On Saturday, Korea launched the very first 5G service in the world at 12 am (UTC+9). The unveiling was jointly made by SK Telecom Co., KT Corp., and LG Uplus Corp.
The improved service is only open for corporate customers, but the public had the opportunity to pilot the service at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics early this year in February. However, telecos will roll out services for general consumers in March of 2019.
The biggest feature of 5G is ‘ultra-fast, ultra-low latency’, which can overcome distance limitations in almost all areas. In this case, data disconnection is virtually eliminated, and services such as autonomous vehicles and remote surgery become possible. Entertainment and realistic digital media services such as VR and AR are expected to flourish as well.
KangGu Kang, Professor & Korea Telecommunication Association member says, “First of all, we have the opportunity to create new services and develop advanced equipment and devices.”
However, ordinary consumers are not able to use the 5G service just yet.
Matching hardware is planned to be introduced early next year. It is expected that a dedicated smartphone will be released by March when the 5G network is completed installed in Seoul metropolitan area, and 6 other major Korean metropolitan cities.
Bellow: KT 5G 2018 commercial
