Mandatory Installation of Optical Fiber in New Buildings... Establishing a Foundation for 10-Gigabit Internet and Converged Services

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Su-yeon] The Ministry of Science and ICT announced that the amendment to the "Regulations on Technical Standards for Broadcasting and Telecommunications Equipment (Presidential Decree)," which mandates the installation of optical fiber cables in newly constructed buildings and relaxes the standards for securing the number of in-building communication lines for officetels intended for residential use, was approved at the Cabinet meeting on the 29th.

This amendment is a result of regulatory improvements actively pursued by accepting public suggestions submitted through the Regulatory Reform Petition Box. In particular, the relaxation of the "standard for securing the number of lines in residential officetels" is a detailed task promoted as part of the "Regulatory Innovation Plan to Revitalize the Digital Industry," discussed at the Regulatory Innovation Strategy Meeting chaired by the Prime Minister on the 9th. The amendment will be enforced six months after its promulgation following the President's approval.

The main points of the amendment are as follows. First, all newly constructed buildings will be required to install both twisted pair cables and optical fiber cables in parallel, strengthening the standards for in-building communication lines.

Under the current technical standards, twisted pair cables or optical cables can be chosen for in-building communication lines. However, in practice, most newly constructed buildings either install two twisted pair cable lines or both twisted pair and optical fiber cables simultaneously. A sample survey conducted over the past five years on 92,000 households in apartment complexes across six local governments showed that 66.9% had two twisted pair cable lines, 32.4% had one twisted pair cable line and optical fiber cable in parallel, and 0.7% had only one twisted pair cable line.

However, if only twisted pair cables (UTP Cat5e) are installed inside the building, it is impossible to provide internet services exceeding 1 Gbps. This makes it difficult to smoothly use large-capacity, high-quality services such as the metaverse.

With the recent increase in future convergence services like the metaverse and 10 Gbps internet services, the Ministry of Science and ICT is mandating the installation of optical fiber cables in newly constructed buildings to establish a foundation for large-capacity, high-quality service usage and prepare for future demand.

Additionally, for officetels with structures similar to apartment complexes that meet certain conditions, regulations will be relaxed to allow the application of residential building standards.

Currently, officetels are subject to the "office building" standard for securing the number of in-building communication lines. However, for "quasi-residential officetels" used for residential purposes, the regulation has been improved to apply the "residential building" standard. The office building standard requires securing one line per 10㎡, so for example, an 84㎡ unit requires 9 lines, whereas the residential standard requires only one line per household.

The Ministry of Science and ICT stated, "By establishing optical fiber infrastructure within buildings, we aim to create a convenient internet usage environment for the public, promote the spread of innovative convergence services in the mid to long term, and strengthen the guarantee of communication service choices for citizens." They added, "Improving the line number regulations for residential officetels to reasonable standards will reduce unnecessary resource waste and alleviate the cost burden on building owners."

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