South Korean company Stage X, which has been licensed as the fourth mobile operator in the country, is planning to launch mobile network services nationwide in the first half of 2025, according to Korean media reports.
Stage X President, Seo Sang-wong, stated that the company will invest KRW 612.8 billion (USD 462 million) to deploy its 28 GHz frequency 5G network in South Korea. The operator plans to build 6000 base stations in compliance with installation requirements for the 28 GHz frequency network.
“We will begin infrastructure construction this year and plan to launch network services nationwide in the first half of 2025,” said Sang-wong during a recent press conference. “In addition to building 28 GHz base stations, we will also acquire additional medium-low frequency bands to build our own network,” he added.
The President also mentioned that Stage X plans to virtualize its entire core network to save costs. The new operator has also announced active utilization of artificial intelligence (AI) in network quality management and service operations to reduce operational costs.
Stage X also plans to provide services through Wi-Fi using the 28 GHz frequency. It intends to build 28 GHz-based Wi-Fi in densely populated areas such as concert halls, hospitals, schools, and airports.
“Currently, there are no devices in Korea that support the 28 GHz frequency, but Apple already supports devices at this frequency, and Samsung Electronics supports the full 28 GHz frequency for its flagship Galaxy models. We will actively communicate with the Korean government to enable the use of smartphones supporting the 28 GHz frequency, which have already been launched in the United States,” the President said.
Stage X is a consortium composed of Stage Five, a subsidiary of technology giant Kakao Corp., and other unidentified firms. It obtained a license to operate in the 28 GHz band through a tender conducted by the Korean government.
The new operator will be the sole provider of services in the 28 GHz band for a period of three years to secure a market position, according to previous information.
Local operators SK Telecom, LG Uplus, and KT acquired frequencies in the 3.5 GHz and 28 GHz bands in 2018, provided that each installs 22,500 and 15,000 radio stations, respectively, for each frequency band. The government stated that the operators met the specified number of radio stations for the 3.5 GHz band but failed to meet the requirements for the 28 GHz band.
Last year, the South Korean government actually revoked licenses for the 28 GHz frequency that were previously granted to local operators for 5G implementation due to lack of investment and failure to meet deployment requirements.
In response to insufficient investment, the South Korean government took steps to introduce a new operator to increase competition in the domestic telecommunications market.
The source of the article is from the blog kunsthuisoaleer.nl