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Demand for 5G services is currently double what it was for LTE, according to Korea’s biggest telco
SK Telecom has become the first telco in the world to exceed 1 million 5G subscribers, as Koreans continue to embrace next generation mobile networks.
SK Telekom, KT and LGU+ became the first telcos in the world to launch 5G, when Korea’s big three operators simultaneously launched their network services in April of this year.
Since then, uptake has outstripped many analyst’s expectations, with the total number of South Koreans on a 5G plan now exceeding 2 million.
The latest figures show that SK Telecom has just over a million of those subscribers, KT has 630,000 and LGU+ has 540,000.
Of SK’s 28 million subscribers, 3.5 per cent are now on 5G contracts. In a statement to the press, SK said that uptake for 5G services was currently twice as fast as it had experienced when it launched LTE services. Uptake is being driven primarily by online gaming and content streaming services, which are booming in Korea.
"SK Telecom will continuously develop innovative contents and services specially designed and optimised for 5G network to provide differentiated experiences to our 5G subscribers," said Ryu Young-sang, vice president and head of MNO business at SK Telecom.
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