Ministry of Science and ICT Lowers Barriers for 4th Mobile Carriers... Opens Facilities Within 3 Years

The Ministry of Science and ICT announced that it has revised the "Standards for Conditions of Facility Provision and Compensation Calculation" notice, which will take effect from the 3rd.

This revision is one of the follow-up measures to the "Telecommunication Market Competition Promotion Plan" announced on July 6, aimed at supporting new entrants in the telecommunications market and promoting competition by improving the mandatory provision system for essential facilities.

The mandatory provision system for essential facilities is a system that regulates the procedures and compensation for the mandatory provision and use of facilities such as ducts, utility poles, and optical cables, which are essential for providing telecommunication services to consumers, to prevent any specific operator from monopolizing their use. The Ministry of Science and ICT has been implementing this system since 2003 by establishing the "Standards for Conditions of Facility Provision and Compensation Calculation" notice.

Until now, due to concerns that it could discourage investment in new telecommunication network facilities by existing operators, an exception was made allowing facilities that have been constructed for less than three years to be excluded from mandatory provision. However, there have been opinions that this acts as a barrier to new entrants trying to enter the oligopolistic telecommunications market.

This system improvement includes provisions to lower entry barriers for new operators by allowing broader use of existing facilities. Going forward, new operators building 5th generation (5G) networks will be able to extensively utilize certain ducts and optical cables, as well as facilities constructed within three years, which were previously excluded from mandatory provision, for five years from the date of business registration.

Additionally, the revision includes a provision to incorporate disputes related to facility provision between mobile carriers and facility management organizations into the dispute mediation scope of the Facility Provision Support Center, the Central Radio Management Office, and to establish detailed procedures and methods for dispute mediation. This is expected to make the system operate more effectively and minimize user inconvenience caused by disputes between operators.

Kim Kyung-man, Director of Telecommunications Policy at the Ministry of Science and ICT, stated, “We hope this system improvement will accelerate the entry of new operators and serve as an opportunity to revitalize competition in the telecommunications market, which has been centered around the three major carriers. We will continue to create an environment where differentiated telecommunication services that the public can feel are provided by enhancing the effectiveness of competition in the telecommunications market.”

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