011·016·017·018·019 'Goodbye' LGU+ Also Ends 2G Service

[Asia Economy Reporter Koo Chae-eun] The last ‘01X’ number, ‘019’, service will be terminated. Following KT’s 016·018 (ended in 2012) and SK Telecom’s 011·017 (ended in 2020) numbers, the termination of 019 means that the carriers’ ‘01X’ numbers will completely disappear.

LG Uplus submitted a business closure application for its 2G service to the Ministry of Science and ICT on the 15th. LG Uplus plans to begin procedures to end 2G service by the first half of the year, with the ‘019’ number maintained until the end of June this year. An LG Uplus official stated, "The detailed timing and plan for the 2G service termination will be decided step-by-step in consultation with the government," adding, "We plan to intensively invest the human and material resources secured through the 2G termination into improving 5G services and developing new services such as augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR)."

The end of 2G is a foreseen step. It is a measure to align with the 010 number integration policy and to prevent inefficient use of frequency resources due to the decline in 2G subscribers. Maintaining the 2G service frequency band costs hundreds of millions of won annually. The aging network management and line maintenance costs are considerable, while the number of users has significantly decreased. From the carriers’ perspective, there is no reason to continue supporting 2G service. The discontinuation of 2G-supported devices, aging communication equipment, and cessation of parts production are also reasons behind the 2G termination.

According to the Ministry of Science and ICT, among LG Uplus’s approximately 374,000 2G subscribers (as of November last year), 60% are corporate customers, most of whom use Internet of Things (IoT) lines in fields such as security and control.

LG Uplus has prepared transition support programs such as discounts on fees and device purchase support so that existing 2G subscribers can switch to LTE or 5G without inconvenience. Customers switching to LTE or 5G can choose one of the following: ▲up to 300,000 won discount on phone purchase and 10,000 won monthly discount on usage fees for two years ▲70% monthly usage fee discount for two years ▲free provision of 12 types of no-contract devices and 10,000 won monthly usage fee discount for two years. However, since the 12 no-contract devices provided for free are LTE-only products, this option is only available when switching to LTE.