The total number of 5G users in South Korea has surpassed 20 million as of November. The data from the country’s Ministry of Science and ICT shows. The next-gen cellular network was commercialized in 2019 and the Asian nation is the global leader when it comes to the broadband speed on 5G.
As per the latest data, the total of 5G users now stands at 20.19 million in November. This total amounts to 28 percent of the total 72.57 million mobile network subscriptions in the country.
South Korea leads 5G in speed globally but it has also taken long strides when it comes to expansion. Currently, the country has turned on a 5G network across 85 cities. South Korea started the commercial rollout of this network in April 2019.
Latest Gadgets Inspires More 5G Users in South Korea
As the network expands along with smartphone uses, more subscribers keep on piling. The latest data is another increase from the previous month. Till October, the country had 19.38 million users on 5G. While in September, it had reached 18.41 million.
The latest smartphone launches that include Apple’s iPhone 13 series, and Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Galaxy Z Flip 3 that launched in August inspired the latest bump in 5G subscriptions.
South Korea’s domestic global giant Samsung’s foldable devices are widely popular in the country. The latest gadgets recorded 1 million sales in 39 days after the launch.
SK Telecom, KT Corp., and LG Uplus Corp. are major telecom operators in South Korea. SK Telecom is the largest carrier in terms of subscription. As of November, it had 9.52 million users connected to 5G. Meanwhile, KT Corp. served 6.16 million, and LG Uplus Corp. had 4.46 million subscribers till the said month.
The South Korean operators use (NSA) NonStandalone 5G architecture which runs on the existing 4G hardware.
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The government has announced that soon they will start allocating the mid-band 28 GHz and sub-6 GHz frequency to better its 5G services nationwide. The ICT ministry said that it would provide a total of 600 MHz of bandwidth in the 28 GHz band and 100 megahertz in the 4.7 GHz band.
South Korea is the global leader in 5G broadband. Its fifth-gen efficacy is backed up by various research platforms and has become a benchmark for the states across the world. Visit this post to find out how the country compares to others in 5G speed.