Representative Lee Hae-min: “Additional Conditions Needed for 5G Indoor Base Station Deployment”,
Representative Lee Hae-min (National Innovation Party) asking questions related to the Digital Inclusion Act at the full meeting of the Science, ICT, Broadcasting, and Communications Committee on the 24th.
,
,
, ‘[Digital Daily Reporter Kang So-hyun] Despite the five years since the commercialization of 5G in 2019, it remains challenging to use it inside buildings, prompting calls for government inspection.’,
,
, ‘On the 24th, Representative Lee Hae-min, a member of the National Assembly’s Science, ICT, Broadcasting, and Communications Committee (hereafter the Science and ICT Committee), pointed out based on the “5G Base Station Deployment Status by Carrier” data submitted by the Ministry of Science and ICT that as of August 2024, the three major telecom companies established a total of 345,795 accumulated base stations, but only 38,252 of these were indoor installations, making up just 11.1% of the total.’,
,
, ‘Breaking it down by carrier: SK Telecom installed 13,849 out of 121,252 stations (11.4%), KT installed 13,294 out of 114,552 stations (11.6%), and LG Uplus installed 11,109 out of 109,991 stations (10.1%), indicating low indoor base station deployment.’,
,
, ‘The deployment was also insufficient in underground and tunnel areas. A total of 7,743 stations (2.2%) were installed underground by the three carriers, while only 4,814 stations (1.4%) were deployed in tunnels. The remaining 85.3%, or 294,986 stations, were concentrated on the ground.’,
,
, ‘According to the Ministry of Science and ICT’s “2023 Communication Service Coverage Inspection and Quality Evaluation Results,” the average accessibility ratio for major indoor facilities was reported to be 95.68%, not accurately reflecting the reality.’,
,
, ‘Representative Lee noted that when operators reduce capital expenditure while still trying to meet allotment conditions, in-building base station deployment inevitably becomes a lower priority. The CAPEX of the three telecom companies has been declining annually since the launch of 5G: ₩9.5967 trillion in 2019, ₩8.2761 trillion in 2020, ₩8.2006 trillion in 2021, ₩8.1710 trillion in 2022, and ₩7.3379 trillion in 2023.’,
,
, ‘Representative Lee criticized that because the government didn’t mandate indoor wireless station installation during frequency reassignment, consumers still have to use LTE priority mode indoors despite paying high rates for 5G devices. He continued to urge, “The ‘Korea Spectrum Plan’ announced last September also lacks measures for investing in in-building base stations. The Ministry of Science and ICT must reflect this in the plan for additional 5G frequency supply and reassignment following the expiration of usage periods.”‘,
,
,