Ultimately Postponed 5G Frequency Auction... LGU+ Sighs (Comprehensive)

SK Telecom's Additional Request "Difficult to Execute Quickly"

[Asia Economy Reporters Hye-seon Lim and Min-young Cha] The three major telecom companies, which had been engaged in daily disputes over the additional allocation of 5G frequencies, are showing mixed reactions after Minister Hye-sook Lim of the Ministry of Science and ICT announced, "I will meet with the representatives of the three telecom companies next month to gather their opinions." If the opinion-gathering process takes place next month, it will be practically difficult to complete the auction by March, and LG Uplus, which had demanded a prompt additional allocation, is left sighing. On the other hand, SK Telecom, which had requested the allocation of frequency bands not originally subject to additional allocation, responded that the urgent issue has been temporarily resolved.

Additional 5G Frequency Allocation in February Practically Difficult

Minister Hye-sook Lim of the Ministry of Science and ICT attended the '2022 New Year Press Conference' held on the 27th and stated regarding the controversy over the 'additional allocation of 5G frequencies' among the three telecom companies SK Telecom, KT, and LG Uplus, "We will meet with the CEOs of the three telecom companies in February to gather common opinions." Initially, the Ministry of Science and ICT had planned an auction for the additional allocation of 3.4?3.42 GHz (20 MHz bandwidth) frequencies requested by LG Uplus next month. The announcement must be made one month before the auction. Considering this, the plan should have been disclosed by this month.

Regarding SK Telecom's request for an additional auction of 40 MHz bandwidth in the 3.7?4.0 GHz band, which is a 5G (5th generation mobile communication) frequency, Minister Lim said, "It will be difficult to carry out promptly," adding, "Frequency allocation involves many procedures such as forming a research team to hear expert opinions, gathering stakeholder feedback, and holding public hearings." She further added, "Next month, we plan to meet with the representatives of the three telecom companies to cooperate, persuade, and gather common opinions."

When asked if an auction next month would be too rushed, she said, "I don't think the schedule is unreasonable," but also noted, "Since SK Telecom requested 40 MHz and stakeholder feedback has not been gathered, it is uncertain whether the announcement will be made next month." Generally, the industry views an 8 to 9-month review process from frequency allocation application to the actual auction announcement as the standard procedure.

Ministry of Science and ICT to Handle SK Telecom's Additional Frequency Allocation Request Separately

However, since there has been no prior discussion about a meeting between the minister and the CEOs of the three telecom companies, it is expected that the meeting will take place after the Lunar New Year holiday. Given Minister Hye-sook Lim's clear intention to treat the SK Telecom matter separately, the industry consensus is that only the issue related to LG Uplus's request will be examined. An industry insider said, "Currently, the Ministry of Science and ICT seems to interpret SK Telecom's request as a separate case from LG Uplus's," adding, "It is speculated that the meeting will take place immediately after the Lunar New Year holiday."

Some in the industry also suggest that Minister Lim should make a judgment on the allocation conditions. Previously, the Ministry of Science and ICT had indicated its intention to proceed with an auction in February while holding a frequency public hearing this year. Because of this, there was speculation that the announcement would be made by this month at the latest. If the auction is delayed until March, it is expected to be practically difficult to proceed due to the presidential election event.

In this regard, SK Telecom stated, "We hope that a reasonable frequency supply plan will be decided through sufficient review and discussion of measures that can secure public convenience and fair competition." LG Uplus said, "We hope that the additional allocation of 20 MHz bandwidth of 5G frequencies, which was reserved during the 2018 auction, will be promptly completed for the efficient use of radio resources and the enhancement of user benefits," adding, "We understand that the 40 MHz bandwidth frequency recently proposed for additional allocation by a competitor has unresolved concerns about mutual interference, and this should proceed through a separate review process." KT said, "We will make multifaceted efforts to ensure that constructive discussions proceed from the perspectives of customer benefits and fair competition."

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