"The wave of the fourth industrial revolution, represented by 5G, will fundamentally transform the ICT industry ecosystem"

Minister Ryu Young-min of the Ministry of Science and ICT made these remarks at a roundtable discussion with the CEOs of the three telecom operators at 'MWC 2018'.

At a roundtable held on January 5th, the government and telecom operators reaffirmed their commitment to public-private cooperation to promote early construction of 5G communication networks and the world's first commercialization of 5G mobile communications without disruption. To date, to achieve the shared goal of early 5G network construction and world-first commercialization without any setbacks, the government and telecom operators have made continuous efforts to fulfill their respective roles in different areas including frequency acquisition, network construction support, and convergence service development.



This roundtable discussion held at MWC serves as a follow-up to the January meeting, providing an opportunity for the government and telecom operators to share progress made in efforts toward 5G mobile communication commercialization, jointly review future plans and schedules, and reaffirm their respective roles.

Minister Ryu Young-min stated, "In the current situation of fierce competition for 5G leadership, continuous efforts are needed so that the government and telecom operators can each fulfill their roles and achieve the world's first 5G mobile communication commercialization in March 2019," and emphasized that "both the government and telecom operators will make efforts to create an opportunity for our terminal and equipment manufacturers with strong technological capabilities to expand globally."

The government is currently in the process of legislative notice for amendments to the Radio Waves Act enforcement decree, which includes improvements to the allocation price calculation standards to smoothly proceed with the 5G frequency auction scheduled for June 2018, and provisions allowing consideration of voluntary telecommunications fee reduction performance in allocation price calculations, as well as grounds for reducing radio wave usage fees when providing rate reductions for vulnerable groups.

To support efficient 5G network construction, the government is reviewing facility system improvement measures including activation of joint construction and expansion of facility provision through consultation with telecom operators. Improvement measures and related ordinance amendments will be prepared by March, and efforts are being continued to reflect domestic technical standards in international 5G standards, including hosting ITU standardization meetings in January 2018. The government plans to continuously monitor terminal and equipment development schedules to ensure 5G terminals and equipment are supplied by the March 2019 commercialization timeline, and also plans to proceed with amendments to technical standards suitable for 5G terminals and equipment.

The three telecom operators believe that efforts including amendments to 'allocation price calculation standards' in preparation for the 5G frequency auction, expansion of joint construction and facility provision, and continuous monitoring of terminal and equipment supply schedules will significantly contribute to early 5G network construction. In addition, they are committed to actively cooperating in areas requiring telecom operator roles such as standardization activities in 5G private standards bodies and participation in 5G convergence service pilot projects, while making efforts to discover various business models that combine 5G infrastructure with other industries such as manufacturing.

Minister Ryu Young-min stated, "So that the economic effects of early 5G commercialization can be spread across domestic industries, large enterprises including telecom operators and domestic small-to-medium enterprises must work together in mutual prosperity efforts to secure the 5G market," and added, "We anticipate active interest and participation in social tasks including minimum wage increases, employment stability, and job creation to promote people-centered economic growth."