SK Broadband's new internet subscription applications decreased by approximately 1.3 times per day on average for about a month after the 'SK Telecom hacking' incident was reported. In contrast, competitors KT and LG Uplus increased by 2.7 times and 2.5 times, respectively.
According to multiple industry insiders on the 27th, the Korea Telecommunications Operators Association (KTOA) held a 'high-speed Internet service provider (ISP) head of team meeting' on the 22nd and noted that "market stabilization is necessary." Since the reported hacking incident at SK Telecom on the 22nd of last month, there has been a surge in the movement of both mobile and internet subscribers, prompting a warning to ensure that related systems do not face operational issues.
During the meeting, KTOA presented the number of new internet product subscriptions compiled through the "one-stop transition service" (OSS). While the data on mobile subscriber changes (number portability) has been provided daily to each operator, it is rare to separately compile and share the statistics on internet subscribers. An industry insider said, "The change in internet subscribers has been prominent since the SK Telecom hacking incident."
The materials shared during the ISP head of team meeting included a comparison of the corporate-specific new internet subscription counts received from the 1st to the 27th of last month (19 business days) and the total compiled from the 28th of last month to the 20th of this month (17 business days). SK Broadband saw new subscription applications drop from 4,750 (250 per business day) to 3,349 (197). There was an average decrease of 21.2% in new subscriber recruitment from the SK Telecom hacking incident. In contrast, KT surged from 16,834 (886) to 40,868 (2,404), an increase of 171.3%, and LG Uplus also rose from 9,215 (485) to 21,012 (1,236), a 154.8% increase.
The information stolen from SK Telecom's subscriber identification device (USIM) is essential for utilizing mobile network operator (MNO) services, but it is not directly related to the services of its wired internet subsidiary, SK Broadband. Nonetheless, the decline in new subscriber recruitment is interpreted as being influenced by the spread of 'hacking phobia.'
Since the 5th, SK Telecom has suspended new subscription operations, including number portability, at more than 2,600 T World stores and T World online channels nationwide following administrative guidance from the Ministry of Science and ICT. An industry insider stated, "As subscription often combines mobile services and internet products, there will likely be disruptions in SK Broadband's new customer recruitment."
OSS is an integrated system that allows for easy changes in high-speed internet as well as in paid broadcasting services combined with it, enabling users to simultaneously apply for existing product termination and new subscriptions. KT, SK Broadband, SK Telecom, LG Uplus, LG HelloVision, DLive, CMB, KT HCN, and KT Skylife provide this service. A KTOA official said, "The proportion of OSS in the entire internet market is around 20%, so the actual change in subscribers will be even greater."