5 ms·

Why are Korean network costs so much higher? In the aughts Korea was famous for its internet infrastructure. How do other streaming services survive there? EDI

Why are Korean network costs so much higher? In the aughts Korea was famous for its internet infrastructure. How do other streaming services survive there? EDIT: I’m guessing this is related https://www.reuters.com/technology/google-netflix-under-scrutiny-south-korea-over-network-fees-2022-10-21/ https://www.reuters.com/technology/google-netflix-under-scru...

catlover76 3y ago
What was the argument for assessing the fees? A lot of internet traffic is to them, so they should pay South Korean telecom companies/ISPs because...?
- elliewithcolor 3y ago
  They do. You either pay Transit pricing or have settlement free peering (as in everyone pays his costs and the data exchange is free; as long as certain requirements are met). Thing is: charging the data center/content provider above global average pricing and also charging the end customer for the same service again.
guu 3y ago
Netflix made a deal with SK Broadband[0] after they were sued[1]. [0]: https://about.netflix.com/en/news/sk-telecom-sk-broadband-and-netflix-establish-strategic-partnership-to https://about.netflix.com/en/news/sk-telecom-sk-broadband-an... [1]: https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/skorea-broadband-firm-sues-netflix-after-traffic-surge-squid-game-2021-10-01/ https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/skorea-broadb...
laborcontract 3y ago
Korea, pound for pound, has to be one of the most poorly legislated technology states in the world. Everything is in absolute bizarro land in Korea when it comes to technology. Here are just a few of things I’ve encountered in Korea: - You have to have a phone number to sign up for any type of account. (Hasn’t discouraged any toxicity either.) - Foreigners can’t use things like delivery apps because they can’t make accounts due to the phone number thing or they can’t use their international credit cards. - Most people own windows PCs because in order to do any banking in Korea you have to install software that is tantamount to the bank’s spyware on your computer. - All mobile phones have non-mutable shutter sounds. - Location services like find my iPhone are banned. - cellular data usage costs an arm and a leg, making free WiFi a necessity at any business - The quality of FaceTime calls is extremely throttled. For the longest time FaceTime just didn’t even work. KakaoTalk video calls never had that problem. - contactless pay via Apple Pay was only introduced this past year You’d think Korea would be bleeding edge when it comes to technology it’s far from a technocracy, It’s just a stumbling, bumbling, corrupt state that can only get out of its own way to clear space for the large conglomerates. I feel so sad for the Korean people. What should be a thriving, entrepreneurship-driven economy is the exact opposite - an oppressive, corporatist hole that sucks up peoples economic dreams and emits zero-sum, despair-driven ambition.
- throwaway2037 3y ago
  All mobile phones have non-mutable shutter sounds. Japan has similar legislation that came from men taking up-skirt photos in public places (trains, etc.). Workaround: Buy a phone overseas. It will still work on the Japan mobile networks. I assume Korea has a similar backstory. Please correct me if wrong. Location services like find my iPhone are banned. I assume this is related to North Korean spying.
  - laborcontract 3y ago
    It’s not entirely clear that the location stuff is related to North Korea. A lot of the heavily restrictive laws are done under the guise of privacy. It’s funny how the two things you mentioned are related to a particular quagmire of mine which was that my baby son misplaced my phone inside our place in Korea. I had absolutely zero way of finding it. I didn’t want to buy a shutter-compromised phone so I just waited a month to buy a phone in the US. It’s just absolutely bizarre that, in this modern age, an iPhone briefly going out of sight means losing it forever. (I think he threw the phone away, as he started to enjoy putting things in the trash can.)
    - brigade 3y ago
      Isn’t the location thing that if Apple were to store any location data, it would have to keep a lasting record of said data for the government to access instead of its 24 hour deletion policy?
      - laborcontract 3y ago
        Yeah, I've read the same, which is that Korea's supposed privacy policies actually decrease privacy and security because they mandate retention policies that, supposedly, Apple et al aren't willing to comply with. It's like the whole ActiveX debacle. I just don't understand what's in lawmakers' heads.
        Alex4386 3y ago
Alex4386 3y ago
1. "Cross-Connect" fees when you connect 2 or more networks into any of your device (paid separately of ISP subscription) 2. Monopoly of "3 ISPs" that protected by law (No newcomers can join) This all brings up to up-to 100 times expensive internet than Europe in Korea. (not Residential, but for CPs. Residential internet services are cheaper, but if you operate any servers your service will be terminated.) fyi, I kinda estimate the twitch should pay upto 300K USD/mo. (if they got lucky and got "domestic business deal") to just make sure their service up and running

catlover76 3y ago

What was the argument for assessing the fees? A lot of internet traffic is to them, so they should pay South Korean telecom companies/ISPs because...?

