Those staying in an area paralyzed by a communication blackout will be able to temporarily access communications services they are not subscribed to. 

According to the Ministry of Science and ICT, the backup measure was confirmed in a meeting presided over by Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon on Thursday. It is part of the government’s plan to better deal with communications failure such as in the case last month that was triggered by a fire at a KT building in Seoul.

Under the plan, the country’s three major mobile carriers will open their wireless network services to customers of a rival carrier that reports a communications problem. 

The mobile carriers will also be required to secure bypass routes at communications facilities on every level, including those in cities, counties and districts. 

On November 24th, a fire at the KT Corporation building in Seoul’s Ahyeon-dong, Seodaemun District had caused widespread network paralysis for more than two days, extending to four other Seoul districts and even to Goyang City in Gyeonggi Province.