The Ministry of Science and ICT's 5G Convergence Service Project provides opportunities for major public and private sectors to discover, expand, and participate in 5G convergence services that utilize the characteristics of 5G and related technologies.

The Ministry of Science and ICT, the Korea Intelligence Information Society Agency, and the National IT Industry Promotion Agency announced on the 29th that they will begin the '5G Mobile Communication Convergence Service Project' demonstration project.

This project consists of three demonstration projects, and it was announced that a total of 48 billion won will be invested in the public and private sectors this year to demonstrate 11 tasks.

'Eum5G (5th generation specialized network)' is a communication network that utilizes 5G frequencies in specific areas so that businesses that wish to provide 5G convergence services can directly build 5G networks. In March, the Ministry of Science and ICT announced that it would actively activate customized 5G convergence services for each company in demand through Eum5G frequency allocation.

In 2020 and 2021, it was applied to smart industrial complexes, healthcare, ports, etc. based on the 5G commercial network, and this year, a total of 36 consortiums proposed tasks, and 11 consortiums, including 7 in the public sector and 4 in the private sector, and a total of 42 companies and institutions were selected to begin the 5G demonstration.

As of now, the major companies are:Eber Cloud, LG CNS, and SK Networks Service have completed their applications for 5G frequency allocation and registration as a fixed-line telecommunications business.

The 2022 public sector demonstration project will be led by seven key organizations, with a total investment of KRW 40 billion. The projects will focus on healthcare, logistics, and energy. Key organizations include KT (Bundang Seoul National University Hospital), SKT (Gyeongnam Robot Land Foundation, etc.), and Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO). These organizations will utilize 5G convergence services to accelerate digital transformation.

The four projects, totaling 8 billion won, will be led by the main private sector demonstration projects. These projects will revitalize the overall 5G industry ecosystem and lead the 5G 28GHz market. Key organizations include Naver Communications (Ewha Mokdong Hospital), KT (Korea Aerospace Industries), KT (Samsung Seoul Hospital), and the Smart Media Industry Promotion Association (Hotel Lotte, Lotte World).

The Ministry of Science and ICT said that through this project, various companies and organizations have been able to demonstrate the E-5G service, laying the foundation for the expansion of the E-5G industry ecosystem.

Meanwhile, it was announced that the '(tentative name) 5G Alliance' will be launched at the end of August to create a forum for cooperation between industry, academia, and research institutes, and a roadmap for expansion by major industrial sectors will be prepared to provide consulting services to strengthen the ecosystem and discover new private-led business models to promote domestic and international expansion.

Minister of Science and ICT Lee Jong-ho said, "5G-based convergence services will serve as a new growth engine that will lead digital innovation in each field," and added, "We will discover various 5G convergence services and work to ensure that domestic reference models can advance into overseas markets, while focusing our policy capabilities to create a private-sector-led 5G convergence ecosystem."