"Is It Right to Pay This Much on a Fixed Salary?"... Seoul Ranks 1st or 2nd Globally for Smartphone Fees

Similar to New York Levels
4G 20GB Costs 2.3 Times Higher Than Japan

It was found that smartphone mobile communication fees in Seoul are among the highest, alongside New York.

The Japanese Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications released a report on September 27 titled "Survey on International and Domestic Price Differences in Telecommunications Services," comparing 4G and 5G mobile communication fees across six cities—Seoul in South Korea, Tokyo in Japan, New York in the United States, London in the United Kingdom, Paris in France, and Dusseldorf in Germany.

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Comparison of Consumer Payments at the Top Telecom Operators by Market Share in Each Country

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The survey compared the amount paid by consumers based on data usage at the market-leading mobile operators in each country, using end-of-year 2025 rates for new contracts with the most affordable plans. For 4G, when the monthly data allowance was 20GB, the payment for customers of SK Telecom in Seoul was 6,916 yen (60,846 won), the highest among the cities surveyed.

Second place was Verizon in New York (6,684 yen), followed by Telekom Deutschland in Dusseldorf (4,037 yen), and Telefónica UK in London (3,259 yen). Notably, the telecom costs in Seoul were 2.3 times higher than Tokyo's NTT Docomo (2,974 yen) and 2.8 times higher than Orange in Paris (2,495 yen), which were in fifth and sixth places, respectively. Even when the data allowance for 4G was increased to 50GB, Seoul remained the most expensive at 6,916 yen, followed by Dusseldorf (6,732 yen), New York (6,684 yen), Tokyo (4,954 yen), London (3,686 yen), and Paris (3,465 yen).

With a 100GB data allowance, Seoul ranked second. For unlimited data plans, it ranked third, but the fee still remained at a high level.

5G Plans Also Remain High—Seoul Ranks Second After New York

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For 5G plans, while the difference was less pronounced compared to 4G, mobile communication fees in Seoul still ranked among the highest. For a 20GB plan, Seoul recorded a fee of 4,902 yen (approximately 43,127 won), making it the second most expensive after New York (6,684 yen). For a 50GB plan, Seoul ranked third at 5,603 yen (approximately 49,295 won), with Dusseldorf in first at 6,732 yen and New York second at 6,684 yen.

For unlimited data 5G plans, Seoul’s cost was 8,754 yen (approximately 77,017 won), which was lower than Dusseldorf (11,450 yen) and Tokyo (9,332 yen), but higher than New York (6,684 yen) and London (4,966 yen). Orange in Paris does not offer unlimited data plans.

The data allowances compared in this survey are based on available plans and may differ from the actual data usage of consumers. According to a survey conducted by the Korea Consumer Federation in October 2025, the median consumer data usage was 28GB, and 40.4% of respondents were using unlimited data plans.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications also compared consumer payments at the third and fourth largest telecom operators in the six surveyed countries. For South Korea’s LG Uplus, consumer expenses were still relatively high, ranking second for both 4G and 5G plans at 20GB, 50GB, and 100GB, and being the most expensive for unlimited data plans.

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