US to End 3G Service Starting New Year... What About Korea?

Japan's KDDI Ends 3G Service in March... Deutsche Telekom Halted in June Last Year
South Korea Set "Under 1% of Total Subscribers" Rule for 2G Shutdown
Currently About 3 Million 3G Users, Ministry of Science and ICT Says "Too Early to End Due to Many Users"

[Image source=Pixabay]

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Su-yeon] 3G frequencies are being shut down around the world. Germany discontinued the service in June last year, and the United States will no longer be able to use 3G services starting January 1 next year. Japan is also expected to begin serious discussions on discontinuing 3G services starting next year, beginning with KDDI.

In South Korea, although the number of 3G subscribers is steadily decreasing as they switch to 4G and 5G, discussions on ending the service are still premature. The Ministry of Science and ICT previously set a condition that 2G services could only be terminated when the number of users fell below 1% of total subscribers. Currently, the number of 3G subscribers is about 3 million. It is expected that discussions on service termination will only be possible once the number drops to the 500,000 range.

On the 6th, Verizon, the largest telecommunications company in the U.S., announced that it will discontinue 3G service by the end of this year. With Verizon ending 3G, 3G will no longer be available in the U.S. AT&T ended 3G in February, and T-Mobile did so in July. Deutsche Telekom, the largest telecom company in Europe, ended 3G services early in June last year. Japanese telecom companies are also gradually discontinuing 3G services. KDDI ended 3G service in March, SoftBank plans to end it in 2024, and NTT Docomo plans to end it in 2026.

Although 3G is being shut down worldwide, it is expected to take considerable time before 3G is completely discontinued in South Korea. There is still a significant user base, and telecom companies are also hesitant to proceed due to anticipated customer backlash.

According to the Ministry of Science and ICT's "Wireless Communication Service Statistics Status," as of the end of September, the number of 3G users in South Korea decreased by 19.2% compared to the same period last year, totaling 2,921,498. Among them, SK Telecom subscribers numbered 962,465, and KT subscribers numbered 860,008, accounting for 3.1% and 4.9% of their total subscribers, respectively. LG Uplus does not have 3G subscribers as it provides 4G services directly from 2G instead of 3G.

Considering the "below 1% of total subscribers" condition that the Ministry of Science and ICT set for telecom companies when ending 2G, it is expected to take a considerable amount of time. For SK Telecom, which has a relatively small proportion of 3G subscribers compared to the total subscribers (30,632,109), the number of 3G users must fall below 300,000 to discontinue the service. Even assuming an annual decrease of about 20% in 3G subscribers, it is projected that at least 6 to 7 years will pass before discussions on service termination can begin.

The government and telecom companies also believe that it is premature to consider ending 3G in South Korea at this time. A telecom industry official said, "There is currently no discussion about discontinuing 3G. It has not been long since 2G was terminated, and there are still many users of 3G. We continue to strive to protect the rights of customers using the service."

A Ministry of Science and ICT official explained, "The number of 3G subscribers must fall below a certain threshold, but that has not been reached yet," adding, "The service provider must first request the government to terminate the service, but no such request has been made yet."