The Korean Ministry of Science and ICT Announces the Spectrum Plan for 2024-2027

Announcement of the Spectrum Plan for 2024-2027

On September 1, 2024, the Ministry of Science and ICT (“MSIT”) announced the Spectrum Plan for 2024-2027 (“Spectrum Plan”) in order to establish mid to long-term frequency strategies in light of the increased traffic and frequency demands from the advancement of communications services.

The Spectrum Plan focuses on (i) reassignment of frequencies that are set to expire, and (ii) opening up frequencies to various new industries.

Key Features of the Spectrum Plan

The Spectrum Plan includes four key goals: (i) optimizing the use of mobile communication frequencies and opening up to other industries, (ii) supporting the growth of new digital industries and leading innovative services, (iii) improving public safety through public frequencies, and (iv) innovating the regulatory systems for frequency utilization. In particular, the MSIT plans to focus its efforts in opening up mobile communication frequencies to meet the demands of innovative digital services, such as supplying frequencies for urban air mobility (“UAM”) experiments and demonstrations and expanding the supply of frequencies for satellite services (e.g., 10.7GHz–11.7GHz).

Strategy	Key Tasks
Optimizing the use of mobile communication frequencies and opening up to other industries	New frequencies for mobile communications Review whether to discontinue using the 800MHz frequency band (18MHz bandwidth) for Trunked Radio System (“TRS”) Review whether the 3.3GHz–3.4GHz frequency band should be used for mobile communications
	Reassignment of frequencies with expiring period of use Review how to reassign various frequency bands used for 3G, 4G and 5G after expiration of the usage periods
	Review of additional frequencies for 5G mobile communications Review whether to assign additional frequency bands for 5G
	Utilization of broadband frequency resources Review whether to use the 2500MHz–2690MHz frequency band as broadband frequency
	Opening up mobile communications frequencies to the demand for digital innovation services Assess demands regularly and supply optimal frequencies accordingly Primarily focusing on the 700MHz–800MHz frequency band (78MHz total bandwidth), the 1.8GHz frequency band (50MHz total bandwidth), the 2.1GHz frequency band (110MHz total bandwidth), and the 4.0GHz frequency band (200MHz total bandwidth)
	Frequencies for 6G mobile communications Identify 6G candidate frequencies based on discussions at the World Radiocommunication Conference 2023 (“WRC-23”) and other international discussions
Supporting the growth of new digital industries and leading innovative services	Timely supply of frequencies to support emerging industry growth Supply frequencies for experimental frequencies for UAM and identify frequencies suitable for autonomous vessels Expand frequencies to support autonomous vehicles becoming more widespread Promote the expansion of satellite communications frequencies (e.g., allowing the 10.7GHz–11.7GHz frequency band for satellite services)
	Use of unlicensed frequencies for innovating industrial and day-to-day wireless services Improve the use of unlicensed wireless networks (e.g., expansion of channel bandwidth for the introduction of next-generation Wi-Fi (Wi-Fi 7)) Expand industrial and day-to-day wireless services
Improving public safety through public frequencies	Supply of frequencies for disaster response, safety, national defense and security purposes
Innovating the regulatory systems for frequency utilization	Introduction of fast-track frequency utilization system

Future Policy Trends

The MSIT announced that it plans to establish a new spectrum plan every four years, reflecting updates from the World Radiocommunication Conference (which convenes every four years). With the release of this Spectrum Plan, the next step for the MSIT may be to follow up with the 4th Basic Plan for Radio Wave Promotion that details the MSIT’s plans for promoting the radio and broadcasting industry, mid to long-term frequency utilization plans and plans to develop new radio resources.

Through the Spectrum Plan, we expect more active discussions on unassigned/undesignated frequencies (such as the 28GHz frequency band) and the Spectrum Plan would have more impact on new industries like UAM, autonomous vehicles, and low-orbit satellite communications, which depend on the availability of specific frequencies. In particular, the Spectrum Plan proposes measures to support the growth of new industries, including the use of experimental frequencies, expansion of satellite communications frequencies, expansion of channel bandwidth for the introduction of next-generation Wi-Fi (Wi-Fi 7). Thus, it will be important for companies to proactively respond to the measures provided in the Spectrum Plan when forming business plans and strategies.

[Korean Version]

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