South Korea to Further Increase Download Speeds with ‘5G’ Network

South Korea is determined to protect its position as a global leader in super-fast internet connections, with plans to introduce a next-generation 5G wireless service capable of downloading full-length films in a second.

The country’s science ministry has announced on Thursday that it would invest 1.6 trillion won ($1.5bn) with local firms connected to the service, making it commercially available by the end of the decade.

The new “5G” network will allow users to download 800MB movies in one second, compared to 40 seconds on Korea’s current 4G network – already the fastest in the world.

South Korea has more than 78% of the population of 50 million use smartphones.

“We helped fuel national growth with 2G services in the 1990s, 3G in the 2000s and 4G around 2010,” said a spokesperson South Korea’s science ministry. “Now it is time to take preemptive action to develop 5G.”

According to T3, the project is expected to generate 331 trillion won in 5G-related mobile devices and infrastructure between 2020 and 2026.

The 5G service is due to be tested on social networking services as early as next year before expanding to include 3D images and cloud services in 2017, the ministry said.

The full range of services will be tested at the Winter Olympics in PyeongChang in 2018.

Source: T3