SKT Earns 34% of Revenue From Outside Core Connectivity Services

With the caveat that in many cases only larger,tier-one connectivity providers have the scale to do so, diversification of revenue sources in areas related to, but outside the core connectivity business arguably is a strategic imperative. Slow to negative growth in the core business is one reason. An almost-certain need to replace about half of existing revenue over the next decade is another reason for developing new lines of business and revenue. 

SK Telecom, for example, earns money from entertainment video, security services, 

ADT Caps, a security business, quantum cryptography (security), e-commerce and semiconductor manufacturing (memory). 

So far, SKT earns about 66 percent of its revenue from mobility and broadband services. The rest--34 percent--comes from other revenue sources. 

source: STL Partners

That arguably is a robust level for a mobile service provider, though Reliance Jio is among the mobile operators with the most-significant application businesses. That strategy of moving up the stack or across the value chain and ecosystem is a response to the problem of connectivity provider dumb pipe functions in the value chain.    

source: GSMA 

The point is that SKT is not among the largest global providers, ranked by subscribers, and suggests that determined operators in the right places can diversify their revenue streams. 

source: GSMA