Google Data

[This post is by Eric Chu, Android Developer Ecosystem. —Dirk Dougherty]

Over the past year, we’ve seen very strong growth in the number of Android users around the world. To make it easier for those users to purchase their favorite apps and games on Android Market, we’re bringing Direct Carrier Billing to additional carrier networks in South Korea, the UK, and Germany.

In South Korea, we’ve begun a phased rollout of the service to users on the top two carrier networks — SK Telecom and KT Corporation. When complete, the rollout will reach more than 10 million users, who will be able to charge their Android Market purchases straight to their phone bills.

In Europe, we’re rolling out the service to users on two popular regional carriers, Vodafone UK and Vodafone DE. Initially, the service will be available only to users who have purchased their devices through Vodafone’s online and retail channels.

The new launches expand the network of carriers already offering direct billing service in the US on the T-Mobile, AT&T, and Sprint networks, and in Japan on SoftBank, KDDI, and NTT DOCOMO networks.

Direct Carrier Billing is a key payment option for users worldwide, especially in regions where credit cards are less common. We will continue to partner with more operators to offer this payment option to their Android users. Watch for more announcements in the weeks ahead.