Korea opens bidding for 28 GHz band after SKT, KT, LG U+ fail to invest

Three companies — Sejong Telecom, Stage X and My Mobile Consortium — will participate in the auction for the frequency band, which will last up to 50 rounds, according to Korea's Science and ICT Ministry.

Closeup of a wifi router, smartphone and laptop [SHUTTERSTOCK]

The Science and ICT Ministry started the bidding process for the 28 gigahertz (GHz) spectrum on Thursday, seeking a fourth official mobile carrier to spur competition in the telecom industry dominated by three major network providers.

Three companies — Sejong Telecom, Stage X and My Mobile Consortium — will participate in the auction for the frequency band, which will last up to 50 rounds, according to the ministry.

The rounds will continue until only one company remains, and in the case of multiple candidates at the end of all 50 rounds, the spectrum will be awarded to the operator with the highest bid.

The auction will start at 74.2 billion won ($55.7 million), but it is widely expected that the final bid will be in the 100 billion-won range.

In the previous auction in 2018, the country's three major mobile carriers — SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus — won the same spectrum in the low 200 billion-won range.

However, these three operators earlier lost their licenses for the new 28 GHz spectrum due to insufficient investment.

As a response, the Korean government has taken steps to introduce a new operator to foster competition in the industry dominated by three major carriers.

If one of the three bidders secures the frequency band, it will be required to build 6,000 base stations nationwide within the first three years and implement measures to address frequency congestion and interference.

BY KIM JU-YEON, YONHAP [kim.juyeon2@joongang.co.kr]