[Comprehensive] CEOs of Three Telecom Companies Meet with Minister of Science and ICT... "Promise of 5G Facility Investment"

Minister Lim Hye-sook Emphasizes Facility Investment to CEOs of Three Telecom Companies... Three Companies Promise Investment at Last Year's Level
28GHz Subway Wi-Fi Service Launched... 10 Times Faster Than Existing LTE
Service to Expand to Five Main Lines of Seoul Subway Next Year
Rural 5G Shared Network Pilot Commercialization Begins... Starting in Some Towns and Townships of 12 Cities and Provinces, to be Completed by 2024

On the morning of the 25th, attendees holding an agreement to improve subway Wi-Fi service quality pose for a commemorative photo at the demonstration of the 5G shared network pilot commercialization held in Yeouido, Seoul.

(From left) Lim Hye-sook, Minister of Science and ICT; Hwang Hyun-sik, CEO of LG Uplus; Yoo Young-sang, CEO of SK Telecom; Koo Hyun-mo, CEO of KT; Kim Sang-beom, President of Seoul Metro; Jeon Kyung-hoon, President of Samsung Electronics; Hong Seok-joon, National Assembly Science, ICT, Broadcasting and Communications Committee member. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Eunmo Koo] The government urged the CEOs of the three major mobile carriers to expand network facility investments to improve accessibility of 5G services, which have reached their third year of commercialization. The three carriers also pledged to maintain last year's level of investment and strive to establish rural 5G shared networks early.

Additionally, as the three carriers completed a demonstration of 5G 28-gigahertz (GHz)-based subway Wi-Fi, users will soon be able to enjoy Wi-Fi about 10 times faster than before in subways. The carriers plan to expand the service to the main lines of the Seoul subway by next year. Furthermore, a pilot commercialization of rural 5G shared networks among the three carriers has begun to enable early access to 5G services in rural areas.

Telecom CEOs Meet Minister Lim Hyesook... “Commitment to Maintain 5G Facility Investment at Last Year’s Level”

(From left) Koo Hyun-mo, CEO of KT; Yoo Young-sang, CEO of SK Telecom; Hwang Hyun-sik, CEO of LG Uplus.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

The Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT) held an event titled “5G Comes One Step Closer to the People” on the morning of the 25th in Yeouido, Seoul. At this event, the three mobile carriers?SK Telecom, KT, and LG Uplus?announced the results of the 5G 28GHz subway Wi-Fi backhaul demonstration and expansion plans, and launched the pilot commercialization of rural 5G shared networks.

At the event, Minister Lim Hyesook of MSIT said, “The number of 5G subscribers has already surpassed 18 million, and among the 5.41 million daily users of the metropolitan subway, 90% use smartphones. At this point, it is meaningful to hold the 28GHz subway Wi-Fi demonstration and rural 5G shared network pilot commercialization events together.”

Before the event, Minister Lim held a meeting with Yoo Sangwon, CEO of SK Telecom; Koo Hyunmo, CEO of KT; and Hwang Hyunsik, CEO of LG Uplus. Discussions covered expanding network investments, early establishment of rural 5G shared networks, 28GHz network deployment including subway Wi-Fi expansion, securing network stability, and youth support measures.

Minister Lim urged the carriers to maintain investment levels similar to last year as 5G enters its third year of commercialization, a period when investments typically decline, to rapidly improve 5G quality and secure network stability. In response, the three CEOs promised to maintain last year’s investment levels through the end of the year. However, they asked for understanding regarding delays caused by COVID-19 and semiconductor supply issues.

Minister Lim also requested efforts to ensure the early establishment of rural 5G shared networks to resolve 5G service gaps in underserved areas, and the three carriers agreed to accelerate the overall deployment areas and quantities as much as possible.

Furthermore, the three carriers agreed to prepare leading network investments and innovative service discovery plans to promptly implement the submitted network deployment plans. The government also committed to communicating with the industry to review difficulties and seek solutions together. Minister Lim emphasized that improving subway Wi-Fi using 28GHz, which has high public impact, should be continuously expanded.

