South Korea’s two largest mobile operators – SK Telecom and Korea Telecom (KT) – are thought to be eyeing a joint-venture move into Poland’s mobile market. According to a report on Polish website, thenews.pl, the two operators are studying possible acquisition targets such as fourth-placed 3G specialist P4 (Play) or an investment in Polkomtel, which operates Poland’s market-leading Plus network. State-owned investors in Polkomtel such as electricity utility PGE and oil firm PKN Orlen are said to be keen to offload their respective 21.85 percent and 24.39 percent stakes in the operator. Play has also recently announced it is looking for new investment.

According to Wireless Intelligence data, Polkomtel’s Plus leads the Polish market with an estimated 14 million connections at the end of last year, giving it a 32 percent market share. It is followed by Orange (13.7 million), Era (13.5 million) and P4’s Play (2.9 million). Launched in 2007, Play is now the largest 3G operator in Eastern Europe according to a recent Wireless Intelligence study.