5G Network Expanded to 4,000 Locations Including Universities and Large Supermarkets This Year

Ministry of Science and ICT Holds Meeting with CEOs of 3 Major Telecoms on the 9th
SK Telecom, KT, LG Uplus Attend

[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Min-young] The government and representatives of the three major mobile carriers met to discuss ways to enhance national competitiveness by promoting 5G investment and fostering content such as AI and immersive content linked to virtual reality. This year, 5G networks will be established in over 4,000 locations including major administrative districts in 85 cities, large marts, universities, libraries, major medical institutions, and art museums. Additionally, as the hardships faced by ordinary citizens triggered by COVID-19 continue, the government will encourage the ‘Ranseon Sebae’ culture and support telecommunications services for small business owners.

On the 9th, Choi Ki-young, Minister of Science and ICT, held an online meeting with the representatives of the three major mobile carriers to discuss measures for stabilizing public livelihood during the Lunar New Year and implementing the ‘Digital New Deal.’ Attendees included Park Jung-ho, CEO of SK Telecom; Koo Hyun-mo, CEO of KT; and Hwang Hyun-sik, CEO of LG Uplus.

During the meeting, participants discussed support measures in the telecommunications sector to stabilize public livelihood and protect users amid ongoing difficulties in daily life and the economy caused by COVID-19. They also discussed ways to revitalize 5G investment for economic recovery and cooperation plans for AI and convergence services.

Minister Choi Ki-young emphasized, “This telecommunications sector support for public livelihood stabilization is a significant step toward realizing an inclusive society where everyone benefits, beyond merely recovering daily life and the economy from the COVID-19 crisis. If the government and telecom companies become a focal point of cooperation and move forward with challenges and innovation like oxen, the Year of the Ox can become the first year of building a 5G convergence ecosystem and a new leap forward.”

Activation of Future Growth Engine 5G Investment

First, the three mobile carriers and SK Broadband have agreed to invest approximately 25 trillion KRW in wired and wireless infrastructure to accelerate the early establishment of 5G infrastructure and lead economic recovery from the COVID-19 downturn. This year, the third year since 5G commercialization, they will focus all efforts on building 5G networks.

They will concentrate 5G deployment in the daily living radius of citizens, including major administrative districts in 85 cities, transportation networks such as KTX, over 4,000 multi-use facilities, and residential areas to improve quality. To provide differentiated 5G convergence services, they will expand the 28 GHz band 5G network and simultaneously transition to standalone mode (SA).

The government will also support telecom companies’ network investments by expanding 5G investment tax credits and strengthening quality evaluations to encourage investments in 5G and other areas.

Government Supports Big Data and AI Utilization

With growing demand and interest in data from the telecommunications big data platform led by KT, the government proposed expanding the combination and linkage between various data accumulated in the ‘Data Dam’ and data held by telecom companies to increase the production of high value-added data.

The big data platform led by KT includes participation from 14 institutions such as BC Card. It has built and opened about 200 types of data including floating population, consumption, and commercial district data since 2019, and over 12,000 data uses were recorded last year.

Furthermore, regarding the domestically developed AI semiconductor, which SK Telecom developed last year through industry-academia cooperation, the government urged continuous efforts to promote field verification and utilization. The government plans to continue expanding policy support to strengthen the competitiveness of the AI semiconductor industry by promoting the introduction and verification of AI semiconductors in domestic data centers.

LG Uplus recently launched a research institute at the group level to secure AI core technologies and nurture experts. The government welcomed this and emphasized participation and cooperation to revitalize the AI ecosystem, including expanding data construction and technology development cooperation to improve AI performance.

Creating an Open Innovation Ecosystem... Accelerating B2B Business

The Ministry of Science and ICT urged domestic telecom companies to quickly establish an open innovation ecosystem for coexistence with startups and SMEs by discovering marketable service models in cooperation with demand companies, just as major countries like the U.S. recognize the important role of telecom companies in developing 5G convergence services. For immersive content, they requested the production of high-quality content so that 5G users can enjoy more diverse and differentiated content and encouraged global expansion.

In response to government demands, telecom companies also pledged to discover leading 5G convergence service models and link them to market expansion and global advancement. They plan to discover and expand major B2B service business models such as smart factories (including ports and logistics), smart cities, robots, and autonomous vehicles, and secure demonstration references.

For example, SK Telecom has implemented SK Hynix as a 5G, AI, and cloud-based smart factory demonstration case. KT’s representative examples include commercialization of service robots (hotel robots, serving robots, etc.), launching MES (Manufacturing Execution System), and spreading smart factories. LG Uplus has continuously invested in autonomous driving-related projects such as the autonomous control system project in Sejong City.

Increasing In-house Production... Global Expansion

In the immersive content sector such as virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR), telecom companies will strengthen related infrastructure and in-house content production capabilities while expanding global expansion activities. SK Telecom explained that its immersive content service JUMP AR/VR has begun global expansion in Asia and Europe. KT is actively developing MR content related to healthcare and education and AR remote collaboration content. LG Uplus is securing and exporting excellent overseas performances and content through the ‘XR Alliance.’

The government will also support core service areas through projects such as the ‘5G Innovation Project’ to build a world-class 5G convergence ecosystem. This project develops technologies in immersive content, autonomous vehicles, smart factories, smart cities, and digital healthcare, investing a total of 165.5 billion KRW by 2021 to expand services.

Lunar New Year Benefits... Free Video Calls and Small Business Support

Meanwhile, the government and the three mobile carriers will promote telecommunications service support in a package form to stabilize public livelihood and protect users during the Lunar New Year. They will support free video calls to encourage ‘Ranseon homecoming’ and ‘Ontact Sebae’ (online New Year’s greetings). Anyone with a smartphone capable of video calls can use this service without charge, including users of the three major carriers and MVNOs.

Support for low-income students, the elderly, and people with disabilities will also be strengthened. Any low-income elementary, middle, or high school student can apply to freely use educational content such as EBS on smartphones without data usage charges. A disability plan will be launched that doubles video call minutes (600 minutes) compared to general plans for people with visual and hearing impairments on 5G.

Support has also been prepared for small business owners and self-employed individuals struggling due to COVID-19. Approximately 150,000 small business owners and self-employed individuals using dedicated products from the three carriers can apply to receive an additional 100GB of mobile data (50GB per month) for two months. In particular, if business owners apply to temporarily suspend the use of ultra-high-speed internet or dedicated lines at their business due to customer decline, the suspension period, which was previously limited to three months, will be extended to six months.

Additionally, the three carriers will waive service suspension due to overdue mobile phone bills during February and March, which include the Lunar New Year holiday, and provide guidance on installment payments for unpaid bills upon application. They will also expand guidance on the 25% monthly discount plan for mobile phone bills (from 2 to 4 times) to alleviate blind spots in household telecommunications cost burdens.

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