Frustrating Subway Wi-Fi to Become 10 Times Faster with 5G 28GHz

On the 25th, at the demonstration of the pilot commercialization of the 5G shared network in rural areas, Minister Lim Hye-sook of the Ministry of Science and ICT is making a video call with the 5G 28GHz Wi-Fi demonstration site in the Seoul subway.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

Following the meeting, the results of the 28GHz subway Wi-Fi demonstration and expansion plans were announced. To improve the poor communication quality of Wi-Fi inside subway cars, MSIT and the three carriers have been conducting a demonstration applying 5G 28GHz to the Seoul Subway Line 2 section between Seongsu Station and Sinseol-dong Station (5 stations, 5.4 km).

The 28GHz 5G-based subway Wi-Fi uses the 28GHz frequency for backhaul and the latest Wi-Fi 6E routers to broadcast signals. Backhaul is the transmission network that connects upper backbone networks to lower networks.

The three carriers announced that the demonstration confirmed speeds approximately 10 times faster than existing LTE-based Wi-Fi. The highest Wi-Fi speed measured in the demonstration section on the Seongsu branch of Seoul Subway Line 2 was 1.2 Gbps, with an average download speed of about 700 Mbps, roughly 10 times faster than the average speed of about 70 Mbps of existing subway LTE Wi-Fi.

However, due to equipment performance and radio wave characteristics limitations, speed fluctuations were observed between measurement rounds. Yoo Junghan, SK Telecom’s Infrastructure Strategy Officer and the presenter on behalf of the three carriers, explained, “Due to the characteristics of 28GHz radio waves and the use of modems and access points (APs) developed for fixed-point services, quality stability is currently somewhat low, but we will continue efforts to improve quality through optimization work.”

Since the three carriers confirmed performance about 10 times faster than before, they plan to expand the service from the demonstration section to the main lines of the Seoul subway (Lines 2, 5, 6, 7, and 8) by next year. Yoo said, “We started developing new modems and APs suitable for subways targeting the third quarter of next year, and expect to provide the service by the end of next year.”

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the same day, the three carriers, Seoul Metro, and Samsung Electronics signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to cooperate on expanding the demonstration results. Seoul Metro promised to actively support underground construction to ensure no delays in the deployment schedule, and Samsung Electronics stated it would contribute to the development of the domestic industrial ecosystem by discovering various 5G 28GHz services in cooperation with the carriers. Since this is the world’s first application of 5G 28GHz to improve subway Wi-Fi, there are some technical shortcomings, and they plan to continuously improve Wi-Fi quality through additional device development.

“One Network Shared by All Three Carriers” Pilot Commercialization of Rural 5G Shared Network Begins

MSIT also launched the pilot commercialization of the rural 5G shared network starting today, following the “Rural 5G Shared Use Plan” announced in April. The rural 5G shared network allows the three carriers to jointly use networks so that 5G services can be accessed in rural areas.

The rural 5G shared use technology enables one carrier’s network to accommodate 5G subscribers from all three carriers, a technology that won the 5G Industry Partnership Award at Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2021. The three carriers built 5G networks in the pilot commercialization target areas and conducted test operations from the 15th to check normal operation before full pilot commercialization.

The pilot commercialization is conducted in some towns and townships within two cities/counties nationwide, with the three carriers selecting pilot areas considering overall communication quality. After this pilot commercialization, the government and carriers will comprehensively analyze quality and implement necessary stabilization measures, aiming to conduct the first phase of commercialization within this year and complete phased commercialization by the first half of 2024.

At the event, MSIT and the three carriers confirmed the operation of the 5G shared network at pilot commercialization sites. SK Telecom connected via video call from Cheongju City, Chungbuk; KT from Pohang City, Gyeongbuk; and LG Uplus from Yeosu City, Jeonnam.

Minister Lim Hyesook said, “It is important to expand 5G coverage nationwide and secure communication quality in heavily used places like subways. We will proceed without delay with the expansion of subway Wi-Fi demonstration results, commercialization of rural 5G shared networks, and expand 5G investments to secure network stability and improve quality so that everyone can experience 5G services.”

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