18,000 Aging Public Wi-Fi Spots to Be Replaced with Wi-Fi 6
Published2020.07.27 12:1218,000 Aging Public Wi-Fi Spots to Be Replaced with Wi-Fi 6
41,000 new public Wi-Fi locations to be built by 2022.
The Ministry of Science and ICT announced on the 26th that as part of its Digital New Deal policy, it will push to improve the quality of aging public Wi-Fi installed in public places such as community centers, libraries, and welfare centers by the end of this year.
To this end, an agreement for business promotion was signed on the 24th with the National Information Society Agency (NIA) and the three mobile carriers currently operating public Wi-Fi.
The Ministry of Science and ICT established public Wi-Fi in 10,969 locations nationwide from 2012 to 2017 through matching between local governments and telecommunication companies to reduce household telecommunication costs and improve telecommunication accessibility for local residents.
Among the public Wi-Fi installed at that time, approximately 18,000 APs installed before 2014 continued to have quality issues such as slow speeds and connection failures as the equipment usage period (6 years) exceeded.
The Ministry of Science and ICT stated, “Existing, outdated equipment will be replaced with Wi-Fi 6,” and “Quality issues such as speed and connection delays that were significantly reduced when multiple users were connected will be resolved, resulting in a noticeable improvement in perceived speed.”
Also, already built public place AP In areas where coverage is limited (such as bus terminals and libraries), additional APs will be installed to expand service coverage. As of 2017, there were 60,581 public Wi-Fi hotspots in Korea.
Wi-Fi 6 supports bandwidths from 600 Mbps to 9.6 Gbps. It supports Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) technology, enabling simultaneous parallel processing of data from multiple devices and offering faster response times compared to Wi-Fi 5.
Heo Seong-wook, director of the Ministry of Science and ICT's Information Security Network Policy Division, said, "We will build 41,000 new public Wi-Fi points in public places by 2022 to create an environment where people can freely use data anywhere in the country."
Meanwhile, it has not yet been revealed which manufacturer's equipment will be used.
Related news
5 ways to deal with the surge in 'Internet traffic' due to COVID-19 revealed
As COVID-19 spreads globally, internet traffic is experiencing a sharp surge. Internet traffic growth, which typically amounts to only 11% during peak hours, has increased to as much as 34% during working hours. ON Semiconductor has unveiled a high-performance home WiFi solution in collaboration with Internet Service Providers and others.
2020.03.27by 최인영 기자
Public Idea Contest to Increase Traffic Data Utilization
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport will hold the 9th Transportation Data Utilization Competition to increase the utilization rate of transportation data and discover new transportation services based on creative ideas from the public. Prize winners will receive awards as well as opportunities to participate in the finals of the Pan-Government Public Data Utilization Startup Competition, along with follow-up support including various interest rate preferential treatments and startup mentoring.
2020.03.30by 최인영 기자
"Wi-Fi will be as fast as 5G" Government allows limited use of 6GHz band
Next-generation unlicensed communication technologies such as Wi-Fi 6E and 5G NR-U are receiving attention as supporting technologies for 5G. To implement these, the 6 GHz band must be utilized. Accordingly, the Ministry of Science and ICT has finalized a plan to supply a 6 GHz band with a 1.2 GHz bandwidth as unlicensed spectrum. With this supply, Wi-Fi speeds are expected to accelerate by up to five times.
2020.06.26by 이수민 기자
European Patent Applications Surpass 200,000 for the First Time… South Korea Maintains 5th Place, Led by Batteries and Telecommunications
According to the European Patent Office (EPO)'s 'Technology Dashboard 2025', European patent applications last year reached 201,974, surpassing 200,000 for the first time. Korean companies and inventors filed 14,355 applications, representing a 9.5% increase from the previous year and maintaining 5th place by country. Battery, digital communication, and semiconductor technologies led the growth, with Samsung ranking as the top EPO applicant for the second consecutive year and LG reaching 3rd place. The presence of major domestic cities such as Seoul, Suwon, and Yongin was also confirmed. It was also revealed that Korea's European patent strategy is expanding beyond individual technologies to span the entire industry.
2026.03.24by 명세환 기자
SK Telecom First Applies AI-Based Network Operations at Gwanghwamun K-Pop Concert
SK Telecom announced that it applied an AI-based network operation system for the first time at a large-scale K-pop concert held in the Gwanghwamun area of Seoul on March 21st, managing communication quality throughout the event. Mobile data usage during the three hours before and after the concert reached 12.15TB, approximately doubling compared to the same time slot the previous weekend. SK Telecom monitored traffic using the AI system 'A-One' in five-minute and 50-meter units to respond to potential overload situations, while also operating temporary communication facilities and on-site personnel in parallel. This case is interpreted as confirmation of the practical applicability of AI-based autonomous network operation in an environment where demand from dense events and foreign users increases simultaneously.
2026.03.23by 명세환 기자
