South Korea’s fixed communications services revenue is expected to decline at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 0.9% from US$6.0bn in 2020 to US$5.7bn in 2025, mainly due to steady decline in fixed voice service revenues, according to GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

An analysis of GlobalData’s South Korea Fixed Communication Model predicts that the fixed voice service revenue is expected to decline at a CAGR of 6.5% over 2020-2025, due to drop in circuit-switched and voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) subscriptions and overall voice average revenue per user (ARPU) levels. Fixed broadband revenue, on the other hand, is expected to grow at a CAGR of 2.0% over 2020-2025, supported by growth in fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) subscriptions.

Aasif Iqbal, Telecom Analyst at GlobalData, says: “Fiber lines accounted for an estimated share of 83.1% of the total fixed broadband lines as of 2020. Fiber lines will continue to increase over the coming years and will account for 87.5% share of the total fixed broadband lines by 2025, in line with the rising demand for higher-speed broadband connectivity and the operators’ investments in extending fiber network coverage to new areas of the country.

“KT will lead both fixed voice and fixed broadband segments over the forecast period, in terms of subscription share. The company will continue to focus on its promotional discounted multiplay packages, which combine fixed broadband, voice, and pay-TV services to attract new subscriptions and reduce churn.”