과학기술정보통신부는 경매를 통해 28GHz 대역 주파수 할당대상법인으로 가칭(주)스테이지엑스(이하 ‘스테이지엑스’)가 선정되었다고 31일 밝혔다.
Sealed bidding results ↑2 times higher than the existing 3 mobile carriers' winning bids
6,000 base stations must be built within 3 years
StageX, a consortium of Stage Five, has been selected as the fourth mobile carrier. The final winning bid is 430.1 billion won, more than double that of the previous three mobile carriers. There are concerns in the industry about StageX’s ability to afford excessive costs.
The Ministry of Science and ICT announced on the 31st that StageX Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “StageX”) was selected as the corporation to be allocated the 28 GHz band frequency through an auction.
Last year, the Ministry of Science and ICT announced a plan to promote competition in the telecommunications market and announced the allocation of 28GHz band frequencies from November 20 to December 19. Accordingly, three companies (Sejong Telecom, Stage X, MyMobile) applied for frequency allocation and were deemed eligible. From January 25 to January 31, a frequency auction was held privately with the participation of the three companies.
The frequency auction began with a two-way competition between StageX and MyMobile Co., Ltd., two applicants, as Sejong Telecom Co., Ltd. gave up on the auction on the first day. The third day of the auction ended with a fierce competition, with the price jumping by 61.7 billion won in just one day to 141.4 billion won.
As a result of the first stage multi-round ascending bidding (rounds 39-50) conducted on the 31st, the successful bidder was not decided, so the second stage sealed bidding was conducted from 7 PM. As a result of the first and second stage full auctions, Stage X, which submitted the highest bid of 430.1 billion won, was selected as the corporation eligible for frequency allocation.
In a public notice issued last year, the government lowered the minimum competitive price from 207.2 billion won to 74.2 billion won in order to lower the entry barriers for the fourth mobile carrier, and reduced the number of mandatory network construction units from 15,000 to 6,000. In addition, the payment method for the allocation fee was changed from the existing equal installment to incremental installment.
The final winning bid was 430.1 billion won, which is more than twice the winning bid price of the three mobile carriers in 2018, which was in the early 200 billion won range.
In addition, StageX is allocated a dedicated frequency in the 26.5–27.3 GHz band (for 3 years) and an anchor frequency in the 700 MHz band. To this end, it is mandatory to construct 6,000 network units.
■ Stage X, attention paid to its progress amidst expectations and concerns
StageX, which was selected as the 4th mobile carrier, was founded in 2015 and received investment from Kakao Investment, joining Kakao as a subsidiary in 2017. However, it was revealed that it declared separation from Kakao before the 28GHz auction bidding date in December 2023. Shinhan Investment & Securities is participating as a financial investor in the consortium, and KAIST, Yonsei Medical Center, and Intellian Tech are also participating.
StageX announced in December last year that it would build over 6,000 base stations in 90 hotspots over a total of three years as part of its fourth mobile communications challenge. The plan is to provide not only B2B services but also B2C services using 5G 28GHz. The goal is to start with demonstrations in universities, stadiums, and airports with KAIST and Yonsei Medical Center, and then expand the model to create successful cases through the discovery and commercialization of service models for the relevant frequency bands, and build an ecosystem up to the 6G market.
In addition, StageX will provide services through roaming on third-party networks in areas where the network is not built. StageX has introduced MVNO and roaming services through the simple communication platform 'Findirect', and said that it has completed technical review and business preparations for building a core network for the MVNO business. The core network is an essential facility for roaming cooperation with MNOs for nationwide communication services.
StageX said it is “preparing to expand its own lineup of low- to mid-priced terminals, including the 5G 28GHz band, to lower the cost of purchasing terminals, and has signed a strategic partnership with a mobile device manufacturing affiliate within Foxconn.”
On the other hand, due to the characteristics of the 5G 28GHz frequency band, the radio wave transmission distance is short, so in order to provide stable services nationwide, base stations must be installed densely. However, since one base station costs about 30 million won, it is analyzed that an additional 200 billion won is needed in this process. For this reason, many experts say that it is difficult to provide B2C services due to the characteristics of 28GHz. Currently, there is no killer content for the 5G 28GHz band.
StageX will receive up to 400 billion won in large-scale government support, including a reduction in frequency allocation fees, reduction in network construction obligations, and provision of roaming and equipment. However, if additional costs arise in the future and the government support to support them becomes excessively large, it could ultimately become a burden for consumers.
Accordingly, there are growing expectations and concerns that Stage X will be able to check the existing three mobile carriers, alleviate the monopoly structure, and reduce the burden of household telecommunications costs. Attention is being paid to whether Stage X will be able to establish itself as a fourth mobile carrier that is differentiated from existing specialized network operators or budget phone operators.
After the auction, Minister of Science and ICT Lee Jong-ho expressed his gratitude to the applicants for their “good faith competition until the end,” and said, “As the selection of companies eligible for the 28 GHz band allocation has been finalized, we will support new businesses to quickly settle into the market.”