During his keynote appearance at the 2011 GSMA Mobile Asia Congress, Jinwoo So, president and CEO of SK Planet, noted that for his company’s home market of South Korea,  growth in smartphones is “eliminating the boundaries between different parts of the industry” – making it more difficult for individual companies to compete effectively. "It's becoming one big, integrated battlefield for everyone," So remarked. With this in mind, the executive claimed it has become important for operators to look to partnerships.