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It has been three and a half years since 5G service, which was 20 times faster than LTE, started.

But you've never felt such speed anywhere else.

In order to achieve this speed, a lot of ultra-high frequency base stations must be installed, but telecommunication companies and the government are reluctant to invest.



Reporter Jeong Seong-jin on the sidewalk.



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I measured the 5G speed at the shopping mall.



The average speed per second is around 500 Mbps.



It is far short of the promise to provide 20Gbps, which is 20 times faster than LTE.



[Kim Young-ji / Gwanak-gu, Seoul: I don't know if (5G) is that fast enough to feel it.

I don't know how to feel, but I think it's burdensome to have to pay 5G (fee).]



5G service uses a frequency of 3.5 GHz or 28 GHz, but 20 times the speed is possible at 28 GHz.



At the time of frequency allocation in 2018, telecommunication companies promised to install 45,000 28 GHz base stations, but the current installation is about 10%.



This is because 28 GHz has a short reach and requires a lot of base stations to be installed, which is expensive.



Telecommunication companies have created so-called hotspots by installing 28GHz base stations in 11 crowded areas, such as baseball fields.



However, after the pilot project, some areas have stopped service.



He also promised to open 28GHz high-speed Wi-Fi in Seoul subways by the end of the year.



I went to the subway and checked the speed.



It is faster than the existing Wi-Fi at around 400Mbps on average, but it does not reach the 700Mbps target set by the government.



Many sections have not yet been approved for installation of optical cables and routers.



Due to the poor network, even smartphone manufacturers are not releasing terminals that can use the 28GHz frequency.



[Byun Jae-il/Member of the National Assembly Science and Communications Commission: 4 years have passed since the (28GHz frequency) was allocated.

However, it has not been used properly so far.

In a way, it is pointed out that this is not a failure of the 5G policy.]



The 28GHz frequency allocation period is scheduled to end in the second half of next year, and the Ministry of Science, Technology and Information and Communication, the main ministry, is only looking for ways to utilize it for the fourth year.



(Video coverage: Hwang In-seok·Lee Sang-hak, Video editing: Lee Seung-hee)