Ministry of Science and ICT to Revise Frequency Plan Within the Year... Actively Reflecting Field Voices

On the morning of the 28th, Park Yoon-kyu, the 2nd Vice Minister of the Ministry of Science and ICT, attended the "6th Digital National Agenda Continuous Field Meeting" held at the Radio Playground in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, with the theme of "Support for Revitalizing Digital New Industry Services," and listened to the presentations. The Radio Playground is a large-scale radio shielding facility serving as a radio testing infrastructure to support the revitalization of digital new industry services, where domestic radio-utilizing companies can test various convergence devices.

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Hye-seon] The Ministry of Science and ICT will establish and announce plans for radio wave regulation improvements and a frequency spectrum plan within the year. As the use of radio waves expands across all industries, including Urban Air Mobility (UAM) and wireless charging, it has been deemed necessary to improve existing radio wave-related regulations and discover new frequency demands to revitalize new businesses. The Ministry of Science and ICT plans to actively reflect the voices from the industry field.

On the 28th, Park Yoon-kyu, the 2nd Vice Minister of the Ministry of Science and ICT, stated this at the '6th Digital National Agenda Continuous Field Meeting' held at the Radio Playground located in the Radio Technology Institute in Yongsan-gu, Seoul. Vice Minister Park said, "As competition for leadership in the digital era intensifies, we will boldly identify and improve radio wave regulations and discover and supply new frequency demands to secure leadership in future new industries. It is important to provide frequencies for future new industries in a timely manner to foster related industries and secure national competitiveness through public-private cooperation."

At the meeting, policies for frequency supply and radio wave regulation innovation measures were discussed. A total of nine companies leading new industries such as UAM, 6th Generation (6G), wireless charging, and low Earth orbit satellite communication attended, including SK Telecom, Samsung Electronics, Hanwha Systems, Hyundai Motor Company, Naver Cloud, Byenergy, and Dongyang ENP.

In the UAM sector, companies requested timely supply of dedicated frequencies. Globally, the 5030?5091 MHz band is being discussed as the frequency for UAM control. Shin Seung-gyu, Executive Director at Hyundai Motor Company, requested, "We ask the government to supply frequencies in a timely manner and establish standards." Shin Yong-sik, Head of Connect Infrastructure Company at SK Telecom, said, "UAM operations require frequencies in all areas such as control, communication, and safety, but nothing has been decided yet. To commercialize UAM by 2025, it is time to consider frequency issues."

Han Sang-young, Executive Director of Planning and Strategy at Naver Cloud, which uses I-eum 5G (5G specialized network), emphasized, "Procedures should be simplified to allow pilot use of I-eum 5G, and government support is needed to enable the release of devices specialized for I-eum 5G."

There was also a request to simplify wireless station inspection procedures. Yoon Sang-pil, Head of External Cooperation at the Korea Telecommunications Operators Association, said, "Telecommunication companies need continuous large-scale investment to upgrade network infrastructure until 2024," and requested, "Please introduce over-the-air (OTA) inspection systems and a self-conformity confirmation system where telecom companies conduct wireless station completion inspections themselves and submit the results to inspection agencies."

There was also a claim that the 85 kHz band should be proactively allocated to secure a lead in automotive-related wireless charging. Lee Ja-hyun, CEO of Byenergy, pointed out, "While international discussions on using the 85 kHz band for wireless charging are active, Korea has not allocated it precisely." Regarding 6G mobile communication, there was also a suggestion to allocate frequencies proactively. Choi Sung-hyun, Vice President of Samsung Electronics, said, "Fast acquisition of 6G frequencies is necessary for various form factors and user interfaces," and added, "We ask the government to lead industrial and national economic leadership in the 6G era."

Vice Minister Park emphasized, "Among the activities of the Economic Sector Regulatory Innovation Task Force, the Ministry of Science and ICT is in charge of the working group for regulatory innovation related to new industries," and said, "We will listen carefully to industry opinions and present regulatory improvement measures."

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