Simultaneous push for industrial promotion and deregulation needed
The Ministry of Science and ICT plans to pour 120 billion won ($100 million) into developing 15 or more fifth-generation (5G) mobile telecommunication convergence service models by 2022. We hope the project will calm controversy over the lack of 5G service models, which has gripped the industry since the commercialization of 5G services in April 2019.
This year, the ministry will spend 40 billion won on developing a 5G convergence service model based on multi-access edge computing (MEC) technology, and apply it to the public sector. For this purpose, it will select the company to carry out the project next month, and implement the service by the end of this year. All this is following the ministry's roadmap to provide a 5G convergence service by next year. It aims to develop such services by prioritizing those with high public interest and massive industrial knock-on effects.
If the government attains its principal goals ― developing the services, applying them to the public sector and spreading them to the private sector ― without a hitch, it will create a proper nationwide 5G ecosystem. It is also expected to facilitate the private sector's 5G research and development efforts and serve as the priming water for materializing B2B transactions between 5G service providers.
Ultimately, the project could be a signal for Korea taking a competitive advantage in global markets for 5G services. Developing the services should accompany equipment and software based on 5G infrastructure. The industry cannot neglect any of the three elements. There have been criticisms and complaints about the sluggish building of a 5G infrastructure since its commercialization last year. Nevertheless, continuous efforts have been made to graft services not just to the public sector but also the private sector.
It is desirable for the government to go all out to promote the 5G industry. However, policymakers need to make equal efforts to remove obstacles to reinvigorating the sector. Only when industrial promotion goes together with deregulation, can the nation expect to speed up the creation of 5G ecosystems and emerge as a world leader in the sector.