SK Telecom has the largest 5G subscriber base in South Korea
The total number of 5G subscribers in South Korea reached 20.19 million in November 2021, accounting for around 28% of the total 72.57 million mobile subscriptions in the Asian nation, Korean press reported, citing data from the Ministry of Science and ICT.
South Korea was the first country to launch commercial 5G networks in April 2019 and currently has 5G coverage across its 85 cities.
The 5G users figure at the end of November marks an increase from 19.38 million 5G subscriptions in October as new smartphone launches, including Apple’s new iPhone 13 series, boosted user growth. The release of Samsung Electronics’ new foldable phones — the Galaxy Z Fold3 and Galaxy Z Flip3 — in late August also helped boost user growth.
SK Telecom, the country’s largest mobile operator by subscriptions, ended November with 9.52 million 5G subscribers, followed by KT Corp. with 6.16 million and LG Uplus Corp. with 4.46 million, according to the report,
Meanwhile, the number of 4G subscribers in South Korea fell to 48.55 million in November, accounting for 67% of total mobile subscriptions.
South Korean telecom operators currently provide 5G services via NonStandalone 5G networks, which depend on previous 4G LTE networks.
In July 2021, the Korean government had announced it will award 28 GHz and sub-6 GHz spectrum in November to boost the use of 5G-related services across the country.
The spectrum will be available for mobile operators and for companies operating in different verticals. The ICT ministry had announced it will make available a total of 600 megahertz in the 28 GHz band and 100 megahertz in the 4.7 GHz band.
The 28 GHz band will be divided into 12 blocks and the 4.7 GHz band into 10 blocks, respectively. The spectrum in the 4.7 GHz band will be offered to non-telecom companies, according to the report.
The ministry said that the allocation of these new frequencies will allow companies to operate 5G networks across various industries and offer new service such as smart factories, healthcare, robotics and smart farms.
