Smartphones lift telecom spending

Households spend average of $120 a month for telephone, mobile and Internet services
Koreans’ spending on communications increased to a record-high in the second quarter, driven by popularity of costly wireless services and high-end devices, a government agency reported Monday.

Statistics Korea said households spent an average 142,542 won ($120) per month on telephone services, the Internet and telecom devices between April and June, the highest since it began to collect the data in 2003. 

The amount rose by 6.3 percent year-on-year, the fast since the first quarter of 2004.

Telecom accounted for 7.35 percent of the households’ total expenditure, 1.94 million won, compared to 7.24 percent in the same period of 2009 and 7.23 percent of 2008.

The advent of smartphones contributed to the increase, though mobile carriers have adopted more affordable pricing policies, the agency said.