South Korea cancels 28GHz 5G spectrum allocation to telecom companies due to ‘lack of spending’

The South Korean government said on Friday that it would cancel spectrum allocated to local telecommunications companies for 5G deployment, citing their lack of investment in the sector.

The unprecedented move will cause KT and LG Uplus to lose the right to use the 28GHz spectrum They won an auction in 2018.

SK Telecom, South Korea’s largest mobile operator, will reduce spectrum usage time to six months. It will also lose the right to use the spectrum entirely unless 15,000 radio stations use the spectrum by the end of May next year.

Ministry of Science and IT, South Korea’s technology ministry was behind the decision, saying the operators had not built up the agreed number of 28GHz radio stations they had promised in 2018.

SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus won the rights to use the 3.5 GHz and 28 GHz spectrum in 2018, on the condition that each side build 22,500 and 15,000 radio stations for each spectrum, respectively.

In a Department review conducted in April earlier this year, all operators passed the minimum requirement for the 3.5 GHz spectrum but all failed for the 28 GHz spectrum.

In its statement on Friday, the ministry said the government has continuously encouraged three operators built more radio stations for 28GHz but the companies did not comply. The ministry said in its rebuke, the operators had not even built the minimum number of 28GHz radio stations and failed to deliver spectrum-enabled smartphones to consumers.

It emphasizes that although 28GHz has a narrower coverage area, it can be used to distribute traffic in densely populated areas and is necessary for the development of new services such as reality. virtual and augmented. In contrast, foreign operators, such as those in the US and Japan, are actively expanding their 28GHz network construction, the ministry stressed.

It also said it would encourage new operators to enter the sector, while encouraging more competition among existing telcos through various policies, such as empowering with spectrum for just one operator.

The department’s decision will be finalized during a hearing next month when telcos will be forced to shut down their 28GHz spectrum.

Back in 2019, the Korean government and local telecom companies did a lot about rolling out their 5G networks in April of that year, claimed the rollout was a first in the world at the time. But spending on 5G networks from local telcos has slowly slowed over the years. The telecom companies cite the lack of demand in the 28GHz spectrum and state that the market is not yet open.

Although both the 3.5GHz and 28GHz bands are used in 5G networks, some believe that the 28GHz millimeter wave spectrum is “true 5G” because it’s the spectrum that delivers data transfer speeds. data is much higher than previous 4G LTE networks. However, the ultra-high spectrum has a shorter range than the sub-6GHz spectrum and is used in conjunction with them to ensure coverage.