UK OpenSignal: "Korea 5G, SKT is the Fastest"

"3.5GHz Band Provides Sufficient Speed, 28GHz Band Not Felt Necessary"
OpenSignal Releases 'Mobile Network Experience Report'
Top 3 Telecoms Show Fast 5G Average Download Speeds and Availability in Most Areas

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Su-yeon] Among the three domestic mobile carriers, SK Telecom's 5G average speed was found to be the fastest. The speed of the 3.5 GHz frequency band was evaluated as so fast that the need for the 28 GHz band was hardly felt.

On the 16th, the UK market research firm Opensignal revealed this through its "Mobile Network Experience Report." In 5G download speeds, SK Telecom recorded 473.1 Mbps, surpassing KT (395 Mbps) and LG Uplus (396.5 Mbps).

SK Telecom was also found to have the fastest 5G upload speed. The order was SK Telecom at 40.6 Mbps, LG Uplus at 34.3 Mbps, and KT at 32.3 Mbps. Ian Fogg, Vice President of Opensignal, said, "The average 5G download speed experienced by Korean users across the three carriers is astonishingly fast," adding, "It is particularly impressive that these results were achieved using the 3.5 GHz band rather than the millimeter wave (mmWave, 28 GHz domestically)."

5G Download Speed. Graphic by OpenSignal

Not only in 5G but also in overall wireless communication average speeds, SK Telecom showed excellent results. Download speeds were SK Telecom at 129.9 Mbps, KT at 101 Mbps, and LG Uplus at 92.9 Mbps. Upload speeds were tied between SK Telecom and LG Uplus at 17 Mbps, with KT recording 13.2 Mbps.

Regarding 5G availability, which indicates the proportion of time users can connect to the 5G network at frequently visited locations, KT recorded the highest at 38.2%. SK Telecom followed at 34.6%, and LG Uplus at 33.1%. For 5G reach, which shows the average proportion of locations visited by users where 5G was connected on a scale of 10 points, LG Uplus scored 7.3 points, slightly ahead of SK Telecom (7.2 points) within the margin of error. KT scored 6.9 points.

Overall wireless service availability was 99.8% for SK Telecom, and 99.7% for both KT and LG Uplus, showing no statistically significant difference. Vice President Fogg stated, "Korea's 5G availability is very good. Users on all carriers were able to use 5G connections for more than one-third of their total usage time."

Opensignal also released quantified results of user experiences when using 5G for video, gaming, and voice apps. For 5G video experience out of 100 points, SK Telecom scored 79.6, KT 76.6, and LG Uplus 75.5. For 5G gaming experience, KT led with 89.3 points, followed by SK Telecom at 88.6 and LG Uplus at 85.5. For 5G voice app experience, KT scored 83, SK Telecom 82.6, and LG Uplus 81.5.

Vice President Fogg said, "Before 5G was launched in Korea, the industry set high expectations, so there was also significant disappointment with 5G. However, the number of users adopting 5G is rapidly increasing due to the high-quality 5G experience." Regarding the Ministry of Science and ICT's cancellation and reduction of the 28 GHz frequency allocation, he explained, "The 5G experience using the 3.5 GHz band is so excellent that there is hardly any need to deploy the 28 GHz band. As a result, the government intervened because the 28 GHz deployment target was not met."

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Science and ICT has expanded this year's 5G quality evaluation to cover all administrative districts of 85 cities nationwide and major eup/myeon areas, and has begun analyzing the results. The plan is to announce the results within the year.