SK Telecom claims 3.5GHz and NSA are are true 5G too
5G SA were more for B2B applications, telco says
SK Telecom has claimed that 3.5GHz spectrum and non-standalone 5G networks were also “real 5G.”
Park Jong-kwan, the head of the telco’s 5GX technology group was rebutting claims that 28GHz, mmWaves were the true 5G at an online conference.
28GHz and standalone were suitable for business-to-business applications, Ryu Jung-whan, head of 5GX infra group, said, who was also at the conference. There were higher demand for 3.5GHz specturm and other mid-bands in countries such as the US, where 28GHz was rolled out first, too as it was aimed more at consumers.
According to OpenSignal, Verizon had double the 5G download speed compared to SK Telecom’s.
Verizon is expected to start installing 28GHz small cell in commercial buildings later this year. The equipment are being developed by suppliers Samsung Network and US Corning.
SK Telecom is yet to roll out 5G standalone network. Last year in September, the company had said it will roll them out sometime in the first half of 2020.
Multiple sources within local carriers said it is unlikely that 5G standalone network will be commercialized within 2020.
Ryu said non-standalone 5G network was faster than 4G LTE as it uses both 4G and 5G connections.
China Telecom and China Unicom are also planning to wrap up the building of basic equipment for 5G standalone networks in China within the month.