5G Works Well Even on Haeundae Beach During Vacation Season

The only SKT 5G relay installed on streetlights around the Haeundae beach sand among domestic telecom companies.

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Hye-seon] It is vacation season. Telecom companies have swiftly completed preparations to provide stable communication services in anticipation of an increase in summer vacationers.

According to SK Telecom on the 30th, Busan Haeundae, the largest domestic summer resort, is a focused management area during the vacation season. SKT has been reinforcing and monitoring the quality of communication infrastructure in the Busan area since the end of May, before the start of the summer vacation season. In addition, they have completed on-site engineering, investment, and optimization work to prepare for traffic capacity shortages. Equipment capacity has been additionally secured around the Haeundae beach area to ensure there are no issues with communication service quality. From June to September, over three months, the number of vacationers visiting Haeundae is expected to increase by approximately 240% (about 5.85 million people) compared to last year.

Generally, most wireless network equipment is located on building rooftops. In Haeundae, in addition to rooftops, repeaters are installed in special locations. 5G repeaters are installed on top of streetlights around the beach, which is unique among domestic telecom companies. SKT signed a business agreement with the Busan local government to replace existing streetlights with sturdier ones in exchange for installing repeaters.

5G repeaters are also installed on streetlights at Gwangalli Beach. Repeaters are installed in flower beds along the streets of Haeundae as well. SKT installed the repeaters among bushes considering the surrounding scenery and eco-friendliness, and painted them dark to blend in.

In summer, responding to traffic increases as well as weather issues such as heatwaves, monsoons, and typhoons is important. Busan is a region frequently affected by typhoons. SKT operates a special situation room, runs an on-site emergency standby team, and reinforces communication facilities to prepare for any damage to facilities and ensure citizen safety. Even when typhoons occur, personnel are dispatched to the site in advance to ensure smooth communication service in island areas. They inspect various facilities including emergency generators and act as a control tower by establishing cooperation systems with Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO), fire stations, and local governments. Additionally, they conduct early restoration consultations for power outages, manage recovery status by affected areas, provide support activities for disaster victims, and patrol sites of facility damage.

SKT will enter a special communication measures period for the summer vacation season until the 31st of next month. Considering the localized traffic surges in traffic-concentrated areas during the summer vacation, SKT has completed capacity expansion and optimization work. They have also completed necessary measures such as disaster preparedness facilities and safety inspections in preparation for heavy rain, typhoons, and high temperatures. They plan to operate a ‘Disaster Management System’ that allows one-stop confirmation of disaster situations for rapid response. International roaming traffic will also be monitored due to the increase in overseas travel.