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South Korea auctioned off spectrum in the 3.5GHz and 28GHz bandwidth – both crucial for the rollout of 5G networks
SK Telecom and KT have both been awarded 100MHz of spectrum in the 3.5GHz band, as part of South Korea’s 5G auction process.
South Korea also awarded 80MHz of spectrum to LG Uplus.
In total, the auction raised $3.6 billion, slightly lower than analysts’ expectations.
South Korea will undoubtedly be one of the first destinations to roll out 5G mobile networks in the coming months and years, and bot SK Telecom and KT have aggressive plans in place to try to make South Korea "first for 5G".
South Korea has stated that it aims to begin deploying 5G networks in March 2019.
In total, South Korea’s Ministry of Science and ICT auctioned 280MHz of spectrum in the 3.5GHz bandwidth and a further 2,400MHz in the 28GHz band. South Korea is among the first nations to auction off the higher bandwidth 28MHz spectrum, which offers greater speeds than the 3.5GHz spectrum but far shorter transmission ranges.
