribers using code division multiple access (CDMA) technology. The Company provides wireless Internet services under its NATE brand name, which allow its wireless subscribers to access various Websites designed for cellular use, such as access to entertainment-related contents and services and online financial services. SK Telecom provides satellite digital multimedia broadcasting (DMB) service, which enables satellite broadcasting to mobile devices. The Company also provides telematics service and Digital Home service. SK Telecom provides various services outside of Korea, including in the United States, China, Vietnam and Mongolia. In March 2005, the Company acquired a 21.7% equity interest in iHQ Inc., an entertainment management firm producing films, managing entertainers and operating online game services. In August 2005, SK Telecom acquired a 60% stake in YBM Seoul Records Inc., a Korean music recording company. In July 2005, the Company sold a 60% equity interest in SK Teletech to Pantech & Curitel, reducing its equity interest from 89.1% to 29.1%.

Cellular Services

As of April 30, 2006, approximately 18.9 million owned handsets capable of accessing the Company's CDMA 1xRTT network. SK Telecom also provides wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA) services. During the year ended December 31, 2005, the Company completed development of high-speed downlink packet access (HSDPA) technology. By May 2006, SK Telecom had expanded HSDPA service to 25 cities, including Busan and Incheon.

The value-added services offered by SK Telecom include Call Keeper service, COLORing service, Auto COLORing service and Perfect Call service. As of December 31, 2005, 8. 5 million users had subscribed to the Company's COLORing service, 4.6 million users had subscribed to its Perfect Call service and 3.5 million users had subscribed to its Call Keeper service.

As of May 31, 2006, SK Telecom offered CDMA roaming services in 18 countries including the United States, Japan, China, Thailand, Canada, New Zealand and Australia. The Company's global system for mobile communications (GSM) roaming services are available in 78 countries, including countries in Europe and Africa. SK Telecom's WCDMA voice roaming service is available in Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Italy, France and Germany. In addition, the Company's global data roaming service is available in six countries, including China, Japan and Thailand. SK Telecom had approximately two million global roaming service users as of December 31, 2005.

Wireless Internet Services

The Company offers a variety of Internet content and services, in addition to providing its wireless subscribers access to the Internet. Under its brand name NATE, SK Telecom offers its wireless subscribers access to the Internet, where subscribers can access a variety of content, including current news, stock quotes and other information, as well as get access to a variety of services, including securities trading and online banking services. Subscribers can purchase goods and services through their wireless devices, send and receive e-mail and gain access to various third-party Internet websites configured to work with wireless technology. Subscribers access NATE using wireless application protocol (WAP) technology. As of April 30, 2006, approximately 19.1 million, or 96.5%, of the Company's subscribers owned WAP-enabled handsets capable of accessing its CDMA 1xRTT network.

Multimedia

In November 2002, SK Telecom introduced June, a wireless data service that provides streaming content. Content provided through the June service includes video on demand, (VOD) and music on demand (MOD); television programs, which can be viewed real time, and multimedia messaging. In addition, June subscribers can access the Internet through NATE. As of December 31, 2005, June had 6.7 million subscribers.

Music Portal Service

In November 2004, the Company introduced a music portal service called MelOn, a music service concept from a combined wireless and wired network. This service allows subscribers to access digital music through cellular phones on a wireless network. This service also offers access to real time streaming from online Websites and digital music downloads to Moving Picture Experts Group Layer-3 Audio (MP3) players and MP3 phones. As of December 31, 2005, SK Telecom had 4.2 million subscribers to its MelOn Service.

Community Portal Service

The Company's subsidiary, SK Communications Co., Ltd. offers Cyworld, which is an online community portal service. As of December 31, 2005, SK Telecom's Cyworld portal service had 16.6 million subscribers. In March 2004, the Company launched Mobile Cyworld, allowing its subscribers to access the Cyworld portal community site through their cellular phones. In 2005, approximately 1.25 million subscribers accessed Mobile Cyworld service, with the average number of monthly users reaching 585,000.

Wireless Entertainment Services

In April 2005, SK Telecom launched GXG, a three-dimensional (3D) mobile game portal, through which subscribers can download mobile games to their cellular phones. As of December 31, 2005, GXG offered 62 mobile games from domestic and foreign game publishers and more than 300,000 of its subscribers owned handsets equipped with a mobile gaming-specific chip. In November 2003, the Company launched Cizle, a wireless Internet movie portal. Cizle allows subscribers to purchase movie tickets using their cellular phones.

M-Commerce

In April 2002, the Company introduced Moneta, a wireless credit and payment system, which allows subscribers to make credit card payments using their cellular phones. As of December 31, 2005, 4.3 million Moneta-enabled handsets had been sold in Korea. In May 2002, SK Telecom entered into a technological cooperation agreement with Visa, pursuant to which Visa agreed to adopt the Company's wireless credit and payment system as the international standard for Visa's worldwide operations. In addition, SK Telecom has established payment systems with department stores and discount stores (such as Family Mart) and affiliated merchant stores (such as Starbucks and TGI). The Company is also developing other uses for mobile payment technology to provide other services, such as payment for transportation services and to serve as a means of identification.

In August and November 2003, SK Telecom launched Mobile Trading System and Stock Investment Information Service, respectively. The Mobile Trading System service provides a program that permits customers to carry out a variety of stock trading, including futures, options and electronic communications network (ECN) trading transactions.

