South Korea
Opensignal is the independent global standard for analyzing consumers' connectivity experiences. Our industry reports are the definitive guide to understanding what happens when people use their mobile and broadband connections in their daily life.
South Korea
Opensignal is the independent global standard for analyzing consumers' connectivity experiences. Our industry reports are the definitive guide to understanding what happens when people use their mobile and broadband connections in their daily life.
Key Findings
LG U+ takes the Upload Speed Experience award
In the last report, this award was shared by LG U+ and SK telecom with identical scores, but this time LG U+ pull ahead to win it outright. LG U+ users experience overall upload speeds of 20.5Mbps, slightly ahead of SK telecom users' 20.1Mbps.
Games Experience is now jointly won by SK telecom and LG U+
LG U+ forces a tie in the overall multiplayer gaming experience of users. Last time, SK telecom won Games Experience outright, but now there is a tie with LG U+, as the operators have statistically tied scores of 85.4-86 on a 100-point scale. Both operators also rate as Excellent (85 or above).
SK telecom has the most consistent experience
The operator wins both the consistency awards in this report. For Excellent Consistent Quality, SK telecom scores 90.7% ahead of KT (84%) and LG U+ (81.8%). This means that in the vast majority of tests, SK telecom meets the required minimum thresholds for more demanding applications. SK telecom also wins Core Consistent Quality with a score of 93.3%.
The fastest 5G experience is with SK telecom
Both 5G speed awards are won by SK telecom with its users seeing impressive average speeds. Users' average 5G download speeds reached 464.2Mbps while their 5G upload speeds hit 44.1Mbps.
With all three operators, users' 5G download speeds surpass 400Mbps
KT and LG U+ users' 5G download speeds increased to 410.9-419.5Mbps, up from 395-396.5Mbps. This means that for the first time, users' average 5G download speeds using all three operators exceeded the 400Mbps mark. Globally, South Korea is the only market where real-world 5G download speeds are over 400Mbps on all operators.
The best video streaming experience is again with SK telecom
SK telecom retains both the 5G Video Experience and overall Video Experience awards. The operator scores 76.7 on a 100-point scale for 5G Video Experience and 72.9 for overall Video Experience. This level of experience rates as Very Good (68-78) in both cases.
Mobile Experience Awards
Market Overview
South Korea continues its global 5G leadership position with extremely fast 5G speeds and high levels of 5G uptake. At the end of April, there were 30.02 million 5G smartphone users in the market, representing 38.1% of total mobile subscriptions according to the Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT). This is an increase from 20.9 million and 11.8 million at the end of 2021 and 2020, respectively.
South Korea's operators have recently been fined 33.6 billion won by the regulator for misleading advertising claims on the speed of their 5G services. Opensignal's data reveals users' true real-world 5G speeds — 5G is extremely fast, but speeds are slower than the figures operators had quoted.
The 5G roll out in the market is not going as planned. The regulator has now canceled the third mmWave license — SK telecom's — in the 28GHz band. Like the previous cancellation of LG U+ and KT's similar licenses, MSIT's reason cited is that the operator has failed to meet its mmWave roll out targets. Each operator had acquired a vast 800MHz of spectrum, but the mid-band 3.5GHz licenses have enabled the operators to greatly improve users' 5G experience at lower cost than mmWave. Over time, the operators risk that rising data usage will mean they will still need mmWave spectrum to offer a great experience in busy locations. But there are still mmWave deployments happening in South Korea.
Private 5G networks are now a focus of both MSIT and the operators. Here, MSIT has offered additional licenses for both 600MHz of 28GHz mmWave spectrum and a further 100MHz in the 4.7GHz band dedicated for private network usage. So, mmWave is far from redundant in South Korea. Samsung and NAVER announced a new private 5G network in the country in early June, targeting the construction industry.
Innovation isn't just limited to 5G in South Korea. While 5G will continue to improve and be the dominant mainstream mobile network technology for the rest of the decade, South Korean vendors, operators and government are already looking ahead to 5G's successor. The new K-Plan targets a 6G launch as early as 2028.
Overall Experience
National Analysis
All three operators rate as Very Good (68-78) for Video Experience. This means users are on average able to stream mobile video at 1080p or better resolution with satisfactory loading times and little stalling.
