[Digital Times, Kim Ji-young] The Korean government is speeding up the 5G frequency auction process, which is being promoted to commercialize the world`s first 5G mobile communication (5G). Ministry of Science and Technology, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, will prepare a draft plan for allocation of mobile communication frequencies by this month. The temperature gap between the 5G frequency bands (3.5GHz and 28GHz), which the government will provide, seems to be cut by the frequency band.

According to the industry on March 11, the Ministry of Information and Communication will complete the work on the frequency auction study and complete the draft of the frequency auction this month. The Ministry of Information and Communication will plan to announce the confirmation of the auction allocation plan officially at the beginning of May. The government plans to release the proposal in the form of a public debate between mid-April and the end of the month, ahead of the next one or two weeks, and collect expert opinions to be reflected in the final draft. The plan includes: △ allocation frequency △ frequency usage and description method △ assignment method △ minimum competitive price △ frequency use period △ frequency allocation applicant requirement △ allocation condition △ network construction obligation △ horn • interference protection and avoidance △ sanction .

The Ministry of Information and Communication already discusses the task of setting the band and supply in the situation where the new 5G frequency band has already been specified. In the low-frequency band of 3.5GHz, the 3.3MHz to 3.6GHz frequency band has been established, but in the ultra-high-frequency band, only the 1GHz band of 27.5 to 28.5GHz has been auctioned. We are considering whether to auction up to 1GHz band of 26.5 ~ 27.5GHz at 1GHz and 28.5 ~ 29.5GHz at ultra high frequency band. A ministry official said, "In the case of ultra-high frequency band, at least 1 GHz is confirmed and may be auctioned up to 3 GHz," he said. "We are discussing to what extent to add in the already established band.

Meanwhile, the industry is seeing a change in competition between carriers depending on bandwidth. If the auctioned ultra-high-frequency bandwidth reaches 1GHz, competition among major carriers will become more intense. KT used the 800MHz bandwidth as a 5G pilot service at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics. Thus, there are also claims that the three mobile carriers have 2.4GHz bandwidth to provide 5G service. The Ministry of Information and Communication should put more than 2.4GHz bandwidth on the auction so that the competitiveness of the three parties will not be compromised.

Block size is also a factor affecting competition. If the block size is finely divided and comes out at auction at 50 MHz width or 20 MHz width, it may be fierce. The industry is not expecting to over-fragment the block in terms of frequency efficiency.

The Ministry of Information and Communication will prepare a frequency auction plan for this month and open it to the outside world next month in the form of a public forum. After the announcement of the frequency in May, when each company announced their intention to participate in the auction, the full-scale frequency auction will start in June.

An industry expert said, "We are going to lower bids for the 5G band, so we will be bidding on the bidders.”

By Kim Ji Young kjy@


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