As of December 31, 2005, the Company provided chip-based mobile banking services, under the brand name M-Bank, in conjunction with 17 commercial banks in Korea. M-Bank offers a range of mobile banking services, allowing subscribers to conduct a variety of banking transactions, including money transfers and account inquiries, through their mobile phones. As of December 31, 2005, M-Bank had approximately 760,000 subscribers.

Under its NATE.com brand name, SK Telecom offers a portal service at its Website, www.NATE.com. NATE.com offers a variety of content and services, including an Internet search engine, as well as access to free e-mail accounts. The Company offers an instant messaging service to its Nate.com and NATE users called NATE-ON. This service allows users to chat online through a variety of devices, including personal computers, wireless handsets and personal digital assistants. As of December 31, 2005, the number of NATE-ON subscribers reached approximately 10.3 million. Under its NATE Auction brand name, launched in June 2006, SK Telecom offers its wireless subscribers access to a real time auction platform, where subscribers can sell or bid on items using their cellular phones.

Digital Convergence and New Businesses

The Company launched a DMB satellite in March 2004. In October 2004, SK Telecom granted the right to use its satellite, satellite orbit and frequency to TU Media, an affiliate in which the Company held a 29.6% equity stake as of December 31, 2005. In May 2005, TU Media began to provide commercial satellite DMB service, offering seven video and 20 audio channels. As of December 31, 2005, TU Media offered a range of broadcast content, including education, games, drama, music, news and culture over more than 37 channels. As of April 30, 2006, TU Media had over 500,000 subscribers.

In February 2002, SK Telecom introduced a Telematics service called NATE Drive. NATE Drive is an interactive navigation service that provides driving directions, real time traffic updates and emergency rescue assistance through voice and graphic messaging. In December 2004, the Company added new services to NATE Drive, including a tourist guide and cultural information. As of December 31, 2005, SK Telecom had approximately 285,000 NATE Drive subscribers. In April 2002, the Company entered into an agreement with Renault Samsung Motors and Samsung Electronics to jointly develop a Telematics business. Pursuant to the agreement, the Company provides the cellular phone network and NATE Drive service, while Samsung Electronics provides Telematics-enabled terminals for vehicles and Renault Samsung Motors installs the Telematics-enabled terminals in certain vehicles it sells.

Provision of Wireless Internet Platforms and Cellular Network Solutions to Foreign Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) Network Operators

In April 2002, the Company entered into an agreement with Pelephone Communications Ltd., an Israeli CDMA operator, to supply its NATE wireless Internet platform to Pelephone on a turnkey basis. In May 2002, SK Telecom entered into a memorandum of understanding with Openwave, a wireless Internet-based communication software and application provider, to form an alliance in order to carry out co-marketing of its NATE wireless Internet platform solutions in overseas markets. In December 2002, the Company entered into an agreement with Asia Pacific Broadband Wireless Communications (APBW), to provide a wireless Internet solution on a turnkey basis. In July 2004, SK Telecom signed a contract with TA Orange, a GSM-based mobile communications operator in Thailand to provide wireless Internet platforms, including the NATE portal platform and NATE service solutions and contents.

Overseas Operations

SK Telecom has operations in the United States, China, Vietnam and Mongolia. On March 24, 2005, the Company and EarthLink completed the formation of SK-EarthLink to market wireless voice and data services in the United States. In October 2005, SK EarthLink changed its name to HELIO. HELIO is a non-facilities-based nationwide mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) offering cellular voice and data services to wireless consumers located in the United States. It commercially launched its MVNO services in May 2006. Since December 2004, SK Telecom has been offering its COLORing solution to Verizon Wireless, a mobile phone service provider in the United States.

In February 2004, the Company and China Unicom established a joint venture company called UNISK Information Technology Co., Ltd. (UNISK). SK Telecom owns a 49% stake of UNISK and China Unicom holds a 51% stake. UNISK offers wireless Internet service in China. In July 2004, the Company acquired ViaTech, an Internet portal service and mobile contents provider in China, to enhance its wireless Internet contents and expand its service area. Through ViaTech, SK Telecom offers a Chinese-language version of Cyworld to subscribers in China. ViaTech had approximately 1.3 million Cyworld subscribers as of January 31, 2006.

In October 2000, SK Telecom along with LG Electronics and Dongah Elecomm established a joint venture company, SLD Telecom PTE. In July 2003, SLD Telecom entered into a business cooperation contract with Saigon Postal Telecommunication Services Corporation to establish a joint venture company, S-Telecom, to provide cellular mobile communications services and commercial CDMA cellular service under the brand name S-Fone. As of December 31, 2005, the S-Fone service was offered in 39 provinces in Vietnam, including HoChiMin and Hanoi. The number of S-Fone subscribers had surpassed 370,000 as of December 31, 2005.

In July 1999, the Company acquired a 27.8% equity interest in Skytel, a Mongolian cellular service provider. As of May 31, 2006, Skytel had approximately 100,000 subscribers. As of December 31, 2005, SK Telecom's equity interest in Skytel was 28.6%.

Other Products and Services

Until the sale of a controlling interest in SK Teletech in July 2005, the Company designed, marketed and sold digital handsets through, SK Teletech, under the brand name SKY. Through its 90.8%-owned subsidiary, SK Telink Co., Ltd., SK Telecom provides international telecommunications services, including direct-dial, as well as pre-and post-paid card calling services, bundled services for corporate customers, voice services using Internet protocol, Web-to-phone services and data services.

The Company competes with KT Corporation and LG Telecom, Ltd.