Pantech Group, Korea's third-largest cell phone maker, has unveiled its first SKY-branded mobile phones for users of the nation's smaller wireless carriers _ KTF and LG Telecom. The group, composed of Pantech, Pantech & Curitel and recently acquired SKY Teletech, said it will market its first phones for the personal communications service (PCS) customers this week. The phone, IM-8500L, sports a 2- megapixel camera, an MP3 player and video recording function and will retail through the smallest wireless operator LG Telecom at about 530,000 won. "Contrary to a conventional strategy, SKY Teletech plans to enrich its product line-up by continuing to produce PCS phones as well as cellular phones," a Pantech spokesperson said. In Korea, there are two kinds of mobile networks _ cellular based on low frequencies in the 800-megahertz band and PCS using 1.8-gigahertz frequency. Business bellwether SK Telecom offers their services with cellular network while runner-up competitor KTF and smallest player LG Telecom use the alternative PCS system. The nation's 37.6 million mobile subscribers are split evenly by the two formats as 19.2 million or 51 percent of them use cellular phones while 18.4 million resort to PCS phones. SKY Teletech, formerly SK Teletech as a subsidiary of SK Telecom, had provided only cellular phones to its parent firm before Pantech Group took over it early last month. SK Telecom sold its 60-percent stake in the handset maker among its total 89.1-percent share to Pantech Group for 300 billion won. Pantech president Lee Sung-kyu said the advent of the IM-8500L has two crucial business implications related to SKY Teletech's future strategy. "SKY-branded phones are now available to PCS phone users, who took up almost half of the market," Lee said. "Also, we are already seeing a close collaboration between SKY Teletech and Pantech in providing customers with what they want _ a great product with a brand they love." Experts say SKY Teletech now has a hard-earned opportunity to make a leap in the local handset market by advancing into PCS business and providing more phones to SK Telecom. "Finally, SKY Teletech has started producing PCS phones. In addition, SK Telecom may snap up SKY-branded models in large volume next year when a government restriction on its cell phone recruitment is lifted," Dongwon Securities analyst Greg Roh predicted. Currently, SK Telecom cannot buy more than 1.2 million handset from SKY Teletech per annum, the ceiling imposed in 2000 to stop business leader SK Telecom from expanding its footing too far. The ban was expected to be extended several years more even after its expiration late this year. However, the government is now lack of any logic to do so after Pantech obtained SKY Teletech. "The government would not be able to continue sales ceiling on SKY Teletech because it now belongs to Pantech. But SK Telecom may still prefers SKY brands because you know it still has about 30-percent stake on SKY Teletech," Roh said.