Starting July, Cancelling Wired Bundled Services Like High-Speed Internet Becomes Easier

The Korea Communications Commission Implements 'One-Stop Service for Business Operator Transition'

Image source=Korea Communications Commission

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heung-soon] Starting in July, the procedures for canceling wired services such as high-speed internet will be simplified.

The Korea Communications Commission announced on the 29th that from July, the operator switching process will be improved so that for bundled wired products combining high-speed internet, IPTV, and satellite broadcasting, cancellation of the existing service will be handled at once upon application to the new operator, similar to mobile phone services.

This system will conduct a pilot service from July 1 to 25 to ensure service stability, and the full service is scheduled to begin on July 27.

The wired bundled product operator switching method, named the One-Stop Operator Switching Service, follows the same approach as the "Mobile Number Portability System" introduced in mobile phones in 2004. When subscribing to a new operator, applying for operator switching will automatically handle cancellation of the existing service between operators.

While mobile phones, which first established this system, allowed easy operator changes through number portability, wired bundled products such as high-speed internet and IPTV required separate applications for subscription and cancellation. However, during the cancellation process, user damages such as double billing occurred due to operators' cancellation defense actions and missed cancellations.

Unlike mobile phones, which have a unique identifier in the form of a phone number, paid broadcasting services like high-speed internet and IPTV lack a unique identification system to specify subscribers when moving between operators. Additionally, equipment installation and retrieval procedures, multiple service providers, and unbalanced competition among operators were obstacles to system improvement.

The Korea Communications Commission operated a system improvement task force involving broadcasting and telecommunications operators, legal, telecommunications, and consumer policy experts, and after about 20 discussions and gathering operator opinions over two years, established the improved system.

Han Sang-hyuk, Chairman of the Korea Communications Commission, stated, "With the introduction of the One-Stop Operator Switching Service, unfair cancellation defense actions by operators will be eradicated, and user convenience is expected to increase."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.