Government Announces Eum 5G Convergence Project Contest...Telecom 3 Companies Excluded Over '28GHz' Loss

The government will invest 10 billion KRW to discover convergence projects for 'Eum 5G (5G specialized network)'.

On the 18th, the Ministry of Science and ICT announced that it will call for proposals for the Eum 5G demonstration project to promote the national agenda of ‘Expansion of 5G specialized networks and convergence services.’ However, the three mobile carriers and their subsidiaries that were allocated the 28GHz frequency but had their allocation canceled due to insufficient investment will be excluded.

This year’s support projects aim to activate 5G B2B services in fields such as manufacturing, logistics, and transportation, and to expand the use of 28GHz in areas like culture and education, with approximately 1.8 billion KRW supported annually per project.

The ‘5G B2B Service Activation’ project is designed to discover and apply Eum B2B convergence service models that utilize the low latency and high security characteristics of Eum 5G across all industrial sectors. Last year, one project each was selected in private healthcare and manufacturing sectors, supporting the development of augmented reality (AR)-based surgical guides and convergence services for the digitalization of the KF-21 manufacturing, design, and testing environment.

Based on a prior demand survey, this year three projects will be selected: two in manufacturing, logistics, and transportation, and one in a free category, with about 1.8 billion KRW supported per project.

The ‘28GHz Industrial Convergence Expansion’ project aims to discover ultra-high-speed, large-capacity immersive convergence services that the public can directly use. To support the development of higher-quality services, the project will operate over two years. Last year, one project each was selected in education and culture fields, and currently, development is underway for medical education and training services using 3D HoloLens and immersive virtual experience attraction services.

This year, a free competition will be held for one project where companies can freely propose service models, with a total support of approximately 3.6 billion KRW over two years. Additionally, an experience space will be created where the developed services can be directly used, allowing the public to vividly experience 28GHz convergence services.

Furthermore, starting this year, the Ministry of Science and ICT plans to have consortia selected for the demonstration project participate in the ‘Eum 5G Alliance’ to ensure the rapid establishment of the initial 5G specialized network market, and to maintain the developed services for at least two years.

Jeon Young-soo, Director of the Information and Communications Industry Policy Bureau at the Ministry of Science and ICT, said, “It is expected that Eum 5G services capable of ultra-high-speed and low-latency services will be developed domestically and internationally, creating new markets. We will actively support discovering new services applying Eum 5G across all industrial sectors to expand new business participation and service construction experience.”