South Korea’s budget phone market keeps expanding, and LG Uplus has decided to double down on digital tools that actually make life easier for prepaid and MVNO users. On November 12, the operator officially launched AlDot 2.0, an upgraded version of its unified online platform designed for customers who want to compare, activate, and manage budget phone services without visiting a store or calling a customer center.

The original AlDot, launched last year, already exceeded 3 million cumulative users by October. It became known for one thing: giving people access to more than 900 budget phone plans with fast, non-face-to-face self-activation. But version 2.0 pushes well beyond simple plan comparison. It brings something the prepaid industry desperately needs — true digital self-management.

AlDot Care Becomes the New Digital Customer Center

The centerpiece of the update is AlDot Care, a fully remodeled online customer center for users of the 27 MVNOs operating on the LG Uplus network. Previously, AlDot only allowed basic features like bill checking. Now, the platform supports a wide set of essential tasks that used to require calling customer support.

Users can now:

• Issue official certificates
• Change their phone number
• Switch between physical SIM and eSIM
• Manage and edit value-added services
• Request phone-finding services when a device is lost
• View real-time usage
• Access home bundle details, such as IPTV or internet services

The new UI places everything on one clean dashboard, showing plan duration, usage, add-ons, and bundled services at a glance. For MVNO users—who often get “second-tier” digital tools—this is a notable jump in quality.

Prepaid eSIM Self-Activation Arrives for the First Time in Korea

One of the most forward-looking changes is the introduction of prepaid eSIM self-activation. LG Uplus is the first domestic operator to support this fully digital process.

This matters because eSIM adoption is growing quickly, yet prepaid users in many countries still face:

• Manual verification steps
• Long customer service wait times
• In-person confirmation requirements

By enabling self-activation directly through AlDot, LG Uplus is fixing that friction. It also supports the needs of travelers, students, young users, and those who rely on prepaid SIMs for flexibility. With prepaid plans rising globally and eSIM now standard across most new devices, this addition aligns perfectly with global telecom trends.

Direct Management of 60+ Value-Added Services

Before the upgrade, many value-added services—from extra call packages to spam blockers—could only be added or canceled by contacting MVNO customer centers. AlDot 2.0 changes that entirely.

Users can now subscribe to, modify, or cancel more than 60 value-added services directly on the platform. This eliminates one of the most annoying parts of managing prepaid services and gives users significantly more control over their monthly costs.

IPTV and Internet Bundles Get Easier to Manage

A smaller but still meaningful addition is the ability to request online consultations for bundled home services like internet and IPTV. Instead of calling a representative, users can handle everything within the same platform. It’s consistent with the overall direction of the update—reducing customer service dependency and making digital management the default.

LG Uplus Says the Goal Is Convenience for Nearly 5 Million Users

Kang Jinwook, Executive Director of the Mobile/Digital Innovation Group at LG Uplus, explained the intention behind the upgrade clearly: “We revamped AlDot so that our 4.7 million budget phone customers can use our services more conveniently.” He also highlighted that the platform will reduce the operational burden on MVNOs that often lack large support teams.

To encourage user engagement, LG Uplus is also running two promotions:

• The first 1,000 users who register their phone information get a coffee voucher
• Another 1,000 can win by participating in an O/X quiz about the upgrade

A light incentive, but enough to draw traffic to the updated platform and get users testing the new features.

How AlDot 2.0 Fits Into the Global MVNO and eSIM Landscape

AlDot 2.0 isn’t happening in a vacuum. According to GSMA Intelligence, prepaid and budget phone users are increasing in high-cost markets, and they now expect the same digital-first experience offered by mainstream postpaid brands. Analysys Mason reports similar patterns, with digital onboarding and eSIM self-activation becoming defining features of modern telecom services.

Globally, we’re seeing similar moves:

• Japan’s IIJmio and Rakuten Mobile offer strong eSIM onboarding and in-app management
•  In the US, Mint Mobile, Visible, and US Mobile have built their brands around fully digital customer service
• Across Europe, Giffgaff, Lebara, Lyca Mobile, and Airalo’s new eSIM+ model rely heavily on seamless digital UX

But what LG Uplus is doing stands out: instead of focusing on one brand, it’s creating a shared digital infrastructure for dozens of MVNOs. This kind of ecosystem-centered approach is uncommon elsewhere and raises the bar for the entire budget segment.

Conclusion: LG Uplus Just Set a Higher Standard—and Competitors Will Feel It

AlDot 2.0 is not just another platform refresh. It’s a strong signal about how MVNO services should work in 2025 and beyond. Compared with global players, LG Uplus is now offering one of the most comprehensive self-service environments available to prepaid and budget phone customers anywhere.

Where some MVNOs excel at onboarding and others excel at customer service, AlDot combines comparison, activation, real-time management, device support, value-added services, and home bundle integration all in one place. And it does so across multiple brands—a move that strengthens the entire MVNO ecosystem.

In a market where eSIM adoption is rising, prepaid plans are becoming mainstream, and users expect fast digital access without friction, LG Uplus is clearly leading. Telecom brands that don’t modernize their prepaid digital experience will fall behind quickly.