SK Telecom, KT and LG U+ have secured spectrum in both 3.5GHz and 28GHz bands
South Korea has completed a tender process through which it awarded spectrum in both 3.5 GHz and 28 GHz bands for the provision of 5G services.
The government had made available a total of 280 megahertz in the 3.5 GHz spectrum band and 2,400 megahertz in the 28 GHz band. The spectrum was divided into 28 blocks and 24 blocks.
Participant operators SK Telecom, KT, and LG U+ had a 10 block cap per spectrum band.
The telcos paid a total of 3.6183 trillion won ($3.3 billion) for the spectrum, 340 billion won higher than the starting price of 3.3 trillion won.
In the 3.5 GHz range, SK Telecom paid nearly 1.22 trillion won ($1.1 billion) for 100 megahertz of spectrum, with KT paying 968 billion won ($870 million) for the same amount. LG U+ acquired an 80 megaherz license in this range for about 810 billion won ($728 million).
In the 28 GHz segment, each operator secured 800 megahertz, paying between 207 billion won ($186 million) and 208 billion won ($187 million) for its license.
South Korea’s Ministry of Science and ICT confirmed that operators can start using the 5G frequencies in December, with the 3.5 GHz band licenses covering a ten-year period and the 28 GHz band a five-year term.
According to Korean press reports, telcos will start preparation for the deployment of 5G infrastructure in the second half of the year. Initial deployments will take place in capital city Seoul through spectrum in the 3.5 GHz band.
The deployment of 5G networks via 28 GHz spectrum will begin during 2019, according to the reports.
In April this year, the three mobile operators announced plans to share the costs for the deployment of a nationwide 5G network in the Asian nation. The initiative reportedly will be carried out by SK Telecom, KT, LG U+ as well as broadband operator SK Broadband. This shared infrastructure projects had the main aim of avoiding redundant investment in 5G deployments, according to government officials. The initiative is expected to generate savings of nearly 1 trillion won over the next ten next years.
In related news, SK Telecom announced that the company successfully demonstrated data transmission using 3GPP-approved 5G Standalone (SA) with Nokia.
The two companies have successfully carried out end-to-end data transmission and ultra-low latency data processing using 3GPP-approved 5G SA at the Nokia Lab in Wroclaw, Poland.
At the trial site, the two companies verified the feasibility of various 5G SA-based application services such as VR, Ultra-HD video, autonomous driving and smart factory.
In December 2017, SK Telecom carried out what it claimed to be the world’s first data transmission using 5G NSA (Non-standalone).
“At the early stage of 5G commercialization, 5G NSA standard mobile phones and equipment will be used as 5G’s network coverage is limited and is critical to use the LTE and 5G, simultaneously,” the Korean telco said in a release. The company also said that it will gradually expand the use of 5G SA.
