S. Korean gov't, telcos collaborate to expand 5G to rural areas

The South Korean government and mobile carriers SK Telecom Co., KT Corp., and LG Uplus Corp. launched a task force to help expand 5G coverage into rural areas and allow roaming network sharing where population density is low.

Each mobile carrier will set up their communication networks in designated areas, which can be shared with the other two.

An agreement on the issue is expected in the next six months.

As of July, South Korea had 7.86 million 5G mobile network subscribers, mostly in big cities.

The country began offering the 5G service in April 2019.

According to the Ministry of Science and ICT, the tie-up between SK, KT, and LG Uplus will mark the first time that the companies will work together on a national level to share network roaming infrastructure.

South Korea's 5G users reached 7.86 million in July, up 487,190 from the previous month, to account for 11.3 percent of the country's 69.8 million mobile subscriptions.

The increase in 5G users boosted the total number of mobile accounts by 174,197 in July from the previous month.