To allow entry of new 5th generation communication network operators, essential communication facilities built within the past 3 years will be opened.

The Ministry of Science and ICT (Minister Lee Jong-ho) announced that it will revise the notice on ‘Conditions for Provision of Equipment, etc. and Standards for Calculating Fees’ and implement it from November 3.

This revision is one of the follow-up measures to the 'Measures to Promote Competition in the Telecommunications Market' announced on July 6, and was prepared to improve the mandatory provision system for essential facilities, support the entry of new businesses, and promote competition in the telecommunications market.

The mandatory provision of essential facilities system is a system that stipulates the facilities subject to mandatory provision, procedures for use, and fees among businesses to prevent a specific business from monopolizing the use of essential facilities such as pipelines, poles, and optical cables that are absolutely necessary to provide communication services to consumers. The Ministry of Science and ICT has been implementing this since the notification of the 'Conditions for Provision of Facilities, etc. and Fee Calculation Standards' in 2003.

However, this system may discourage investment in new telecommunications network facilities by existing operators, so an exception provision has been made to exclude facilities that have been built less than 3 years ago from the mandatory provision target facilities. However, it is expected to act as an additional obstacle for new operators trying to enter the telecommunications market where the oligopolistic structure is entrenched.

This system improvement is a newIt contains contents that allow for a wider use of existing facilities in order to lower the entry barriers for businesses. Through this, new businesses that build 5G networks in the future will be able to widely use some pipelines, optical cables, and facilities that were not previously included in mandatory provision targets, as well as facilities built within the past 3 years, for 5 years from the date of business registration.

In addition, this system improvement includes a provision that includes disputes related to facility provision between mobile carriers and facility management agencies as a subject of dispute mediation by the Central Radio Management Center, which is the facility provision support center, and establishes details such as procedures and methods for dispute mediation. This is expected to make the system more effective and minimize inconveniences to users caused by disputes between operators.

Kim Kyung-man, the Ministry of Science and ICT’s communications policy officer, said, “I hope that this system improvement will be an opportunity to advance the entry of new businesses and invigorate competition in the communications market, which has been centered around the big three telecommunications companies,” adding, “We will continue to create an environment in which we can provide differentiated communications services that the public can feel by enhancing the effectiveness of competition in the communications market.”