5G Frequency Additional Allocation "Still Under Review"... Included in Next Year's Budget Proposal

Ministry of Science and ICT Plans Additional 5G Frequency Allocation
Included in 2023 Budget Proposal
Government "Subject to Change Based on Frequency Research Team Results"

[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Min-young] Amid the uncertainty surrounding the results of the research team on the allocation of new 5G frequencies, the Ministry of Science and ICT has reportedly submitted the 2023 budget plan, including additional 5G frequency allocation plans, to the National Assembly and the Ministry of Economy and Finance.

According to the National Assembly and government on the 4th, the Ministry of Science and ICT included a budget of 702.2 billion KRW for the allocation of new 5G 3.7 GHz frequencies (undecided) as part of the '2023 frequency allocation fee installment payment.' This amount was divided into 386.2 billion KRW (45%) from the Information and Communications Promotion Fund and 316 billion KRW (55%) from the Broadcasting and Communications Development Fund.

A Ministry of Science and ICT official explained, "This is based on estimates made by experts," adding, "According to the '5G Plus (+) Spectrum Plan' announced in 2019, there was a plan to review securing additional frequencies in 2023, and this was reflected accordingly." The official further stated, "Once the research team’s results on frequencies are released, we will discuss with the budget authorities about revising the budget to reflect those results," emphasizing, "The plan is just a plan and not finalized."

At the time of the 5G+ Spectrum Plan announcement in December 2019, the Ministry of Science and ICT cited traffic forecasts from the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI), predicting that 5G frequencies would reach saturation by early 2023. Accordingly, they planned to secure a total bandwidth of 320 MHz, including the adjacent bands to the previously supplied 5G frequency band (3.42?3.7 GHz), specifically the 3.4?3.42 GHz and 3.7?4.0 GHz bands. The 20 MHz bandwidth in the 3.4?3.42 GHz band was allocated to LG Uplus this month.

Meanwhile, the 5G frequency research team is expected to announce soon the results of their review on whether to allocate additional frequencies in the 3.7 GHz band and other supplementary matters.

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