5G Speed Increased 6 Times Faster... Customer Complaints Still Twice as High as LTE

[Asia Economy Reporter Seulgina Cho] Although 5G speeds have become about six times faster than when it was commercialized in April last year, it is still considered that there is a long way to go to reach the expected maximum speed. Customer complaints regarding quality such as speed and coverage are still understood to be twice the level of LTE.

According to SK Telecom on the 26th, the speed representing 5G quality has increased from 164Mbps at the time of commercialization last year to 1.0Gbps currently. This is about six times faster in terms of download speed. During the same period, upload speed also increased about six times from 20Mbps to 113Mbps.

From the commercialization in April last year to August this year, SK Telecom has built a total of 100,000 5G nationwide network facilities over 17 months. This is similar to the number of facilities (90,000) built during the initial 18 months of LTE deployment (July 2011 to the end of 2012). Despite the difficulties in building 5G networks this year due to the impact of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), investments at a level similar to LTE were made.

However, controversies over 5G quality continue. This is due to the characteristics of 5G frequencies, which require more base station equipment than LTE. On the 3rd, at a pre-briefing for the '5G Technology Seminar' held at Euljiro Ferrum Tower, Ryu Jeonghwan, head of SK Telecom's 5GX Infrastructure Group, explained, "Due to differences in deployment methods, building a nationwide 5G network requires more than twice the number of devices compared to LTE, and it is impossible to utilize already built equipment," adding, "Operators face difficulties as they cannot use existing infrastructure at all."

Some in the industry express frustration that the current 5G speed is being evaluated against LTE speeds. Considering that LTE could use 2G networks, the current LTE quality is essentially the result of 25 years of development. Taking this into account, there is also an assessment that the future development direction of 5G is more important than the current speed.

Accordingly, it is expected to take a considerable amount of time to reach the 20Gbps anticipated at the time of 5G commercialization. Park Jonggwan, head of SK Telecom's 5GX Technology Group, explained, "20Gbps is the ultimate goal, but the current frequency is insufficient," adding, "A combination of factors such as the 3.6 GHz frequency band and various enhanced technologies is necessary."

Currently, customer complaints regarding 5G are understood to have decreased by 91% compared to the early commercialization period. However, Group Head Ryu said, "It is still twice the level compared to LTE," and added, "We are making efforts to reduce (customer complaints)."