Despite continuous rise in smartphone penetration and strong growth of LTE subscriber base, SK Telecom's revenue decreased by 0.6% year-on-year due to the impact of diverse mobile tariff cut measures including lowering of the monthly basic rate, company announced today.

According to SK Telecom, it surpassed 3.4 million LTE subscriber mark in just one year after launching commercial LTE service in July 2011 and exceeded 4.22 million LTE subscribers as of the end of July 2012. The company said that it is on track to achieve its target of 7 million LTE subscribers by the end of 2012.

Company expects earnings to improve in the mid-to long-term as ARPU growth has turned positive in the second quarter backed by strong LTE subscriber growth.