For the first time in the world, South Korea succeeded in commercializing fifth-generation(5G) wireless network services.

On December first, South Korea's three major mobile carriers-- SK Telecom, LG Uplus and KT-- began offering live commercial 5G services in Seoul, major metropolitan cities, Jeju Island and Ulleung Island.



The launch of the 5G commercial service came a year after a roadmap for the services was first drawn up.

While 1G supported voice only calls, the 2G technology introduced text encryption and data services. 3G technology offered high speed Internet access to multimedia applications and 4G provided data transmission communication at high speed.

5G, which uses the 28 gigahertz bandwidth, is significantly faster than 4G and is considered to be a key technology in the Fourth Industrial Revolution as it is crucial for operating self-driving cars and smart cities.

5G services were showcased on a trial basis during the PyeongChang Olympic Winter Games earlier in February. Frequencies to be used for the 5G wireless network were auctioned off in June. All administrative procedures necessary for commercialization of the services were completed in November.

The 5G commercial service is initially only available for business customers in the manufacturing sector that have a portable device that converts Wi-fi data to 5G data.

Individual customers will be able to subscribe to the service in March next year when 5G-enabled smartphones are expected to hit the local market.


Photo : Yonhap News, KBS News

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