A local consortium was selected as the new operator of the 28 gigahertz (GHz) band of the fifth-generation network (5G) in South Korea on Wednesday, the science ministry said, becoming the country's fourth mobile carrier.Stage X, a consortium of Stage Five, a communications affiliate of tech giant Kakao, and other unidentified companies, will be the fourth operator of the 5G network.Currently, three major mobile carriers — SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus — are the country's sole operators of the network.Stage X won the 28 GHz band on the fifth day of the auction against Sejong Telecom and Mobile Consortium, writing in the highest bid of 430.1 billion won ($322.1 million), according to the Ministry of Science and ICT.In the previous auction in 2018, the country's three major mobile carriers won the same spectrum in the low 200 billion-won range.However, these three operators lost the license for the new 28 GHz spectrum last year due to insufficient investment.As a response, the government has taken steps to introduce a new operator to foster competition in an industry traditionally dominated by the three major carriers.Stage X will be required to build 6,000 base stations nationwide within the first three years and implement measures to address frequency congestion and interference."We will work to become a new brand in the communications market and facilitate fresh and innovative changes in the market by boosting the 5G network service," Stage X CEO Seo Sang-won said.Stage X said it plans to distribute cellphones that support the 5G 28 GHz spectrum through cooperation with Samsung Electronics, as well as global players like Apple and Google. (ICE SEOUL)

Fonte notizia: The Korea Times