South Korea’s mobile market leader SK Telecom (SKT) is reviewing the possibility of sharing its 3G network with a rival mobile network operator (MNO), Yonhap News Agency reports, citing comments made by the company in its latest annual sustainability report. In that document, SKT noted that despite demand for 3G continuing to decline, ‘network operating costs for 3G remain’, while it added that the aging infrastructure meant it is also incurring not-insignificant maintenance costs for base stations and equipment ‘nationwide’.
A 3G switch-off is also being considered – albeit that this would likely be some way off, given SKT only decommissioned its 2G network in July 2020. Nonetheless, with the cellco noting that operators in other countries are ‘planning a gradual suspension of 3G services because conversion of the 3G frequency band to LTE enables the facilitation of the 5G ecosystem and improves the efficiency of limited frequencies’, it said that ‘discussions are ongoing about the need to develop the 5G industry and increase consumer convenience by terminating 3G services’.
Source: https://www.commsupdate.com/articles/2021/07/23/sk-telecom-considering-3g-network-sharing-options/