SK Telecom may win a permit to operate services in Brazil, the nation’s communications minister said. The South Korea’s largest mobile phone company seeks to expand abroad, and it may launch LTE-based mobile phone and broadband services in the ever-growing Brazilian market. If that happens, however, they would face a fierce competition from the likes of Telefónica, America Movil and Portugal Telecom.
SK Telecom has been investing in companies outside of Korea as its domestic market is reaching the saturation point. And it is not new to Brazil — SK Group (SK Telecom’s parent company) has been exploring business opportunities in the country since another of the group’s units, SK Networks, bought a stake in MMX Mineracao & Metalicos SA, the mining company controlled by billionaire Eike Batista.
In the U.S., the carrier invested $60 million in LightSquared, a 4G wireless network backed by billionaire Philip Falcone’s Harbinger Capital Partners.
As for SK Telecom’s domestic business, they plan to roll-out LTE in Seoul in July before launching it out it nationwide by 2013…
[Via: BusinessWeek]