The South Korean government has official confirmed that it won’t be deploying 28GHz 5G for use by consumers.
Choi Ki-young, the Minister of Science and ICT, said Thursday that the government was not considering provide 28GHz spectrum in 5G networks to all citizens.
Companies were planning to use the spectrum for business-to-business (B2B) services.
Last month, SK Telecom, the country’s largest carrier, has said it considered 28GHz spectrum more appropriate for B2B applications. The carrier said in the US, which did deploy 28GHz spectrum, is seeing more demand for mid-bands like 3.5GHz.
Choi’s comment is the first from the government to say that the 28GHz will only be for B2B application.
It contradicts the minister’s comments in April in which he said 28GHz spectrum, or 5G standalone networks, will be deployed within the year.
Local carriers SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus will likely not deploy 5G standalone networks this year.
