Government to Allocate Additional 5G Frequencies Requested by LG Uplus... With Stricter Conditions

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Hye-seon] A plan for 'additional frequency allocation' that the three major mobile carriers have been at odds over has been announced. The government will select the telecommunications company to be allocated a 20MHz bandwidth of 5G frequency in the 3.40?3.42GHz band requested by LG Uplus next month. The decision on the 40MHz bandwidth (3.70?3.74GHz, two 20MHz bands) requested by SK Telecom will be made later.

Selection of 3.40?3.42GHz Band Frequency Allocation in July

The Ministry of Science and ICT announced on the 2nd that it will accept applications for the allocation of a 20MHz bandwidth of 5G frequency in the 3.40?3.42GHz band until the 4th of next month. The ministry plans to review the eligibility of the applicants and select the recipient within next month. The frequency allocation is scheduled to take place on November 1.

The allocation band is below the 80MHz bandwidth (3.42?3.50GHz) that LG Uplus has been using since acquiring it for 809.5 billion KRW through an auction in June 2018. At the same time, SK Telecom paid 1.2185 trillion KRW for a 100MHz bandwidth (3.60?3.70GHz), and KT paid 968 billion KRW for a 100MHz bandwidth (3.50?3.60GHz).

The Ministry of Science and ICT decided that the frequency usage period for the 3.40?3.42GHz band, which is the remaining band of the 5G frequency allocated in 2018, will be from the allocation date (November 1) until the existing 5G frequency usage end date of November 30, 2028.

The allocation method will be conducted through an auction. However, if a single operator bids alone, the allocation will be converted to government-assessed compensation through review according to Article 11, Paragraph 1 of the Radio Waves Act. The minimum competitive price was set at 152.1 billion KRW, reflecting the winning bid price of the first-stage auction for the 5G frequency allocated in 2018 (3.42?3.7GHz band, 280MHz bandwidth) and value appreciation factors.

The allocated operator must build a cumulative total of 150,000 5G base stations by December 2025. Additionally, the completion of the rural and fishing village shared network, which is being promoted to expand 5G coverage, must be advanced by six months to December next year.

Furthermore, for LG Uplus, which is providing 5G services in adjacent bands, the allocated operator must build 15 million new 5G base stations using the allocated frequency to be able to use the allocated frequency on existing 5G base stations. However, frequency use is possible immediately upon allocation in the rural and fishing village shared network. This measure aims to improve consumer benefits and quality through frequency supply and to complement fair competition conditions.

Additional Allocation of 3.70?3.74GHz Band to Be Decided Later

The Ministry of Science and ICT planned to supply a 300MHz bandwidth (3.4?3.7GHz) during the first 5G frequency auction in 2018, but due to concerns about public frequencies and interference, only 280MHz bandwidth (3.42?3.7GHz), excluding some bands (3.4?3.42GHz, 20MHz bandwidth), was auctioned and supplied to the three major carriers. Subsequently, after on-site measurements of the reserved remaining band (20MHz bandwidth), it was announced that utilization is possible.

Accordingly, LG Uplus requested frequency allocation for this band in July last year, and the Ministry of Science and ICT formed and operated a research team and announced plans to promote allocation in December. However, earlier this year, SK Telecom also requested additional allocation for part of the 300MHz bandwidth in the 3.7GHz band (3.7?3.72GHz, 20MHz), so a comprehensive review of the demands raised last year for the 3.4GHz band and this year for the 3.7GHz band is underway to present the allocation promotion direction.

In February, the Ministry of Science and ICT expanded and reorganized the existing research team for a comprehensive review of the 3.4GHz and 3.7GHz bands. Considering that interference issues with adjacent bands for the remaining 3.4?3.42GHz band have been resolved, detailed allocation plans have been prepared, and supply readiness is complete, as well as the positive effects such as investment inducement through quality competition among carriers and improvement of 5G service quality for the public, the ministry decided to promptly proceed with frequency allocation.

The ministry received the research team's review opinions that supplying the 3.7?3.72GHz partial band as a continuous wideband aligns with existing radio policies and overseas trends and could have significant industrial ripple effects in terms of 5G network advancement; that separating some bands (20MHz bandwidth) could reduce the utilization efficiency of the remaining 280MHz bandwidth and affect future telecommunications competition; and considering the considerable time required to prepare detailed allocation plans for the 3.7GHz band, the 3.7GHz band will be supplied after comprehensive review and preparation of specific allocation plans, with the research team continuing discussions on concrete supply plans.

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