North Korea surpasses the two-million 3G users milestone, as more people opt for the only 3G network provider in the country, says a report from BBC News.
North Korea is by far the most isolated country, which limits its citizens from accessing the wider Internet. But North Koreans quickly took up the only Internet service offered in the country with its limitations. The 3G service offered in North Korea can be used only to send text messages and make voice calls. This service is provided by the only 3G network operator Koryolink, a partnership between Egyptian telecoms firm Orascom and the North Korean government.
Koryolink's CEO Ezz Heikal said that it currently provides services to nearly 2 million 3G subscribers across North Korea. Koryolink had announced earlier in 2012 that it had one million 3G subscribers, and in just one year the number has doubled.
Recently, in January, the North Korean government allowed visitors to carry their mobile phones into the country and they were given access to the Internet via 3G service with local SIM cards. However, not long ago, in March, Koryo Tours had posted on its website that visitors will no longer be availing the 3G service.
International calls for visitors and citizens of North Korea were not allowed with the 3G service in use.
In a recent visit by Google chairman Eric Schmidt, he along with former Governor of New Mexico Bill Richardson presented a plea to allow users to access Internet and cellphone service on the whole. After the much-talked about visit, Schmidt said that the country is exposed to a very limited amount of technology.
"As the world becomes increasingly connected, the North Korean decision to be virtually isolated is very much going to affect their physical world and their economic growth," he wrote in a blog post.
Schmidt said that with the availability of 3G service in the country, it would be "very easy" to include Internet access to all subscribers.
