This only makes sense if EarthLink can cut the flat-rate price to $50 or so....
investor.reuters.com
SK Telecom, EarthLink in $400 mln mobile deal-NYT
Wed Jan 26, 2005 02:07 AM ET
SEOUL, Jan 26 (Reuters) - EarthLink Inc. (ELNK.O: Quote, Profile, Research) , the No. 4 U.S. Internet service provider, plans to announce a $400 million joint venture with South Korea's SK Telecom Co. (017670.KS: Quote, Profile, Research) to offer mobile services in the United States, the New York Times reported on Wednesday.
EarthLink will sell phone services using the networks of Sprint Corp. (FON.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and Verizon Wireless, while SK Telecom will be a technical partner in the venture, the paper said, quoting an executive close to the deal.
EarthLink and SK Telecom, South Korea's top mobile operator, will each contribute $200 million to the deal, the report said.
SK, which reported a quarterly profits fall earlier on Wednesday, declined to confirm the report. It said the issue would be discussed at a conference call with analysts at 1100 GMT.
The company has sought overseas expansion opportunities, as growth in Asia's third-largest mobile market slowed, with three out of every four people having a mobile phone.
Shares of SK closed down 2.4 percent at 185,500 won, hit by a unexpectedly large 20 percent fall in quarterly profits. |
