Kisan Telecom’s sales in 2020 is expected to have been mostly from 4G repeaters, TheElec has learned.
Sales is expected to be level to that of last year’s but lowered unit price of repeaters point mean the firm will likely break even in terms of profits.
Kisan was hoping sales from 5G would increase this year but carriers SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus have been conservative in their investment into indoor 5G coverage this year.
KT, Kisan’s main customer, had extended its deadline for 5G repeaters which was originally August by six months.
Kisan had signed a 7.7 billion supply contract back in September 2019.
Solid, which supplies 5G repeaters to LG Uplus, had also said its 8.2 billion won contract’s deadline has been postponed to next year. It was originally suppose to expire this year.
Kisan Telecom is expected to post around the same sales as its 2019 sales of 67.1 billion won.
The company has accumulated 39.1 billion won in sales up to the third quarter and 500 million won in operating loss.
Repeaters are used to amplify wireless signals from radio stations to increase coverage. Conventionally, radio units are built in outdoors, then repeaters indoors.
South Korean telcos have focused on building 5G radio stations rather than repeaters.
According to the Ministry of Science and ICT, the three telcos combined built 166,250 5G base stations so far.
