Mobile: Staying Connected with Mobile & WiFi Services — Ultimate Guide to PyeongChang 2018
For past Olympic games, including Sochi 2014 and Rio 2016, reliable WiFi was an issue. The lack of strong broadband was frustrating since most Olympic-goers want to capture what they see and do to view later and share in real-time. That is why what is happening for PyeongChang 2018 is so exciting and here are the three reasons why:
(Excerpted from Ken Hanscom’s upcoming, Ultimate Guide to PyeongChang 2018 due out December 2017. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without proper attribution and/or a link to the full article.)
- South Korea already has a very developed mobile network, primarily with 4G / LTE speeds. Now, an emerging 5G network is on its way and will be piloted by Intel & KT Mobile during the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games. This partnership promises up to gigabit speeds over mobile.
- Unlimited data plans are both common and very inexpensive in South Korea. On my recent visit, I tried out 2 unlimited plans, both were under $30 for 10 days.
- PyeongChang 2018 has championed in-venue WiFi services as part of the Olympic preparations and with key sponsors Intel & KT Mobile, they are well positioned to deliver.
With this context, along with what I personally discovered during my advance trip to the country last month, below are my top tips to insure your WiFi-mobile is available for you, easy to activate, and strong enough in speed for you to fully enjoy your trip to PyeongChang 2018.
Tip #1. Get it all done before you go!
A pre-paid SIM card, ordered by you online a week or more in advance of your trip, will be the most convenient and cost-effective way to use the Web and mobile devices. And, even if your US phone provide has a temporary international plan option, it could be extremely limited and very costly (especially on the data side). So, given the low cost of pre-paid plans in South Korea, your best option is to purchase a plan before you go. This of course, assumes that your phone is “unlocked” making it easy to switch out SIMs on your device. If your phone is not unlocked, see Tip #2.
Tip #2. Where can you get an unlocked phone?
If your phone is not unlocked, you have three options. 1) Several of the providers listed below will rent you a mobile device for the duration of your stay; 2) You can rent a 4G “egg” or mobile hotspot that will allow your current locked or unlocked device to have access. If you choose this option, be aware that you will have to carry it around; or 3) Purchase a used, unlocked device. In most cases, you can get a good Apple iOS or Android device within 1–2 versions of the current generation for about $100 on eBay or similar retail site, which I did for Rio 2016. Even better, upon returning you will be able to sell that device close to what you paid for it.
Tip #3. Order and reserve your data plan and SIM card at least 1 week before you go.
Since you would never arrive in S. Korea without a hotel room or without having at least some Olympic event tickets bought in advance — this same thought should hold true for your data and phone plan. There are a number of kiosks at Incheon International Airport when you arrive that are ready to sell you a SIM card and a plan during your trip but waiting until you arrive in the country may be too late. Reserve one in advance and here’s why. During busy days and high-tourism like the Olympics weeks will bring, I was told some of these kiosks frequently run out of “non-reserved” SIM cards. To avoid wasting time scrambling to find another provider, wait in long lines, or worse, drive around to other locations to find a card, do it all before you leave town and you can be on your way in 5 minutes or less. When you show up with your hard-copy order from print-out, it is simply a matter of popping your SIM card in, rebooting your phone, and testing out the connection. All websites for pre-order are listed below.
TIP #4: Review every available mobile provider for the services you will need.
If you do your research, you will find a variety of plans out there that offer data-only services, but very few that offer data + voice services. As part of my advance trip, I tried out both types of services, but found the data-only service was the most reliable and offered the best performance as I had no issues making voice-over-IP (VOIP) phone calls over the service.
Whether you reserve in advance or decide to “wing it” at the airport upon arrival, you will have a choice of several different services. I attempted to test them all out (details below) and found that it would be hard not to choose KT Mobile for the PyeongChang 2018 Olympics games based on price, convenience, performance, and the opportunity for 5G speeds during the games.
Here are the four mobile providers I used (or attempted to use) on my trip:
1. KT Mobile. https://www.krsim.net/ Pre-paid SIM card. For me, this was the easiest and least complicated site to use with straight forward plan options including 5, 10, and 30 days of unlimited data. Upon arrival, proceed to the kiosk after clearing customs where there are signs and markers in English as well as Korean, pick up your card and you’re are on your way. It took me a few minutes to realize that the kiosk numbers are labeled in the upper left hand corner of the front (not top sign) of the kiosk. Once you know where to look for the kiosk number, it makes it quick and easy to find.
2. EG SIM Card. http://www.egsimcard.co.kr/eng/buy-eg-sim-card/online/buy-egsimcard.asp If you require a local S. Korean number, then I recommend this provider. Ordering was easy and simple and includes both voice + limited data. What I learned upon arrival however, is that their service is on top of the KT network and their speeds are only 3G. In addition, at the counter the attendant and I quickly learned that the NANO SIM cards (for iPhones) did not fit correctly. After attempting multiple SIMs, the attendant did some quick trimming with a pair of scissors and we finally were able to get one to work. It worked well throughout Seoul, PyeongChang and Gangneung, so if you must have a local number in South Korea with voice service this would be an appropriate option for you.
3. NeoKOSIM. http://neokosim.com/ I attempted to use NeoKOSIM’s services to pre-order a SIM card, but I could never get the site to work. Having tried multiple browsers at different times for over a week, I finally gave up and did not get the chance to try this service.
4. SK Telecom. http://www.tworld.co.kr/poc/eng/html/EN.html SK Corporation is another Olympic sponsor and telecom provider in South Korea and I attempted to use their site as well. But, for whatever reason, once I got to the product page, I could not proceed any further.
5. US Providers: Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile & Sprint. The United States providers are offering promotions including free data (T-Mobile) to waiver of “travel pass” daily fees that Verizon & AT&T offer. Check with your provider, in many cases phones on corporate accounts do not qualify.
Mobile & WiFi Services Tip Recap: When it comes to WiFi and mobile phone and data needs while at the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics, I recommend reserving your SIM card and plan in advance (a minimum of one-week) and using KT Telecom via their pre-paid unlimited data program. If you need a local number as well, then reserve an EG SIM Card too.
