KT Has the Slowest LTE Upload Speed Among the Three Major Carriers... Coverage Also Overstated

Ministry of Science and ICT Announces Service Quality Evaluation Results
Upload Speeds Particularly Low on Subway, KTX, and More

KT was found to have the most exaggerated LTE service coverage information among the three mobile carriers.

The Ministry of Science and ICT has released the results of the service quality evaluation of the three major mobile carriers within key facilities such as KTX. KTX stock photo. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

On the 30th, the Ministry of Science and ICT announced the results of inspecting communication service coverage and evaluating quality.

First, they examined the consistency between the LTE and 3G service coverage information disclosed on the websites of the three carriers and the actual data. A total of 600 coverages were checked, 200 per carrier, in the same regions and time periods.

According to the results, KT had 12 areas where the LTE coverage was exaggerated on its website compared to the actual coverage. SK Telecom had 3 exaggerated areas, and LG Uplus had 1.

Additionally, KT's LTE upload transmission speed was found to be slower than the other carriers. In Seoul, the average LTE upload speed was highest for LG Uplus at 49.22 Mbps, followed by SK Telecom at 46.93 Mbps, and KT at 36.20 Mbps.

The nationwide average upload speeds across 17 regions were SK Telecom (40.03 Mbps), LG Uplus (39.11 Mbps), and KT (28.43 Mbps) in that order.

Looking at upload speeds by major facilities, KT recorded 32.36 Mbps in densely populated areas, which was slower compared to SK Telecom (48.55 Mbps) and LG Uplus (50.65 Mbps).

KT's average LTE upload speeds were also the slowest among the three carriers in indoor facilities and transportation routes, at 35.14 Mbps and 25.31 Mbps respectively.

Among indoor facilities, upload speeds were particularly slow in cultural facilities (23.26 Mbps) and large hospitals (25.85 Mbps). On transportation routes, KT showed the lowest upload speed of 11.83 Mbps on KTX and SRT train cars among the three carriers.

While the nationwide average LTE upload speed on subway cars for the three carriers was 43.34 Mbps, KT's LTE upload speed was lower at 33.61 Mbps.