S. Korea sees surge in 5G network subscribers above 8 mn in Aug.

The number of subscribers to 5G network services in South Korea exceeded 8 million as of late August, a milestone achieved in 16 months after the country commercialized the services for the first time in the world in April last year.

According to data released by the Ministry of Science and ICT on Monday, the number of 5G service users stood at 8,658,222 as of the end of August, up 10.2 percent from a month ago. It is the fastest monthly gain since August last year.

Industry watchers attributed the surge to the release of Samsung Electronics’ latest flagship Galaxy Note 20 backed with 5G connection. The country’s three mobile carriers – SK Telecom KT and LG Uplus – are expected to achieve their target of 10 million 5G users within this year as a series of new 5G smartphones are scheduled to hit the market by the end of the year.

SK Telecom maintained the lead in the number of 5G subscribers at 3,981,004 as of late August, followed by KT with 2,631,750 and LG Uplus 2,042,558.

With more consumers using multiple handsets, the number of total wireless service subscribers gained 201,119 from July to surpass 70 million. The number of budget phone users grew 35,903 to 7,353,733 in August.

[ⓒ Maeil Business Newspaper & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]