South Korea’s telecommunications giant SK Telecom (SKT) is launching its Ifland metaverse in 49 countries in North America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia, the company announced on Wednesday.
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Fast facts
- SKT will utilize K-pop to develop joint content with various international partners and strengthen the communication functions on the platform to promote Ifland as a global social metaverse, its press release stated.
- SKT has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Japan’s largest mobile phone operator NTT Docomo to cooperate on content development, technology and service of their respective metaverse platforms.
- Ifland has also named Emirati-based tech firm e& and Singapore’s telecommunications group Singtel as its global partners.
- In September, Ifland added an in-platform economy where users that host meetings on the metaverse can receive point donations from other users, which can be cashed out.
- In Q3 2022, Ifland accumulated a user base of 12.8 million, according to the press release. Its local competitor, Naver Z’s Zepeto, boasts over 300 million downloads globally, with 95% of its users coming from outside South Korea.
- SK Telecom owns over 47% of all mobile communications users in South Korea as of 2021, according to the Korea Information Society Development Institute (KISDI).
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