RootMetrics Conducts Survey in Seoul and Busan
SKT Ranks First in Download Speed in OpenSignal Survey
[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Min-young] In Seoul, the telecom company with the best 5G coverage is KT, while LG Uplus offers the fastest 5G network download speeds. In Busan, KT's 5G coverage is the best, and SK Telecom has the fastest speeds.
According to the IT industry on the 28th, global market research firm RootMetrics compared the mobile network performance of the three telecom companies in Seoul and Busan from April 26 to May 14. KT's 5G availability was highest in both cities, with 99.3% in Seoul and 96.4% in Busan.
5G availability measures the proportion of time the network is connected in locations where mobile communication is most frequently used, such as business districts and tourist spots, regardless of the network's overall service coverage. In other words, it represents the percentage of actual phone usage time during which 5G is accessible.
LG Uplus ranked second with availability rates of 98.2% in Seoul and 88.7% in Busan. SK Telecom followed with 98% in Seoul and 86.9% in Busan. RootMetrics explained that Seoul's 5G availability is overwhelmingly higher compared to 88.3% recorded by T-Mobile in New York and 48.4% by EE in London.
All three telecom companies have significantly improved 5G availability in Seoul over the past two years. In RootMetrics' second half of 2020 survey, KT's availability was 78.8%, trailing LG Uplus, which was first at 90.9%. However, KT raised its availability to 95.0% in the first half of last year and topped the rankings in this year's first half survey. SK Telecom also improved from 71.3% in the second half of 2020 to 93.2% in the first half of last year, and this year it closed the gap to just 0.2 percentage points behind second-place LG Uplus.
In Seoul, LG Uplus recorded the fastest download speed using a combination of 5G, LTE, and 5G-LTE hybrid networks at 663.4 Mbps (megabits per second). SK Telecom followed with 614.8 Mbps, and KT was third at 585.5 Mbps.
In Busan, SK Telecom dominated with 721 Mbps, while KT and LG Uplus recorded 568.1 Mbps and 544.7 Mbps, respectively. RootMetrics analyzed that despite LG Uplus having a 5G bandwidth of 80 MHz in Seoul, which is 20 MHz narrower than the other two telecom companies, it demonstrated higher performance and used the 5G network most efficiently.
LG Uplus is scheduled to receive an additional 20 MHz bandwidth in the 3.40?3.42 GHz band from the government this November. This additional allocation could impact the quality competition.
During the survey period, RootMetrics tested 5G performance in Seoul and Busan by walking and driving on roads using the Galaxy S22 Plus smartphone. The survey team visited 169 indoor locations and drove a total distance of 3,659 km, collecting 74,388 data samples.
RootMetrics stated, "While 5G is rapidly developing and spreading in other countries as well, Korea's 5G still leads significantly in global competition," adding, "If all three telecom companies build standalone (SA) 5G networks that provide service solely with 5G equipment, users will be able to enjoy faster and more powerful 5G performance than currently available."
Meanwhile, a survey conducted nationwide in South Korea by OpenSignal in the UK from February to May this year found that SK Telecom ranked first in five categories, including 5G download speed and call quality.
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