The number of users of 5G service that Korea succeeded in commercializing for the first time in the world in April surpassed 4 million in about six months. Considering the pace of the increase, it is likely that the number will surpass 5 million by the end of this year.
According to the Ministry of Science and ICT on Dec. 2, the number of 5G subscribers stood at 3,982,832 as of the end of October. As of the end of April, the number rose by 510,000~880,000 per month from 271,686 as of the end of April, so the figure surpassed the 4 million mark in November and is expected to exceed 5 million in December.
By the three mobile carriers, SK Telecom accounted for 44.4 percent of the market with 1,171,485 subscribers. KT recorded 30.4 percent with 210,787 and LG Uplus with 1,000,560.
In late June, the Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA) estimated the number of 5G subscribers worldwide at 2.13 million. At that time, the association said Korea accounted for 77 percent of the world, with an estimated 1.64 million subscribers. Korea also led the second-runner England (151,458) by more than 10 times.
Although it is expected that China will start commercializing 5G last month and is rapidly increasing its number of subscribers, it seems that South Korea is still at the forefront.
Meanwhile, overall 5G traffic in South Korea reached 105,072 terabytes in October due to an increase in 5G subscribers. It surpassed 100,000 TB for the first time since 5G was commercialized. It was found that 28 gigabytes (GB) is used per user per month on average.