Factors influencing adoption of Korean 3G mobile services: The role of relative advantages, facilitating condition and adoption barriers

The recent rapid increase in the number of HSDPA subscribers in Korea is likely the result of the providers´ vibrant marketing activity (such as the handset subsidy)- a facilitating condition which has had more influence on HSDPA adoption than the unique fact that the 3G service provides video telephony, unlike the existing mobile telecommunication wireless high-speed Internet. Few studies, however, have examined the factors which affect the adoption of the 3rd generation mobile telecommunication service in Korea by dividing them into intrinsic and extrinsic ones. In this study, we positively examine the effect on subscription to and use of the 3G service of: the relative advantages compared to the 2nd generation service and its advantage over WiBro, a competing service; the facilitating condition of the terminal replacement service; and the adoption barriers such as the higher charges, uncertainty about service quality, and the unwillingness to change number.