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Press Release
US$20 million contract signed to export 100,000 CDMA handsets to Israel.
Local sales scheduled to begin in March; SK Telecom expects to export some 300,000 units worldwide this year
SK Teletech, maker of the SKY mobile handset line, is taking its domestic sales success overseas. At the end February, the SK Telecom subsidiary signed a US$20 million contract with Pelephone, the top CDMA cellular service operator in Israel, to supply around 100,000 handsets to that Middle Eastern country. An initial shipment of 15,000 units was already completed, and the handsets went on sale through more than 400 Pelephone wholesalers and retailers nationwide on March 12.
The model being exported to Israel is the SKY 1M-1400, which was launched in Korea as the IM-2000 in June of last year. This handset can send and receive data at 64Kbps, has string quartet chord melodies and various games built in. It has been very popular in Korea, with some 200,000 sold to date.
Most Korean-made mobile handsets being exported target the low-end market segment to rack up high sales volume. On the other hand, the SKY 1M-1400 is aimed at the high-performance, high-priced premium market. SK Teletech officials expect that this will serve to elevate the value of Korean CDMA technology and handset products in Israel.
In this connection, SK Teletech President Hong Kyong said, ?We plan to use this export opportunity to strengthen our position as a global power brand. In addition to the 100,000 units being exported to Israel, we plan to sell some 200,000 in other overseas markets, including the US, this year. And we expect to expand our exports to China and the Americas next year.?
Pelephone, Israel?s first CDMA operator, began offering its service in 1996. The company has 1.37 million subscribers as of the end of February and currently operates an IS-95B system nationwide.
SK Teletech entered the Korean mobile phone market in 1999, producing 330,000 units during the first year and 840,000 units in 2000. Sales last year came to 250 billion. The company has set its domestic sales target for 2001 at one million units.
The model being exported to Israel is the SKY 1M-1400, which was launched in Korea as the IM-2000 in June of last year. This handset can send and receive data at 64Kbps, has string quartet chord melodies and various games built in. It has been very popular in Korea, with some 200,000 sold to date.
Most Korean-made mobile handsets being exported target the low-end market segment to rack up high sales volume. On the other hand, the SKY 1M-1400 is aimed at the high-performance, high-priced premium market. SK Teletech officials expect that this will serve to elevate the value of Korean CDMA technology and handset products in Israel.
In this connection, SK Teletech President Hong Kyong said, ?We plan to use this export opportunity to strengthen our position as a global power brand. In addition to the 100,000 units being exported to Israel, we plan to sell some 200,000 in other overseas markets, including the US, this year. And we expect to expand our exports to China and the Americas next year.?
Pelephone, Israel?s first CDMA operator, began offering its service in 1996. The company has 1.37 million subscribers as of the end of February and currently operates an IS-95B system nationwide.
SK Teletech entered the Korean mobile phone market in 1999, producing 330,000 units during the first year and 840,000 units in 2000. Sales last year came to 250 billion. The company has set its domestic sales target for 2001 at one million units.