Demand for fixed-line telephone services has reportedly spiked in North Korea’s North Pyongan Province due to the easing of border restrictions with China, which has also led to a spike in installation prices.
According to Daily NK, citing anonymous sources, the relaxation of border controls has led to an increase in traffic in provincial areas like Sinuiju, Ryongchon, Uiju, and Cholsan. As much of that traffic is commercial (to allegedly include smugglers), wholesalers in those areas are starting to install two phones at home, as fixed-line services cost less than mobile phones.
The report also said that demand for fixed-line in North Pyongan has been driven by an increase in families who want to install their own home phone instead of sharing one with another family, mainly due to privacy concerns.
Consequently, post offices in the province have been swamped with requests for phone installations since the beginning of this year – so much so that the North Pyongan Province Post and Telecommunications Bureau has brought forward its annual revenue targets, the report said.
However, this also means provincial post offices have raised installation costs to take advantage of the spike in demand and hit those targets. The report claims the cost of fixed-line phone installation now costs between US$350-450 in Sinuiju and US$400-500 in Ryongchon. By comparison, installing a telephone in the capital Pyongyang costs between US$100-250.
The report’s source said the price of installation is particularly high in Ryongchon County because it has become a major bottleneck for shipping, as goods imported from China must pass through customs in Sinuiju before being distributed throughout the country.
“Since it’s the area where goods are distributed the fastest and wholesale prices are set, home phones are in high demand and installation prices are also high,” the source said.
The source also told NK Daily that Ryongchon County residents filed a complaint with the provincial party committee over the price hike, “but the matter was closed without results.”
According to the latest available figures from the CIA’s World Factbook, North Korea had 1.18 million fixed lines at the end of 2021, which works out to a market penetration of 5%. Figures from the World Bank (also for the end of 2021) say there are 6 million mobile subscriptions in North Korea, which comes to 23% market penetration.
