Government to Begin Hearing Procedure on July 5 for Cancellation of 5G 28GHz Allocation to Three Telecom Companies

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Su-yeon] The government will begin a hearing procedure on December 5 regarding the cancellation of the 5G 28 GHz frequency allocation and the shortening of the usage period for the three major telecom companies.

According to the telecommunications industry on the 29th, the Ministry of Science and ICT has communicated this to SK Telecom, KT, and LG Uplus.

Earlier, on the 18th, the Ministry of Science and ICT announced the results of the 5G frequency allocation condition compliance check, notifying KT and LG Uplus of the cancellation of their allocations, and SK Telecom of a 10% (6 months) reduction in the usage period (5 years).

During the hearing procedure starting on December 5, the positions of the three telecom companies and their plans for additional 28 GHz base station construction will be questioned.

At the time of the 5G frequency allocation in 2018, the three telecom companies had agreed to build a combined total of 45,000 28 GHz base stations by the end of last year, but only managed to construct 5,059. Given the physical limitations to achieving the mandatory construction quantity by the start of the hearing, it is known that the government's decision to cancel the allocation is unlikely to be changed.

If the final cancellation decision is made during the hearing procedure, KT and LG Uplus will no longer be able to use the 28 GHz frequency. SK Telecom must build 15,000 base stations by May 31 of next year, when the 28 GHz frequency usage period expires.

The Ministry of Science and ICT plans to make a final decision next month after the hearing procedure.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Science and ICT plans to allow new entrants to access one of the two canceled bands if both KT and LG Uplus are ultimately canceled after the hearing procedure. A dedicated task force was recently formed to prepare support measures for new entrants.

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