This Year, 10,000 Public Wi-Fi Installations Begin in Earnest... Latest Equipment to Be Procured by Early November

[Asia Economy Reporter Seulgina Jo] The government has begun full-scale implementation of the new public Wi-Fi construction and aging Wi-Fi quality enhancement projects, which are part of the Korean New Deal policy. KT was previously selected as the public Wi-Fi construction operator to newly build 10,000 units within this year.

The Ministry of Science and ICT announced on the 11th that it held a kickoff meeting for the public Wi-Fi construction and quality enhancement projects both online and offline, with participation from officials of 16 metropolitan and provincial local governments. At the meeting, telecommunications companies shared detailed project promotion plans with local governments, enabling in-depth discussions to ensure the projects can be completed within the year despite the COVID-19 situation.

KT is responsible for the public Wi-Fi construction project, while all three telecommunications companies operating Wi-Fi equipment installed between 2012 and 2017 will participate in the quality enhancement project. The telecom companies plan to complete the procurement of the latest Wi-Fi 6 equipment by early November and will deploy full corporate capabilities to complete construction and replacement by the end of the year.

Regarding KT’s nationwide construction of 10,000 public Wi-Fi locations, not only its own network division and six regional headquarters’ personnel but also approximately 720 workers from 168 construction teams (108 line construction teams and 60 AP installation teams) from contractors are involved. For the aging Wi-Fi quality enhancement project, which covers about 18,000 locations nationwide, 161 information and communication construction companies across the country will be actively deployed on-site starting in October.

The Ministry of Science and ICT and the 16 metropolitan and provincial governments have agreed to strengthen cooperation by jointly monitoring the progress to ensure the successful completion of the two projects within the year. Local governments will also expedite administrative support such as prompt approval for underground construction and facilitate access for on-site personnel to construction locations.

Lee Tae-hee, Director of the Network Policy Office at the Ministry of Science and ICT, said, "The public Wi-Fi project, which is now being fully launched through the kickoff meeting, aims to build core infrastructure that allows citizens to freely use free data in the non-face-to-face era caused by COVID-19," urging smooth project progress within the year. He added, "As the COVID-19 situation continues, please comply with quarantine rules for on-site construction workers," and "We will further strengthen project management to ensure the successful completion of the two projects within the year."

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