SK telecom wins the Video Experience award again, this time with a score of 72.9 on a 100-point scale. This score is slightly higher than KT's and LG U+'s statistically tied scores of 70.1-71.3 points.
Definitions
Opensignal’s Video Experience quantifies the quality of video streamed to mobile devices by measuring real-world video streams over an operator's networks. The metric is based on an International Telecommunication Union (ITU) approach, built upon detailed studies which have derived a relationship between technical parameters, including picture quality, video loading time and stall rate, with the perceived video experience as reported by real people. To calculate video experience, we are directly measuring video streams from end-user devices and using this ITU approach to quantify the overall video experience for each operator on a scale from 0 to 100. The videos tested include a mixture of resolutions — including Full HD (FHD) and 4K / Ultra HD (UHD) — and are streamed directly from the world’s largest video content providers.
In addition to Video Experience, we report on the following metrics related to video experience:
- 5G Video Experience: The average Video Experience of Opensignal users when they were connected to an operator’s 5G network.
- Video Experience – 5G Users: The average Video Experience of Opensignal users with a 5G device and a 5G subscription across an operator's networks. It factors in 2G, 3G, 4G and 5G video experience along with the availability of each technology.
- 4G Video Experience: The average Video Experience of Opensignal users on an operator's 4G network.
- 3G Video Experience: The average Video Experience of Opensignal users on an operator’s 3G network.
National Analysis
LG U+ has caught up with the multiplayer gaming experience of SK telecom to now jointly win the Games Experience award. In the last report, SK telecom won the award outright. LG U+ and SK telecom now have statistically tied scores of 85.4-86 on a 100-point scale.
Users on both winning operators enjoyed an Excellent Games Experience (85 or above). The vast majority of users deem this network experience to be acceptable. Nearly all respondents feel like they have control over the game and they receive immediate feedback on their actions. There is not a noticeable delay in almost all cases.
Definitions
Opensignal’s Games Experience measures how mobile users experience real-time multiplayer mobile gaming on an operator’s network. Measured on a scale of 0-100, it analyzes how our users’ multiplayer mobile gaming experience is affected by mobile network conditions including latency, packet loss and jitter.
Games Experience quantifies the experience when playing real-time multiplayer mobile games on mobile devices connected to servers located around the world. The approach is built on several years of research quantifying the relationship between technical network parameters and the gaming experience as reported by real mobile users. These parameters include latency (round trip time), jitter (variability of latency) and packet loss (the proportion of data packets that never reach their destination). Additionally, it considers multiple genres of multiplayer mobile games to measure the average sensitivity to network conditions. The games tested include some of the most popular real-time multiplayer mobile games (such as Fortnite, Pro Evolution Soccer and Arena of Valor) played around the world.
Calculating Games Experience starts with measuring the end-to-end experience from users’ devices to internet end-points that host real games. The score is then measured on a scale from 0 to 100.
In addition to Games Experience, we report on the following metrics related to games experience:
- 5G Games Experience: The average Games Experience of Opensignal users when they were connected to an operator’s 5G network.
- Games Experience – 5G Users: The average Games Experience of Opensignal users with a 5G device and a 5G subscription across an operator's networks. It factors in 2G, 3G, 4G and 5G games experience along with the availability of each technology.
- 4G Games Experience: The average Games Experience of Opensignal users on an operator's 4G network.
- 3G Games Experience: The average Games Experience of Opensignal users on an operator's 3G (e.g. UMTS/HSPA or CDMA 1X EV-DO) network.
National Analysis
There is no significant difference in the experience of using over-the-top voice apps such as KakaoTalk, LINE or WhatsApp on the three operators. Their Voice App Experience scores are statistically tied as 81.6-81.8 on a 100-point scale.
Definitions
Opensignal's Voice App Experience measures the quality of experience for over-the-top (OTT) voice services — mobile voice apps such as WhatsApp, Skype and Facebook Messenger — using a model derived from the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) approach for quantifying overall voice call quality and a series of calibrated technical parameters. This model characterizes the exact relationship between the technical measurements and perceived call quality. Voice App Experience for each operator is calculated on a scale from 0 to 100.
In addition to Voice App Experience, we report on the following metrics related to voice app experience:
- 5G Voice App Experience: The average Voice App Experience of Opensignal users when they were connected to an operator’s 5G network.
