SEOUL — U.S. Forces Korea leaders say they are satisfied with a newly contracted service that allows personnel to make international calls via their home computers — but stress that they’ll continue to push for improved service.
Air Force Maj. Gen. Stephen T. Sargeant, USFK deputy chief of staff, said Army and Air Force Exchange Service officials negotiated a deal with LG DACOM — the contracted on-base South Korean Internet provider — to provide voice over Internet protocol, or VoIP, service at rates comparable to those offered by U.S. companies and that provide extra incentives to those living on the peninsula.
The issue arose in June 2006 when the then-contracted Samsung Rental Corp Ltd. — or SSRT — announced it would start blocking base customers from using American VoIP companies because they were not registered under the South Korean Telecommunications Act. SSRT officials said then that LG DACOM, one of South Korea’s three major Internet service providers, was forcing the blockage.
“We said, ‘Whoa, let’s sit down and talk about this a second,’” Sargeant said. “And we did some investigation and found out, in fact, there is a Korean law which prevents nonregistered VoIP providers from being used legally here.”
Sargeant said the command went back to SSRT to ask what VoIP service they could provide. The answer, he said, was that the company didn’t have a plan available that was competitive with what the U.S. companies offered.
“We said, ‘Well, it’s unsatisfactory for the servicemembers, civilians and their dependents,’” Sargeant said.
USFK commander Army Gen. B.B. Bell said his goals were to ensure those with existing contracts would be able to keep them until they left South Korea and to have the AAFES contracted company offer service priced similarly to that of the U.S. companies, Sargeant said.
USFK and AAFES then entered negotiations with SSRT with those goals in mind, Sargeant said. Negotiations continued with LG DACOM after SSRT transferred its rights to the on-base contract in January through a legal process called novation. The novation came after SSRT chief executive Jeong Gi-hwan was charged with bribing AAFES officials for the on-base Internet contract.
Sargeant said the recently announced LG DACOM deal — $34.99 a month for its premium service and, in some locations, a $10 phone rental fee — is comparable to what’s offered by U.S. companies, many of which offer premium services at about $24.99.
The LG DACOM phone is required only on Air Force bases, officials said this week, because they use a different telecommunications infrastructure. Those on Army bases can use any phone they want, but will have to change their modems for a $35 installation fee. New LG DACOM customers on Army bases will receive the new type of modem automatically but still must pay a $35 fee.
Sargeant said the U.S.-based companies also tax their service — about $4 to $5 a month — something that people might not think about when comparing prices.
He said people also should look at what else DACOM is offering, things he called “offsets … that make sense if we are in Korea.”
These include a Korean phone number, unlimited base-to-base calling on the peninsula and 300 minutes of free local and long-distance calls to Korean numbers.
He also said AAFES will make no profit off its new VoIP contract with LG DACOM.
“When you buy that, there are no fees that go to AAFES,” he said.
But AAFES does make money through its basic Internet service with LG DACOM — a service that is required to use VoIP. Sargeant said, however, that AAFES contracted for lower basic monthly Internet service across South Korea.
Previously, customers on Army bases paid $41 a month for Internet access, and those living on Air Force bases paid $50 a month.
“Now, everyone across the entire command is paying $39.95 per month for basic Internet service,” Sargeant said.
Sargeant added that AAFES will continue to work with LG DACOM to make some changes.
Two senior AAFES “advanced technology initiatives” officials from the States — A. Michelle Priester, chief, and Craig L. Sewell, vice president — were in town this week conducting additional negotiations.
According to an e-mail from Sewell, they were able to make one change: bumping the number of international calling minutes from 500 to 550 in the limited plan.
“And, as technology gets better and costs are reduced, we’ll continue to … go for a reduced price or expanded service at the same price,” Sargeant said.
