Telecom Lead Asia: SK Telecom has achieved more than 1 million subscribers for joyn.T, its integrated communication (RCS) service.
The Korean telecom major says it is the first operator to achieve this milestone — on February 15 — in the world.
SK Telecom reached the milestone in approximately 50 days after the launch of joyn.T on December 26, 2012.
GSMA says SK Telecom’s joyn.T is expected to trigger numerous mobile carriers and manufacturers around the world to accelerate the commercialization of joyn services.
SK Telecom has upgraded the performance of joyn.T through system optimization, server expansion, and customer feedback. SK Telecom has increased user convenience by deciding to offer unlimited, free-for-life joyn.T SMS/IMS services to its smartphone subscribers on flat-rate plans. In addition, data fees incurred from sending/receiving messages will not be deducted from subscribers’ data allowance.
Moreover, as joyn.T integrates SMS and IMS features for the first time in the world, joyn.T users can freely send messages to phones without joyn.T applications including feature phones. (The instant message sent to a non-joyn.T phone will appear in the recipient’s SMS inbox.)
SK Telecom plans to develop joyn.T into a comprehensive communication service that satisfies diverse communication needs of customers. The company will begin by linking joyn.T to HD Voice, its VoLTE service
As SK Telecom plans to embed HD Voice in all its LTE-capable smartphones to be released from March, more customers will be able to gain an enriched communication experience by enjoying high-speed video/file-sharing during a LTE voice call.
Furthermore, SK Telecom plans to open APIs of joyn.T to SMEs, who wish to develop and launch services such as games, SNS, and mobile commerce, to build an ICT ecosystem that brings mutual benefits.
Wi Eui-Seok, executive vice president and head of Product Planning Office of SK Telecom, says that the company aims to integrate all means of mobile communication into joyn.T to make it the most attractive choice for customers seeking an accurate and enriched communication service.