- Voice App Experience – 5G Users: The average Voice App Experience of Opensignal users with a 5G device and a 5G subscription across an operator's networks. It factors in 2G, 3G, 4G and 5G voice app experience along with the availability of each technology.
- 4G Voice App Experience: The average Voice App Experience of Opensignal users on an operator's 4G network.
- 3G Voice App Experience: The average Voice App Experience of Opensignal users on an operator's 3G (e.g. UMTS/HSPA or CDMA 1X EV-DO) network.
National Analysis
The overall average download speed of users is over the 100Mbps mark on all three operators. This is because LG U+'s Download Speed Experience score has risen from 92.9Mbps to 117.7Mbps compared with its score in the last report.
SK telecom wins the Download Speed Experience award again by a clear margin. Its score of 157.1Mbps keeps KT in second place (143.6Mbps). Despite its improvement, LG U+ is in third place with a score of 117.7Mbps.
Definitions
Measured in Mbps, Download Speed Experience represents the typical everyday speeds a user experiences across an operator’s mobile data networks.
In addition to Download Speed Experience, we report on the following metrics related to download speeds:
- 5G Download Speed: The average download speed observed by Opensignal users with active 5G connections.
- Download Speed Experience – 5G Users: The average download speeds experienced by Opensignal users with a 5G device and a 5G subscription across an operator’s networks. It factors in 2G, 3G, 4G, and 5G download speeds along with the availability of each technology.
- 4G Download Speed: The average downlink speed observed by Opensignal users when they were connected to 4G.
- 3G Download Speed: The average downlink speed observed by Opensignal users when they were connected to 3G (e.g. UMTS/HSPA or CDMA 1X EV-DO).
National Analysis
LG U+ now wins the Upload Speed Experience award outright with a score of 20.5Mbps. In the last report LG U+ tied with SK telecom and both jointly won the award.
Now, SK telecom slips into second place with a score of 20.1Mbps. But KT is again further behind with a score of 17.6Mbps.
Definitions
Upload Speed Experience measures the average upload speeds for each operator observed by our users across their mobile data networks. Typically upload speeds are slower than download speeds, as current mobile broadband technologies focus resources on providing the best possible download speed for users consuming content on their devices. As mobile internet trends move away from downloading content to creating content and supporting real-time communications services, upload speeds are becoming more vital and new technologies are emerging that boost upstream capacity.
In addition to Upload Speed Experience, we report on five supporting metrics related to upload speeds:
- 5G Upload Speed: The average upload speed observed by Opensignal users with active 5G connections.
- Upload Speed Experience – 5G Users: The average upload speeds experienced by Opensignal users with a 5G device and a 5G subscription across an operator’s networks. It factors in 2G, 3G, 4G, and 5G upload speeds along with the availability of each technology.
- 4G Upload Speed: The average uplink speed observed by Opensignal users when they were connected to 4G.
- 3G Upload Speed: The average uplink speed observed by Opensignal users when they were connected to 3G (e.g. UMTS/HSPA or CDMA 1X EV-DO).
5G Experience
National Analysis
SK telecom wins the 5G Video Experience award again. Its winning 5G score (76.7) is higher than its overall Video Experience score (72.9) but remains in the Very Good (68-78) category. This means our users are, on average, able to stream video at 1080p or better with satisfactory loading times and little stalling, while connected to 5G.
Definitions
5G Video Experience quantifies the quality of mobile video experienced by Opensignal users on real-world video streams when they were connected to 5G. The metric is based on an International Telecommunication Union (ITU) approach, built upon detailed studies which have derived a relationship between technical parameters, including picture quality, video loading time and stall rate, with the perceived video experience as reported by real people. To calculate 5G Video Experience, we are directly measuring video streams from end-user devices and using this ITU approach to quantify the video experience observed by our users on each operator’s 5G network on a scale from 0 to 100. The videos tested include a mixture of resolutions — including Full HD (FHD) and 4K / Ultra HD (UHD) — and are streamed directly from the world’s largest video content providers.
National Analysis
On all three operators the multiplayer 5G gaming experience rates as Excellent (85 or above), unlike with overall Games Experience where KT's experience narrowly misses this rating. This indicates that the vast majority of users deem this network experience to be acceptable. Nearly all respondents feel like they have control over the game and they receive immediate feedback on their actions. There is not a noticeable delay in almost all cases.
