Government: "Telecom Companies' Social Responsibility Weakening... Foster Competition with New Entrants"

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Su-yeon] The government has announced a major overhaul of the telecommunications market. Pointing out that the three major telecom companies do not bear social responsibility despite using limited national resource frequencies, it has announced plans to introduce new operators to create a competitive environment.

On the 16th, the Ministry of Science and ICT held the 'Radio Policy Advisory Meeting' at the National Science and Technology Advisory Council Support Group conference room.

The Ministry of Science and ICT held the 'Radio Wave Policy Advisory Meeting' on the 16th at the National Science and Technology Advisory Council Support Group conference room.
[Photo by Ministry of Science and ICT]

Hong Jin-bae, Director of the Network Policy Office at the Ministry of Science and ICT, said, "Concerns have been growing recently that telecom companies using limited national resources have weakened their social responsibility. In particular, infrastructure investment requires proactive investment with a long-term perspective rather than short-term profits." He added, "The recent cancellation of the 28 GHz frequency allocation is a clear example showing that telecom operators are passive in infrastructure investment."

He continued, "The government will foster a competitive environment and promote market entry of new operators through active radio policies."

The meeting was attended by experts in economics, law, and technology, related research institutions, and government officials. Before the main discussion, Kim Ji-hwan, Head of the Future Strategy Center for Radio and Mobile Communications at the Korea Information Society Development Institute, presented on the current status and competition situation of the domestic mobile telecommunications market, the necessity of promoting competition through radio policy, and domestic and international cases.

In the subsequent discussion, advisory committee members emphasized that allocation policies, including allocation fees and conditions, must effectively work for new operators to promote their market entry and strengthen competitiveness. They also stressed that telecommunications policies suitable for the current market environment should be balanced with radio policies.

The advisory committee members agreed that radio policy, which determines the allocation of radio resources, is an effective policy tool to promote market competition as it influences the competitive structure among operators. They stated that if a competitive environment is created through radio policies such as frequency allocation, promoting competition and investment among operators to foster innovative services, the Korean people will be able to enjoy the benefits. They also suggested actively referring to overseas cases that promoted new operator entry and emphasized the need for mid- to long-term structural improvement plans, such as legal and institutional reforms, to ensure new operators can continue to grow after entering the market.

Based on the discussions held that day, the Ministry of Science and ICT plans to prepare a frequency allocation plan for new operators in the 28 GHz band through a research team, announce the frequency allocation plan in the second quarter, and proceed with the selection of new operators in the fourth quarter.

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