KT, South Korea’s largest telecommunications company, has officially launched its nationwide 5G wireless network in the country.
KT unveiled the first business-to-consumer (B2C) subscriber for its nationwide next-generation wireless network on April 3. The customer uses Samsung’s Galaxy S10 5G, the world’s first available smartphone with built-in 5G.
KT is also the first to offer unlimited data plans for its 5G network services, allowing subscribes to fully enjoy next-generation wireless services, including virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), high-definition movies and cloud-based games. KT’s 5G Super Plans come in three packages: Basic (80,000 won per month), Special (100,000 won per month) and Premium (130,000 won per month), each offering unlimited roaming services in 185 countries.
Customers can receive a 25 percent discount to join any of these Super Plans on a 2-year contract and an extra 25 percent off by signing up with a family member. Light data users can subscribe to 5G slim, which caps speed at 1Mbps after 8GB of data for 55,000 won per month.
The nationwide service primarily covers the country’s most populated areas, including the capital Seoul and its surrounding metropolitan area, six other metropolitan cities, most of all 85 major cities, 70 large shopping malls and discount stores and 464 college campuses. The company is offering a visualized map at its corporate website documenting its 5G-serviced areas across the country, updated regularly by cities and districts.
To better support 5G’s ultra-low latency, KT also operates mobile edge computing (MEC) telecom centers in eight major cities, including one on Jeju Island, the country’s southernmost territory. Using the largest number of MEC centers, the company can process data from handsets closest by to enable more reliable and seamless transmission.