Government Announces 5G+ Convergence Service Expansion Strategy
[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Min-young] The government will utilize 5G services to address social issues such as closing learning gaps in non-face-to-face environments, public safety, and protecting small business owners. As part of the 5G convergence services, it plans to introduce smart schools for remote education and mobile medical services. A 5G specialized city for 5G demonstration will also be established starting in 2023.
Announcement of 5G+ Convergence Service Expansion Strategy
On the 18th, the Ministry of Science and ICT held the 5th inter-ministerial public-private joint '5G+ Strategy Committee' via video conference to foster the 5G industry and lead the global market. They announced the '5G+ Convergence Service Expansion Strategy' jointly prepared by related ministries.
This strategy mainly focuses on expanding 5G applications to solve social problems. Projects include ▲smart schools for ultra-realistic remote education ▲prevention of safety accidents in industrial sites ▲mobile medical services for disaster response ▲security services without blind spots ▲and metaverse markets to mitigate COVID-19 damage.
The 5G specialized network, tailored for specific regional services, will improve systems such as easing the registration requirements for telecommunications operators to expand business participation. It will also lay the foundation for creating convergence services through specialized network module development and service demonstrations.
Support will be provided for the formation and operation of a Korea-style 5G PPP (Public Private Partnership) centered on the private sector to serve as a hub for 5G expansion. Demand in the public sector will be stimulated by creating government work environments utilizing 5G networks and prioritizing 5G application in government-supported projects.
A 5G+ specialized city will also be promoted as a model for 5G technology and service demonstration and utilization. Lee Seung-won, Director of the Information New Industry Policy Bureau at the Ministry of Science and ICT, explained in a briefing, "Since the budget exceeds 50 billion won, a preliminary feasibility study is required. We plan to pass the feasibility study next year and start the project from 2023."
By implementing this strategy, the Ministry of Science and ICT expects the number of 5G application sites to increase from 195 this year to 630 in 2023 and 3,200 in 2026, and the number of 5G specialized companies to grow from 94 this year to 330 in 2023 and 1,800 in 2026.
Autonomous Vehicles and Smart Factories Also Reviewed
The progress of the five core service goals established in April 2019 was also reviewed. These are the five core services: smart factories, autonomous vehicles, immersive content, digital healthcare, and smart cities. Based on the technological development and demonstration achievements so far, follow-up support by sector will continue to overcome the gap between demonstration and full-scale projects and to generate results.
A leading example of 5G pioneering service construction is Hanmi Fine Chemical. Hanmi Fine Chemical, supported by the Ministry of Science and ICT, participated in a 5G-based production/logistics development project led by SK Telecom, collecting and analyzing data within a sterile production facility based on 5G to implement real-time data processing and anomaly detection functions such as fault identification.
As a successful case of 5G innovative company growth, 4DReplay was highlighted. 4DReplay is a company providing the ‘4DLive video solution,’ a real-time multi-angle ultra-realistic media content broadcasting and production technology for 5G specialized sports content production. For 5G immersive content expansion, the Pohang Institute of Industrial Science and Technology was selected for establishing a demonstration system using mixed reality (XR) technology and digital twin technology.
Im Hye-sook, Minister of Science and ICT and chairperson of the Strategy Committee, said, "In the rapidly changing global economic environment, 5G is a crucial policy task tied to the future of national competitiveness. The government will make multifaceted efforts to ensure that world-leading 5G+ convergence services are discovered and expanded with a private-sector focus."
Meanwhile, prior to the Strategy Committee meeting, Minister Im attended a 5G convergence autonomous driving demonstration event held at Central Park in Sejong City.
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