The number of subscribers of 5G network services in South Korea exceeded 1.4 million in 100 days since the country became first in the world to launch nationwide commercial 5G service on April 3, according to the telecommunications industry on Wednesday.

The nation’s leading mobile carrier SK Telecom boasted the largest number of subscribers at 550,000, followed by KT at 450,000 and LG Uplus 400,000.

The latest figure is below the Global System for Mobile Communications’ (GSMA) recent estimation of 1.65 million 5G users in Korea as of the end of June, accounting for 77.5 percent of the total 5G subscribers in the world. The government official count is released at the end of the month.

The country’s three telecom operators expect that the number of 5G service users would increase further in the second half of this year on improvement in network and choices in 5G phones as well contents exclusive for 5G platform.

At an early stage of the service, customers filed a series of complaints over slow connection and weak signal of the 5G services, though the mobile carriers promoted the next-generation network is 20 times faster than 4G or LTE networks. The operators have been focusing on improving service quality to meet the expectations of their customers.

Samsung Electronics will release its next flagship Galaxy Note 10 on August 23 and its first foldable phone later. Industry sources estimated the number is expected to surpass 3 million by the end of the year as various 5G-enabled smartphones in wider price range are expected to hit the shelves.

By Lee Sun-hee and Choi Mira

[ⓒ Pulse by Maeil Business Newspaper & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]