Seoul Public Wi-Fi 'Kkachion' Used by 1.28 Million Daily... Annual Cost Savings of 125.3 Billion KRW

Analysis of Public Wi-Fi Usage Status in Local Governments through Public Wi-Fi Integrated Management Center
Average 1.28 Million Users and 52,000GB Daily Usage... Introduction of New Models with 4x Faster Speed, Activated in 5 Districts

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] On average, 1.28 million people use Seoul's free public Wi-Fi service "Kkachion" daily, and the cost-saving effect on communication fees is estimated to reach 125.3 billion KRW annually. Outdoor public Wi-Fi was heavily used in parks, main streets, traditional markets, and bus stops, while indoor public Wi-Fi was frequently used in public facilities such as district offices, community centers, residents' halls, local community facilities, as well as rehabilitation facilities for the homeless and child and youth protection facilities.

On the 26th, Seoul City announced these results after analyzing the usage status of public Wi-Fi across the city through the "Public Wi-Fi Integrated Management Center," the first public Wi-Fi control tower among metropolitan local governments. The analysis targeted 17,079 out of 22,431 public Wi-Fi units managed by the city across Seoul, excluding about 5,000 older Wi-Fi units that were not linked to the center and data, covering the period from March 29 to May 15 over seven weeks.

The analysis showed that the total data usage of public Wi-Fi over seven weeks reached 1.66 million GB. The average weekly data usage was 237,565 GB, increasing by about 18,000 GB (8.1%) over the seven weeks, indicating a continuous rise in usage. By installation type, the average weekly data usage of outdoor public Wi-Fi (3,249 units), including the five districts of the first phase of the Kkachion project expanded last year in Seongdong, Dobong, Eunpyeong, Gangseo, and Guro, was 21,904 GB. Weekly daytime data usage increased by 1.8%, from 22,143 GB to 22,546 GB.

The average weekly data usage of indoor public Wi-Fi (4,851 units) was 68,304 GB, and that of public Wi-Fi on city buses and village buses (8,979 units) was 147,357 GB. Data usage fluctuated depending on weather factors such as rainfall and was higher on weekdays than weekends and holidays when public and welfare facilities are closed. Overall, it showed an upward trend consistent with the rise in spring temperatures.

In particular, the average daily number of users reached 1.28 million. Among them, fixed indoor and outdoor public Wi-Fi (13,452 units) was used by an average of 470,000 people daily, and mobile Wi-Fi on buses (8,979 units) was used by 810,000 people. The average daily number of users was measured by counting the number of devices connected to the public Wi-Fi equipment (AP), with data collection starting in May.

Accordingly, the annual benefit from using public Wi-Fi was analyzed to be 125.3 billion KRW. This figure was calculated based on a daily data volume of 51,998 GB, an average daily user count of 1.28 million, and an average price of 6,600 KRW per GB. Interviews with citizens using Seoul's public Wi-Fi Kkachion revealed responses such as "I use data without worrying about my phone bill," "It was difficult to go out due to COVID-19, but I enjoy leisure time watching videos through Kkachion," and "The videos do not buffer, which greatly helps with my work."

Meanwhile, Seoul City and district offices plan to establish an organic public Wi-Fi collaboration system for public Wi-Fi across Seoul, which had been managed separately, through the Public Wi-Fi Integrated Management Center that provided the basic data for this analysis. The Public Wi-Fi Integrated Management Center not only oversees the status of public Wi-Fi throughout Seoul but also grants authority to each district office to provide optimized maintenance and management functions tailored to each district.

Lee Won-mok, Seoul City's Smart City Policy Officer, said, "Through the country's first 'Public Wi-Fi Integrated Management Center' that manages public Wi-Fi across the city, we were able to closely analyze the usage status of Kkachion," adding, "As more than one million people connect daily, proving the necessity and effectiveness of public Wi-Fi projects, we will keep pace with the growing demand by ensuring thorough security and quality management and establish global standards for public Wi-Fi."

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