ICT Ministry hit for hastily pursuing 5G commercialization
Science and IT Minister Yoo Young-min, right, visits KT's Gwacheon office in Gyeonggi Province, Feb. 20, to check on preparations for commercial 5G service. / Courtesy of Ministry of Science and ICT
By Jun Ji-hye
The Ministry of Science and ICT is facing growing criticism as Korea's plan to fully commercialize the world's first fifth-generation (5G) network services in March has hit a snag due to the lack of preparation in releasing 5G smartphones and subscriber plans.
Industry sources said Thursday that there seems to be a greater possibility that the plan will be postponed until next month as mobile carriers and smartphone makers are apparently finding it difficult to meet the end-of-March deadline set by the government, to begin the next-generation network services.
“Companies are experiencing difficulties as the ministry rushed into the plan, clinging to the title of world's first 5G services provider,” a source said. “It seems as though companies have become a scapegoat while the ministry is taking credit for the beginning of the world's first commercial 5G service.”
In February 2017, the ICT ministry announced its roadmap for 5G commercialization, advancing the schedule by one year.
In order to begin full-scale 5G services, smartphones that can utilize the 5G network and flat-rate payment systems need to be ready.
But on Tuesday, the ministry rejected SK Telecom's (SKT) pricing plan. The nation's top mobile carrier needs to receive approval from the government to introduce new payment systems.
The ministry said it did not approve SKT's pricing plan as the firm designed expensive fee systems only for those using massive data. This was in line with the government's policies to reduce telecom-related expenditure for households.
SKT did not disclose the details, but it reportedly suggested pricing at around 70,000 won ($62) per month.
Two other mobile carriers, KT and LG Uplus, may have no choice but to wait for SKT to earn ministry approval, before designing their own fee systems. This is raising uncertainty about the schedule.
An official from a telecom company said the ministry's argument that SKT's pricing plan was too expensive was incomprehensible as 5G is aimed at offering premium, super-fast mobile services for those using massive data.
“5G smartphones are estimated at more than 2 million won. I don't think a user who uses such an expensive smartphone will worry about a cheap fee system,” she said.
Smartphone makers also appear to have suffered setbacks in releasing 5G models on time.
Samsung Electronics was originally expected to launch the Galaxy S10 5G model later this month, but this is likely to be postponed until next month as the firm may need more time for testing, according to sources.
LG Electronics' V50 ThinQ 5G smartphone is expected to be released in May when Qualcomm, a chipset provider for the Korean tech firm, is expected to provide the required semiconductors.
Regarding the issue, a ministry official said, “The government is pushing for the plan in close consultation with mobile carriers and smartphone makers.”