KT and SK telecom jointly win the 5G Games Experience award with statistically tied scores of 88.9-89.2 on a 100-point scale. This means KT does better with 5G gaming experience than it does with the overall gaming experience where the award is instead jointly won by LG U+ and SK telecom.
Definitions
5G Games Experience measures how mobile users experience real-time multiplayer mobile gaming on an operator's 5G network. It analyzes how our users’ multiplayer mobile gaming experience was affected by mobile network conditions including latency, packet loss and jitter. 5G Games Experience for each operator is calculated on a scale from 0 to 100.
5G Games Experience quantifies the experience when playing real-time multiplayer mobile games on mobile devices connected to servers located around the world. The approach is built on several years of research quantifying the relationship between technical network parameters and the gaming experience as reported by real mobile users. These parameters include latency (round trip time), jitter (variability of latency) and packet loss (the proportion of data packets that never reach their destination). Additionally, it considers multiple genres of multiplayer mobile games to measure the average sensitivity to network conditions. The games tested include some of the most popular real-time multiplayer mobile games (such as Fortnite, Pro Evolution Soccer and Arena of Valor) played around the world. Calculating 5G Games Experience starts with measuring the end-to-end experience from users’ devices to internet end-points that host real games.
National Analysis
On 5G, there is no significant difference in the experience of using over-the-top voice apps such as KakaoTalk, LINE or WhatsApp on the three operators. Their 5G Voice App Experience scores are statistically tied — 82-82.6 points on a 100-point scale.
Definitions
5G Voice App Experience quantifies the experience of Opensignal users when using over-the-top voice apps — such as WhatsApp, Skype and Facebook Messenger — on an operator’s 5G network. It uses a model derived from the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) approach for quantifying overall voice call quality and a series of calibrated technical parameters. This model characterizes the exact relationship between the technical measurements and perceived call quality. 5G Voice App Experience for each operator is calculated on a scale from 0 to 100.
National Analysis
Average 5G downloads experienced by our users on KT and LG U+ have increased since the last report and now impressively break the 400Mbps mark. KT users have seen their 5G speeds increase by 24.5Mbps (6.2%) and similarly LG U+ users speeds have risen by 14.4Mbps (3.6%).
However, SK telecom retains the 5G Download speed award with a score of 464.2Mbps, while KT and LG U+ tie for second place with scores of 410.9-419.5Mbps. Rising competition means SK telecom needs to be careful to retain its 5G Download Speed award in future.
Definitions
5G Download Speed shows the average download speed experienced by Opensignal users across an operator’s 5G network. 5G Download Speed for each operator is calculated in Mbps (Megabits per second).
National Analysis
On all three operators, our users' average 5G upload speeds have increased. Since the last report KT's score has risen from 32.3Mbps to 38.7Mbps, LG U+ from 34.3Mbps to 40.5Mbps.
SK telecom retains the 5G Upload Speed experience award because its users' speeds have also increased. Now, SK telecom's scores 44.1Mbps, up from 40.6Mbps previously. But the results in this report are closer than they were last time.Definitions
5G Upload Speed measures the average upload speeds experienced by Opensignal users across an operator’s 5G network. 5G Upload Speed for each operator is calculated in Mbps (Megabits per second).
Coverage
KT
LG U+
SK telecom
National Analysis
There is no difference in the time our users spend connected to a network. The scores are identical and near perfect on all three operators with 99.8% of time connected.
Definitions
Our availability metrics are not a measure of a network’s geographical extent. They won’t tell you whether you are likely to get a signal if you plan to visit a remote rural or nearly uninhabited region. Instead, they measure what proportion of time people have a network connection, in the places they most commonly frequent — something often missed by traditional coverage metrics. Looking at when users have a connection rather than where, provides us with a more precise reflection of the true user experience.
We also keep track of the instances that leave mobile users most frustrated: when there is no signal to connect to at all. The most common dead zones users struggle with occur indoors. As most of our availability data is collected indoors (as that’s where users spend most of their time), we’re particularly astute at detecting areas of zero signal.
Our availability metrics take a user-centric, time-based approach that complements the user-centric and geographical-based methodology used by our reach metrics.
Availability shows the proportion of time all Opensignal users on an operator’s network had either a 3G, 4G or 5G connection.
