First Half of '21 5G Quality Assessment Results: "Still Falls Short of Pre-Commercialization Expectations"
Published2021.09.01 14:42117.98Mbps higher than the second half of last year
Important multi-use facilities with 5G availability increased by 33%
The commercialization of 5G mobile communication has passed its second anniversary. While 5G coverage and quality are rapidly improving, it has been pointed out that in order for users' perceived quality of 5G to further improve, the three telecommunication companies need to expand network investment and spread suitable 5G application services.
It only rose slightly. [Image=Pixabay]
On the 1st, the Ministry of Science and ICT and the National Intelligence Society Agency (NIA) announced the interim results for the first half of the 2021 5G service coverage inspection and quality evaluation. The evaluation covered all administrative districts in 85 cities, and apartment complexes and the interiors of university buildings were included as new measurement types.
The first-half interim evaluation was divided into a coverage check and a quality evaluation.
For outdoor coverage, the average area of 5G coverage disclosed by telecommunication companies in 85 cities pursuant to Article 56-2 of the Telecommunications Business Act was 6,271.12㎢ as of May. It appears that 5G coverage has been established in most urban areas excluding forests in Seoul and the six major metropolitan cities, while in 78 small and medium-sized cities, it has been built mainly in major residential and activity areas such as densely populated areas and downtowns.
By carrier, it was LGU+ 6,805.25㎢, KT 6,333.33㎢, and SKT 5,674.79㎢. Sample inspection results showed that the 5G coverage maps released by telecommunication companies did not overrepresent it.
Regarding the interiors of major facilities, the number of facilities where 5G is available averages 3,707 across the three carriers as of April, out of approximately 4,500 multi-use facilities such as department stores, libraries, and airports. By carrier, this stands at 4,205 for KT, 3,923 for SKT, and 2,992 for LGU+. The coverage area for stable 5G services in major multi-use facilities is 96.00%, an improvement compared to the second half of last year (90.99%).
As of April, regarding transportation infrastructure, 5G has been installed in 835 out of a total of 1,028 subway stations. For high-speed rail, 5G has been installed in an average of 53 out of a total of 54 stations across the three companies, and in an average of 51 out of a total of 55 sections across the three companies. For expressways, it was found that 5G has been installed in an average of 94 out of 141 sections of major expressways with high traffic volume across the three companies.
◇ 5G Service Quality Evaluation Results
The average 5G download speed for the three carriers was 808.45 Mbps, an improvement of 117.98 Mbps from 690.47 Mbps last year. The average 5G upload speed was 83.93 Mbps, an improvement of 20.61 Mbps from 63.32 Mbps last year. By carrier, SKT recorded 923.20 Mbps (up 127.63 Mbps), KT 782.21 Mbps (up 114.73 Mbps), and LGU+ 719.94 Mbps (up 111.45 Mbps).
According to the results of continuous user evaluations, download speeds on all models capable of 5G service are 872.99Mbps for SKT, 703.49Mbps for KT, and 651.46Mbps for LGU+. In particular, when reflecting only the measurement results of the 'Galaxy S20+' smartphone as in the government evaluation, the download speeds were close to 920.07Mbps for SKT, 761.60Mbps for KT, and 710.52Mbps for LGU+ by carrier.
The 5G → LTE conversion rate, an indicator of 5G network stability, improved from 5.29% in the previous year to an average of 1.22% for downloads (5.49% in the previous year) and 1.25% for uploads for downloads. By carrier, based on downloads, SKT stood at 1.17%, LGU+ at 1.22%, and KT at 1.26%.
◇ 5G Service Quality by Specific Type
The average download speeds by type were 779.98 Mbps for outdoor areas (administrative districts), 833.21 Mbps for multi-use facilities and transportation infrastructure, and 829.10 Mbps for residential areas. Among multi-use facilities, speeds were high in places such as amusement parks (1,028.09 Mbps), while the newly added interiors of major university buildings reached 816.75 Mbps. Within transportation infrastructure, subway stations recorded 1,158.95 Mbps, subway cars 916.42 Mbps, and high-speed trains 448.79 Mbps.
For residential areas newly included in the 2021 evaluation, a sample was selected from large-scale apartment complexes with 2,000 or more households for evaluation. The results were 877.74 Mbps in apartments where 5G base stations were installed, and 440.05 Mbps in apartments where 5G installation was difficult.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, in-home visit measurements were not conducted. The Ministry of Science and ICT is also scheduled to announce the comprehensive results of the second half of the 2021 5G service coverage inspection and quality evaluation.
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