elliewithcolor 3y ago
They do. You either pay Transit pricing or have settlement free peering (as in everyone pays his costs and the data exchange is free; as long as certain requirements are met). Thing is: charging the data center/content provider above global average pricing and also charging the end customer for the same service again.

guu 3y ago

Netflix made a deal with SK Broadband[0] after they were sued[1]. [0]: https://about.netflix.com/en/news/sk-telecom-sk-broadband-and-netflix-establish-strategic-partnership-to https://about.netflix.com/en/news/sk-telecom-sk-broadband-an... [1]: https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/skorea-broadband-firm-sues-netflix-after-traffic-surge-squid-game-2021-10-01/ https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/skorea-broadb...

laborcontract 3y ago

Korea, pound for pound, has to be one of the most poorly legislated technology states in the world. Everything is in absolute bizarro land in Korea when it comes to technology. Here are just a few of things I’ve encountered in Korea: - You have to have a phone number to sign up for any type of account. (Hasn’t discouraged any toxicity either.) - Foreigners can’t use things like delivery apps because they can’t make accounts due to the phone number thing or they can’t use their international credit cards. - Most people own windows PCs because in order to do any banking in Korea you have to install software that is tantamount to the bank’s spyware on your computer. - All mobile phones have non-mutable shutter sounds. - Location services like find my iPhone are banned. - cellular data usage costs an arm and a leg, making free WiFi a necessity at any business - The quality of FaceTime calls is extremely throttled. For the longest time FaceTime just didn’t even work. KakaoTalk video calls never had that problem. - contactless pay via Apple Pay was only introduced this past year You’d think Korea would be bleeding edge when it comes to technology it’s far from a technocracy, It’s just a stumbling, bumbling, corrupt state that can only get out of its own way to clear space for the large conglomerates. I feel so sad for the Korean people. What should be a thriving, entrepreneurship-driven economy is the exact opposite - an oppressive, corporatist hole that sucks up peoples economic dreams and emits zero-sum, despair-driven ambition.

throwaway2037 3y ago
All mobile phones have non-mutable shutter sounds. Japan has similar legislation that came from men taking up-skirt photos in public places (trains, etc.). Workaround: Buy a phone overseas. It will still work on the Japan mobile networks. I assume Korea has a similar backstory. Please correct me if wrong. Location services like find my iPhone are banned. I assume this is related to North Korean spying.
- laborcontract 3y ago
  It’s not entirely clear that the location stuff is related to North Korea. A lot of the heavily restrictive laws are done under the guise of privacy. It’s funny how the two things you mentioned are related to a particular quagmire of mine which was that my baby son misplaced my phone inside our place in Korea. I had absolutely zero way of finding it. I didn’t want to buy a shutter-compromised phone so I just waited a month to buy a phone in the US. It’s just absolutely bizarre that, in this modern age, an iPhone briefly going out of sight means losing it forever. (I think he threw the phone away, as he started to enjoy putting things in the trash can.)
  - brigade 3y ago
    Isn’t the location thing that if Apple were to store any location data, it would have to keep a lasting record of said data for the government to access instead of its 24 hour deletion policy?
    - laborcontract 3y ago
      Yeah, I've read the same, which is that Korea's supposed privacy policies actually decrease privacy and security because they mandate retention policies that, supposedly, Apple et al aren't willing to comply with. It's like the whole ActiveX debacle. I just don't understand what's in lawmakers' heads.
      - Alex4386 3y ago

Alex4386 3y ago

1. "Cross-Connect" fees when you connect 2 or more networks into any of your device (paid separately of ISP subscription) 2. Monopoly of "3 ISPs" that protected by law (No newcomers can join) This all brings up to up-to 100 times expensive internet than Europe in Korea. (not Residential, but for CPs. Residential internet services are cheaper, but if you operate any servers your service will be terminated.) fyi, I kinda estimate the twitch should pay upto 300K USD/mo. (if they got lucky and got "domestic business deal") to just make sure their service up and running