Telecom 3 Companies Compete with Small Equipment Firms in 5G National Network Project Bidding

Ministry of the Interior and Safety & NIA Launch 13 Billion KRW Pilot Project
Bidding Expected This Week
Competition Likely in Consortium Form

The three major mobile carriers

[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Min-young] The three major telecom companies are each forming consortia with small and medium-sized equipment firms to compete in the bidding for the pioneering project to convert the wired administrative network to a 5G-based network, known as the ‘5G National Network Transition’.

According to industry sources on the 23rd, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, together with the National Information Society Agency (NIA), is conducting a public bidding for the ‘5G National Network Transition’ pioneering project through the Public Procurement Service’s Nara Market. The targets for construction are four agencies: the Ministry of Science and ICT, the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Ministry of Personnel Management, with a total budget of 13 billion KRW. The Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education, Chungbuk Provincial Office of Education, and the Ministry of National Defense are also reportedly reviewing the project independently. A Ministry of the Interior and Safety official stated, "We plan to announce the bid as early as May, and no later than early June, aiming to release the announcement as soon as possible."

The Ministry plans to support public officials to perform their duties anytime and anywhere via a dedicated network using next-generation 5G technology. The dedicated network is separately isolated, which is advantageous for security. Once the 5G national network is transitioned, officials will be able to carry out official work using mobile devices such as laptops and tablet PCs with personal 5G modems. This is one of the core projects of the current government’s Digital Platform Government initiative. An official from the telecommunications equipment industry said, "There are many security concerns during remote work, but the dedicated network will be operated by maximizing the use of the 5G 3.5 GHz commercial network while also installing in-building and 28 GHz cells inside buildings."

Until last year, the network was based on non-standalone mode (NSA), which uses both 5G and LTE, but this year it will be built using standalone mode (SA), which uses only 5G. The plan is likely to utilize both the currently used 3.5 GHz frequency band and the ultra-high frequency 28 GHz band. The three major telecom companies plan to participate in the competition as consortia with domestic small and medium-sized equipment firms. Domestic telecom equipment companies, including those producing 5G national network dedicated modems, small cells, router modules, and routers, are expecting large-scale orders for the first time in a while.

After completing the pioneering project this year, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety plans to fully establish a 5G-based work environment in four government complex buildings and 17 metropolitan cities and provinces by 2025. According to the initially established Information Strategy Plan (ISP), the scale of the main project is expected to be 332.2 billion KRW. However, the specific budget will be finalized later after preliminary feasibility studies. A telecommunications industry official said, "We will need to look closely at the details once the bidding announcement is released, but all three major telecom companies are expected to participate in the bid from the perspective of gaining experience in technology advancement through government projects (B2G). However, the project’s effectiveness will depend on its continuous expansion to the nationwide administrative network."