[Q&A] "5G is 3 to 4 times faster, but in-building and nationwide network deployment is necessary"

On the 5th, Ministry of Science and ICT Announces '5G Quality Evaluation'
Download Speeds: SK Telecom > KT > LG Uplus Order

[Asia Economy Reporter Koo Chae-eun] According to the government's 5G quality evaluation results, among the three major telecom companies, SK Telecom showed the fastest transmission speed.

On the 5th, the Ministry of Science and ICT held a press briefing at the Gwanghwamun Government Complex and announced the results of the "First Half 5G Communication Service Quality Evaluation." This was the first 5G evaluation conducted since the commercialization of 5G in April last year. Considering that it is still the early stage of commercialization, the survey was conducted based on downtown areas of Seoul and six major metropolitan cities.

The average 5G download transmission speed of the three telecom companies was 656.56 Mbps. This is four times faster than LTE (4G), which recorded 158.53 Mbps in last year's survey. By company, SK Telecom had the fastest download speed at 788.97 Mbps, followed by KT at 652.10 Mbps, and LG Uplus at 528.60 Mbps. Hong Jin-bae, Director of the Telecommunications Policy Bureau at the Ministry of Science and ICT, said, "At this point, it is difficult to judge whether the average 5G download speed is good or bad, but it can be evaluated as being about 3 to 4 times faster than LTE."

Below is a Q&A with Hong Jin-bae, Director of the Telecommunications Policy Bureau

- Regarding the LTE conversion rate, it seems that in-building surveys were not included. Isn't the sample biased?

▲ The survey did include in-building environments. The main targets for in-building were about 5,000 facilities designated as major facilities by the Ministry of Environment. The survey was conducted on these. Among them, 1,275 facilities were established. One facility can be very large, such as large supermarkets, and speeds were measured even inside such places. The measurements were taken while actually using 5G there.

- How do you evaluate the average 5G download speed, and why was connection time included as an evaluation metric?

▲ Theoretically, there was talk that 5G could reach 20 Gbps, but that applies when all technologies are fully implemented. In fact, LTE's theoretical speed is 1 Gbps, but even though LTE is a mature service, about 150 Mbps is achieved in the field. As technology development and frequency band expansion continue, speeds are expected to approach theoretical speeds. Quality measurements for LTE have been ongoing since 2010. In 2013, speeds were around 30 to 50 Mbps, and by 2019, about 150 Mbps was achieved. Speeds increase steadily along with network stabilization. It is difficult to judge whether 656 Mbps is good or bad, but it is 300 to 400 Mbps faster than LTE. Connection time was included to measure the time to connect to the core network. Since 5G services are currently applied in NSA mode and operators plan to transition to SA, this new metric was added to observe differences after the transition. The most important metric is basically 5G download speed. Since it is still early, LTE conversion rates were also examined.

- Is there a reason for dividing the 5G quality evaluation into first and second half announcements?

▲ The direction for quality evaluation was unusually announced in February. Due to the need to promote investment amid COVID-19, the evaluation was conducted twice.

- There is a gap between consumer perception and the results.

▲ In-building coverage still needs to be solidified, and many in-building equipment installations are ongoing, which may explain this. According to the 5G Convergence Plus plan, 2,000 major facilities are planned for installation. Nationwide network construction must continue steadily, and we will reflect the results of this quality evaluation to sufficiently explain and guide consumers.

- Any overall comments on the quality evaluation and areas where you especially hope telecom companies will focus on strengthening?

▲ Since this is the first 5G evaluation, it was difficult to predict the results. There is a theoretical speed and an actual field speed, so evaluation is challenging. Seeing that speeds are 300 to 400 Mbps faster than LTE, it appears that the network is being stably established. Of course, there are many shadow areas and regions that need to be covered by in-building solutions. This evaluation will likely serve as a benchmark for future deployments. We expect telecom companies to competitively increase investments and make efforts to improve in-building and nationwide network construction so that communication quality meets the expectations of the public.