한국경제학보 제17권 제1호 The Korean Journal of Economics Vol. 17, No. 1(Spring 2010) Revisiting Number Portability and Switching Cost from the Experience of South Korean Mobile Operator 1) Joon Young Kim* Abstracts Many mobile phone subscribers have their own experience of switching from one network to the other. Introduction of Mobile Number Portability (MNP) in the Korean mobile market back in 2004 was believed to lower the switching costs of subscribers. This study reveals that subscribers perceive the switching cost still high, discouraging them from switching carriers. While MNP lowered switching costs considerably, a significant level of switching costs still remains despite MNP. Carriers develop new lock-in strategies that make them stay with current carriers. In addition, there are hidden costs other than MNP that should burden subscribers with. KRF Classification : B030906 Keywords : Switching costs, consumer benefits, mobile number portability Ⅰ. Introduction A product has switching costs if a buyer would purchase it repeatedly and find it costly to switch from one brand or product * Correspondence: Joon Young Kim, SK Research Institute, Jung-Gu Taepyung Ro 1 Ga 84, Seoul Finance Center 3rd Floor, Seoul Korea, E-mail:
[email protected] 62 Joon Young Kim to another. Large switching costs lock in a buyer once he makes an initial purchase. The economics of switching costs and network effects have received a great deal of attention in recent decades. Their importance has been growing as information technology industries dominate a larger share of our economies. This paper examines the consequences of introducing mobile number portability (MNP) in Korea back in 2004 and the firms’ strategies under MNP, which is believed to reduce consumer- switching costs.