Map Definition
The coverage maps show the locations where we received measurements from users connecting with 3G or better mobile service. Each map provides an indication of the areas in which it is possible to obtain mobile service from that mobile operator.
National Analysis
The time users spend with an active 5G connection has increased on all three operators since the last report. KT retains the 5G Availability award with a score of 49.3%, up from 38.2%. This means that 5G users spend almost half of the time connected to a 5G spectrum band. LG U+ and SK telecom share second place with statistically tied scores of 39.6-39.9%.
The time connected to 5G has also increased on LG U+ and SK telecom. LG U+'s score has risen by 6.5 percentage points, while SK telecom's has increased by 5.3 percentage points from last time around.
Definitions
Our availability metrics are not a measure of a network’s geographical extent. They won’t tell you whether you are likely to get a signal if you plan to visit a remote rural or nearly uninhabited region. Instead, they measure what proportion of time people have a network connection, in the places they most commonly frequent — something often missed by traditional coverage metrics. Looking at when users have a connection rather than where, provides us with a more precise reflection of the true user experience.
We also keep track of the instances that leave mobile users most frustrated: when there is no signal to connect to at all. The most common dead zones users struggle with occur indoors. As most of our availability data is collected indoors (as that’s where users spend most of their time), we’re particularly astute at detecting areas of zero signal.
Our availability metrics take a user-centric, time-based approach that complements the user-centric and geographical-based methodology used by our reach metrics.
5G Availability shows the proportion of time Opensignal users with a 5G device and a 5G subscription had an active 5G connection.
Map Definition
The coverage maps show the locations where we received measurements from users connecting with 3G or better mobile service. Each map provides an indication of the areas in which it is possible to obtain mobile service from that mobile operator.
Consistency
National Analysis
SK telecom has increased its Excellent Consistent Quality score while retaining the Opensignal award in this category. Now, it scores 90.7%, up from 88.9% in the last report. This means that over nine out of ten tests met the minimum thresholds for more demanding applications.
LG U+ also increased its score since the last Opensignal report. LG U+ now scores 81.8%, more than the 79.6% it scored last time.
Definitions
Consistent Quality measures how often users’ experience on a network was sufficient to support common applications’ requirements. It measures download speed, upload speed, latency, jitter, packet loss, time to first byte and the percentage of tests attempted which did not succeed due to a connectivity issue on either the download or server response component.
Full details on how the Consistent Quality metrics — Excellent Consistent Quality and Core Consistent Quality — are calculated can be found here.
Excellent Consistent Quality is the percentage of users’ tests that met the minimum recommended performance thresholds to watch HD video, complete group video conference calls and play games.
National Analysis
For less demanding applications SK telecom also comes out on top. The operator wins the Core Consistent Quality award with a score of 93.3%. This is a slight increase on the 91.8% it scored last time.
Definitions
Consistent Quality measures how often users’ experience on a network was sufficient to support common applications’ requirements. It measures download speed, upload speed, latency, jitter, packet loss, time to first byte and the percentage of tests attempted which did not succeed due to a connectivity issue on either the download or server response component.
Full details on how the Consistent Quality metrics — Excellent Consistent Quality and Core Consistent Quality — are calculated can be found here.
Core Consistent Quality is the percentage of users’ tests that met the minimum recommended performance thresholds for lower performance applications including SD video, voice calls and web browsing.
Related Analysis
Our Methodology
Collecting billions of individual measurements daily from over 100 million devices globally, Opensignal independently analyzes mobile and broadband user experience on every major network operator around the globe.
About Opensignal
Opensignal is the leading global provider of independent insights into consumers' connectivity experiences and choice of carrier. Our proprietary insights into mobile and broadband networks give operators the solutions they need to profitably compete and win, from executive level scorecards and public validation to pin-point level engineering analytics and consumer decision dynamics.
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Confidence Intervals
For every metric we calculate statistical confidence intervals indicated on our graphs. When confidence intervals overlap, our measured results are too close to declare a winner. In those cases, we show a statistical draw. For this reason, some metrics have multiple operator winners.
In our bar graphs we represent confidence intervals as boundaries on either sides of graph bars.
In our supporting-metric charts we show confidence intervals as +/- numerical values.
Why confidence intervals are vital in analyzing mobile network experience