At the End of April, 5.339 Million 5G Subscribers... 1,061 5G Budget Phone Users

[Asia Economy Reporter Seulgina Jo] The number of 5G mobile communication subscribers exceeded 6 million as of the end of April this year. The increase in the number of subscribers slightly decreased to the 400,000 range compared to the previous month.

According to the wireless communication service statistics for April released by the Ministry of Science and ICT on the 1st, the number of 5G subscribers was counted at 6,339,917. This is an increase of 458,740 from the previous month (5,881,177). The increase returned from the 500,000 range in the previous month to the 400,000 range. Despite the impact of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), the effect of the release of new 5G smartphones such as the Galaxy S20 was reflected, showing a high level compared to the beginning of the year.

By telecommunications company, SK Telecom's 5G subscribers increased by 203,381 to 2,850,923 compared to the previous month. During the same period, KT increased by more than 140,000 from 1,778,437 to 1,922,701. LG Uplus recorded about 110,000 more than the previous month, totaling 1,565,232. The 5G market share was in the order of SK Telecom (45%), KT (30.3%), and LG Uplus (24.7%).

In the case of MVNOs (Mobile Virtual Network Operators), the number of 5G subscribers reached 1,061 as of the end of April, surpassing the 1,000 mark for the first time. With the release of mid-priced 5G plans in the 30,000 KRW range centered on the three major carriers, the number increased by more than 300 compared to the previous month, but the share of MVNOs in the overall 5G market is still only about 0.017%. This is the background for the evaluation that the 5G MVNO market, which was expected to contribute to the popularization of 5G mobile communication and the reduction of communication costs, has fallen short of initial expectations.

The total number of MVNO subscribers, including LTE, decreased to 7,467,667 from 7,563,580 in the previous month. This is due to the decrease in 2G and 3G MVNO subscribers.

The total number of mobile communication subscribers in Korea was counted at 69,348,210. By company, SK Telecom had 29,055,418, KT had 18,431,119, and LG Uplus had 14,394,006. Among these, the total number of subscribers excluding other lines used for the purpose of equipment management by telecommunications companies was 68,386,185.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.