The launch of mobile phone services in North Korea appears to be proving successful, with almost 30 percent of citizens in the country’s capital city of Pyongyang using them, according to a report in The Daily NK. Although restrictions remain – government officials cannot reportedly own devices for fear of circulating confidential information, whilst the general public may only use phones in their own name and cannot own more than one device – the monthly charge of KPW3,000 (conversion not known) for eight hours of talk time is generating subscribers. Wireless Intelligence data reveals that the operator, Koryolink, had signed up around 33,000 users by end-June 2009. Koryolink’s parent company, Orascom Telecom, noted in its Q1 financial report this year that monthly ARPU at the network is a surprisingly high US$24.7, with total company revenue for the quarter coming in at US$4.46 million. The Daily NK report claims that the price of a mobile phone in Pyongyang is around US$120.

The mobile network – the country’s first since an earlier, short lived network was shut down in 2004 – launched in December 2008 and is a joint-venture between Egypt-based Orascom (75 percent) and the local state-owned body, Korea Posts and Telecom Corp (KPTC), which holds the remaining 25 percent. Network coverage is mainly focused on the capital city at present. Koryolink reportedly aims to expand the network to the entire country by 2012. Orascom’s license in the country – officially known as the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea or DPRK – is believed to allow it to offer mobile services over a 25-year period with an exclusivity period of four years. The company is expected to invest US$400 million in network infrastructure in the country over the next three years.