Korea to Commercialize 5G SA Soon, Millimeter Wave Infrastructure Not Yet
U.S. Builds Millimeter Wave Infrastructure in 28 and 39 GHz Bands
Concerns over delay in Release-16 confirmation due to COVID-19 pandemic


Samsung Electronics held 'Samsung Galaxy Unpacked 2020' last February and unveiled the 'Galaxy S20 Series'. The Galaxy S20 Series, which includes three models, consists of smartphones that all support 5G.

Excluding the base model 'Galaxy S20', the 'Galaxy S20+' and 'Galaxy S20 Ultra' sold in the domestic market are 2g lighter than those sold in the Americas. This is because the millimeter wave (mmWave) module has been removed from the domestic models.

This measure is known to be the result of consultations between Samsung Electronics and the three major domestic mobile carriers. In other words, even if a 5G millimeter wave network is established in Korea, the Galaxy S20 series cannot be used. Samsung Electronics plans to equip its domestic sales models with millimeter wave modules starting no earlier than the 'Galaxy Note 20'.


Completion of 5G millimeter wave band infrastructure is still a long way off.
In the 5G frequency auction held in June 2018, the three mobile carriers spent a total of 2.996 trillion won to secure the specific sub-bands they wanted in the 3.5GHz band.

On the other hand, the total amount spent in the 28GHz band was less than that, at 622.3 billion won, and even then, the difference between the amounts spent by each of the three companies was only a few hundred million won.

This is because the three mobile carriers considered the 'Sub-6GHz' band, represented by 3.5GHz, to be more important than the millimeter wave band, represented by 28GHz.

Although 28GHz is faster than 3.5GHz, its shorter radio wave range results in higher network deployment costs. This was a major drawback as the global race for 5G commercialization intensified.

In April 2019, Korea finally won the race for 5G commercialization. However, to date, no mobile carrier has announced plans for millimeter wave band infrastructure.


5G SA scheduled for commercialization within the first half of this year
As of March 2020, the number of domestic 5G subscribers reached 5 million, but complaints persist that the '5G icon,' which indicates communication via a 5G network, is rarely seen at the top of smartphone screens. The majority of subscribers believe that 5G speeds are not significantly faster than existing LTE.

Currently, 5G does not operate as a standalone network. This is because 5G Standalone (SA) mode, which operates independently, has not yet been commercialized. The 5G Non-Standalone (NSA) mode currently in use operates in conjunction with LTE. Unlike 5G SA, the underlying technology for 5G NSA emerged as early as 3GPP Release-12, prior to the appearance of the 5G standard.

Dual connectivity (DC) technology, which enables terminals supporting reception (Rx) and transmission (Tx) to simultaneously utilize resources controlled by one or more base stations, was designed to provide seamless LTE services in areas with high user traffic.

LTE terminals located in areas where the coverage of LTE base stations using frequencies in the 2.6GHz or lower band and LTE small cell base stations using frequencies in the 3.5GHz band overlap can use the resources of both base stations through DC technology.

The 3.5GHz band was subsequently defined to be supported by 5G technology as well. Therefore, NSA was deployed faster than SA because the infrastructure was already established to some extent alongside LTE.

Unlike millimeter wave band infrastructure, the commercialization of 5G SA is expected to take place soon. The three mobile carriers have each announced that they will commercialize 5G SA within the first half of this year. To this end, the three companies have been testing base stations and switches that combine equipment from different manufacturers since the end of last year.

In addition to international standard network slicing technology, 5G-related technologies such as Mobile Edge Computing (MEC), functional modularization, and data parallel processing technology are also being tested.


The US is the most active in the global 5G hegemony race.
China established a plan to commercialize 5G by 2020 through 'Made in China 2025' and the '13th Five-Year Plan,' and realized this in November 2019. Japan plans large-scale 5G commercialization starting with the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Europe, the Middle East, and other regions are also planning to expand 5G in earnest in 2020, in accordance with 'IMT-2020,' the official name for 5G.

The United States views 5G superiority as a means to win the hegemonic competition between the U.S. and China and is actively pursuing commercialization. In April 2019, U.S. President Donald Trump announced that the United States must win the global 5G competition. Accordingly, various measures were implemented. The U.S. government announced the '5G FAST PLAN' led by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), a key regulatory agency.

In accordance with the plan, the 24, 28, 37, 39, and 47 GHz bands have been supplied to the market, and the additional supply of the 26 and 42 GHz bands is also being discussed. The supply of mid-bands of 2.5, 3.5, and 3.7–4.2 GHz, low-bands of 600, 800, and 900 MHz, and unlicensed bands of 6 and 95 GHz is also being pursued. In addition, infrastructure policy reforms and the modernization of outdated regulations are underway.

Accordingly, Verizon has completed millimeter wave infrastructure utilizing the 28GHz band in 30 cities across the United States, and AT&T has also built millimeter wave infrastructure utilizing the 39GHz band in 35 cities.

Dish Network, the fourth mobile carrier in the U.S., plans to lease AT&T's network until it is built, and T-Mobile received approval from the FCC for its merger with Sprint on the condition that it will cover 97% of the U.S. population with 5G within three years.


The variable is the COVID-19 pandemic
As the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) that originated in Wuhan, China last December spread worldwide, the WHO declared a global pandemic on the 11th. MWC 2020, which was scheduled to be held on February 24, was already officially canceled due to COVID-19, and 3GPP also completely canceled its international conference schedule until May.

3GPP plans to finalize the review of Release-16 and determine whether there will be any schedule delays at the 87th General Assembly, which will be held online from March 17 to 20.

Release-16 defines performance standards and technical methods to enhance 5G stability, network slicing, ultra-low latency (URLLC), and micro-connectivity (mMTC), and is essential for the implementation of smart factories and smart cities. If Release-16 is delayed, there are concerns that it will delay the development schedules for standard-based 5G equipment and terminals, as well as the commercialization schedule for 5G networks.

In addition, 3GPP revised the target completion date for Release-17, the 5G standard following Release-16, to December 2021, three months later than originally planned.