Ministry of Science and ICT Strengthens Indoor 5G Service Quality Evaluation

2024 Communication Service Inspection and Quality Evaluation Plan Announced
Reinspection of Areas and Facilities with Poor Quality Last Year... Results in August
"Telecom Companies Should Actively Invest to Improve Quality"

The government will strengthen the quality evaluation of 5G communication services in indoor facilities starting this year.

On the 21st, the Ministry of Science and ICT announced the 2024 plan for inspecting communication service availability areas and quality evaluation, stating its intention to enhance the quality evaluation of communication services.

The inspection of communication service availability areas and quality evaluation is a system conducted to promote the improvement of communication service quality and to provide users with reliable information about communication service quality. It began in 1999 and has expanded the evaluation target services in line with the evolution of communication methods such as 2G, 3G, and 4G LTE. Since 2020, evaluations have been conducted on 5G, LTE, 3G, WiFi, and wired internet.

In 2024, aiming to improve the quality of 5G communication services in indoor facilities, 40% of the 5G service evaluation samples (400 locations), or 160 locations, will be allocated to indoor facility evaluations.

Additionally, considering the high possibility of poor indoor communication quality when telecom companies do not install 5G wireless stations (base stations, repeaters, etc.) inside buildings, facilities without indoor 5G wireless stations will be prioritized when selecting evaluation sample sites.

Areas with poor 5G and LTE quality and facilities with poor 5G connectivity identified in last year’s evaluation will be rechecked for quality improvement, and the results will be announced in August. In the 2023 evaluation, the number of poor 5G quality areas was ▲LG Uplus 13 locations ▲SK Telecom 10 locations ▲KT 9 locations, and the number of facilities with poor 5G connectivity was ▲KT 28 locations ▲SK Telecom 17 locations ▲LG Uplus 15 locations.

Furthermore, to promote the improvement of 5G service quality in rural and fishing villages, the sample size of the rural and fishing village 5G shared network evaluation areas, which was piloted last year, will be expanded from 30 to 45 eup and myeon this year. Inspection of 5G availability areas in rural and fishing villages will also be newly initiated this year.

Discussions are underway with the three major telecom companies regarding a no-charge policy for data usage generated when using the speed measurement app provided by the National Information Society Agency (NIA). This is to activate continuous user evaluations where telecom users voluntarily participate in communication quality assessments. Currently, only LG Uplus users are exempt from data charges for using this app. If an agreement is reached, the no-charge policy will apply not only to the three major telecom companies but also to users of MVNOs (Mobile Virtual Network Operators).

Kim Kyung-man, Director of Communication Policy at the Ministry of Science and ICT, stated, “We will significantly strengthen the 5G quality evaluation in indoor facilities this year to encourage telecom companies to actively invest in improving indoor quality.”