Speed Competition Reignited
In the Korean high-speed Internet service market, speed competition has begun once again. Technological competition is intensifying among telecommunication carriers to preempt the era of a 10Gbps internet service which is 10 times faster than the current 1Gbps broadband.
On May 10, SK Broadband began to heat up the high speed internet service market competition by commercializing a 2.5Gbps high-speed Internet service, which 2.5 times faster than the current speed for the first time in Korea. The company plans to take the lead in the market by commercializing 5Gbps and 10Gbps high-speed Internet services in the second half of this year.
Prior to this, KT launched a 10Gbps trial service at the Afreeca TV Open Studio in Songpa-gu, Seoul on May 7 with the opening of the 10Gbps Arena, a 10Gbps high-speed Internet experience center. The company aims to commercialize a 10Gbps high-speed Internet service nationwide this September.
A 10Gbps broadband internet service is 10 times faster than existing gigabyte internet service and is the core foundation for the stable use of 5G mobile telecommunication, high quality broadcasting, holograms, augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR).
It is a matter of some pride that a telecommunication company starts a service ahead of its rivals. As a result, it is expected that there will be a fierce nerve war over who will first commercialize a 10Gbps broadband internet service in the second half of this year. When the next generation mobile communication service, 5G, becomes commercialized in the first half of next year, a 10Gbps high-speed internet service will become more meaningful in the wired internet service market as virtual reality, augmented reality, and autonomous cars will work in full swing.