South Korean mobile carriers are adopting a new rate plan that charges users based only on their data downloads while providing calls and text messages for free, industry sources said Monday, a shift in strategy as mobile consumer trends call for more data-focused services.

KT Corp., the second-largest player, has taken the first step to introduce such a rate plan to consumers, which went on sale starting last week.

Under KT's new data-based rate plan, a mobile phone user can choose his or her payment plan between the range of 29,900 won ($28) and 99,000 won per month, for which a different amount of data available for downloading will be given, according to the company.

Industry leader SK Telecom Co. and LG Uplus Inc., the smallest mobile carrier, said they will soon introduce a similar rate plan, as early as this week, to meet consumer demand.

Market watchers said the industry-wide move is considered unprecedented, as mobile carriers here have depended heavily on profits from subscriptions that include the amount of phone calls made by each user.

But a rapid growth in mobile data usage in South Korea, where more than 95 percent of the population uses at least one cell phone, has sparked the need for mobile carriers to revamp their rate offers from a whole new perspective, they said.

The latest statistics by the ICT ministry showed that the monthly data traffic among 4G users has surged nearly sixfold in the last four years as of end-2014.

South Koreans have been shifting to the long-term evolution network from 3G, as they spend more time on mobile devices watching video streaming instead of making phone calls or sending text messages. (Yonhap)