Korean City Becomes First to Launch 5G on its Subway

South Korea’s third city, Incheon, has beaten its two larger rivals to be the first to launch 5G wireless Internet on its subway system. Leaving Seoul and Busan trailing in its wake, the city’s government said the upgrade “addresses chronic WiFi outages on subway trains and sharply improves data access for commuters during rush hours.”

Serving a population of just over three million people, Incheon Transit Corp has teamed up with the national Ministry of Science and ICT and South Korea’s three mobile carriers to fully convert its 358 cars to 5G. It is the first time the trio have jointly launched 5G WiFi service across all cars of a single urban railway in the country.

According to the Seoul Economic Daily, download speeds on the carriages have improved dramatically from around 83Mbps last year, to between 215Mbps and 285Mbps, now. This, the newspaper reports, allows commuters on the two-line, 38km network to enjoy the benefits of high-definition video on board. Incheon Transit also points out that the new system supports multiple simultaneous connections without interruption even during crowded rush hours.

Local press outlets argue that the city succeeded with its 5G plan as its 358 subway cars represented a much easier and quicker upgrade challenge than Seoul, with its vast, sprawling 350km network of subway lines. Instead, the capital would have seen thousands of carriages having to undergo a lengthy replacement stint in the workshops.

The spread of on-board WiFi services, trackside wireless delivery and the increasing use of LEO satellites to boost connectivity will all be fully discussed at this year’s WiFi on Trains Conference, hosted by BWCS in London (www.Traincomms.com ).

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