All three of Korea’s major mobile operators switched on 5G networks simultaneous at midnight on 1 December, offering business FWA based on 3GPP standards.

Wei Shi

December 3, 2018

2 Min Read
Korea switches on 5G

All three of Korea’s major mobile operators switched on 5G networks simultaneous at midnight on 1 December, offering business FWA based on 3GPP standards.

The launches marked Korea as the first country to have more than one commercial 5G network. The largest operator SKT, launched the service in 13 cities, while LG U+ plans to expand its 5G coverage to 85 cities by the end of the year. KT, the second largest mobile operator and the leading fixed-line services provider, which recently suffered a fire damage to its cable tunnel, is said to be only covering the greater Seoul area with its 5G network.

The services offered are limited to business users on fixed-wireless access. The launch at LG U+ was signalled by a video call made from a PC by the operator’s Vice Chairman. SKT’s CEO made a call using a prototype 5G smartphone. Both the wireless router and the prototype phone were supplied by Samsung, which sent out a congratulatory tweet for the occasion:

View post on Twitter

The central government of Korea has been urging the operators to work together to avoid excessive competition. Henceforth there has been increased collaboration and synchronisation between the operators to achieve this so-called “Korea 5G Day”.

For consumers, the first wave of mainstream 5G smartphones are expected to hit the market by the end of Q1 next year, likely to be led by Samsung and Huawei, the three Korean operators all aim to launch 5G cellular service for consumers in March 2019. We can expect another synchronised launch.

Korea is broadly expected by the industry professionals to be one of the first countries to go live on 5G commercial service, according to the latest Telecoms.com Annual Industry Survey. With AT&T promising to launch 5G commercial service in 12 cities in the US by the end of the month, other markets touted as 5G leaders, for example Singapore, Qatar, may now feel the pressure to quicken their steps to commercialisation.

About the Author(s)

Wei Shi

Wei leads the Telecoms.com Intelligence function. His responsibilities include managing and producing premium content for Telecoms.com Intelligence, undertaking special projects, and supporting internal and external partners. Wei’s research and writing have followed the heartbeat of the telecoms industry. His recent long form publications cover topics ranging from 5G and beyond, edge computing, and digital transformation, to artificial intelligence, telco cloud, and 5G devices. Wei also regularly contributes to the Telecoms.com news site and other group titles when he puts on his technology journalist hat. Wei has two decades’ experience in the telecoms ecosystem in Asia and Europe, both on the corporate side and on the professional service side. His former employers include Nokia and Strategy Analytics. Wei is a graduate of The London School of Economics. He speaks English, French, and Chinese, and has a working knowledge of Finnish and German. He is based in Telecom.com’s London office.

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