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SK Telecom, the largest wireless carrier in South Korea, has released a white paper addressing the future of mobile broadband networks, specifically focusing on 6G. The company believes that valuable lessons can be learned from the deployment of 5G, which fell short of the initial expectations set by the industry.

The white paper, titled “5G Lessons Learned,” highlights that current 5G services have not lived up to the ambitious promises made in 2019. Despite being in commercial use for four years, the technology behind 5G alone has not been truly transformative.

When the industry was preparing for 5G, there was much buzz around innovative services such as autonomous driving, urban air mobility (UAM), holograms, and “digital twins.” However, many of these services did not meet the anticipated expectations once they entered the market.

SK Telecom suggests that the telecom industry should have taken a more objective perspective regarding 5G. The issue was not with the performance of 5G networks but with the excessive expectations set for the technological innovations that these networks were believed to bring.

The company points out that a combination of factors, including limitations in device form factors, immature devices and service technology, lack of market demand, and regulatory challenges, hindered the full realization of the 5G future envisioned by the industry.

Unlike the transition from 3G to LTE, which brought significant technological advancements, SK Telecom argues that 5G did not introduce a major leap in technology. However, it did successfully deliver faster connections to a broader audience, reducing the cost per gigabyte by an estimated 70% compared to LTE. Customers using 5G can now consume 50% more data than those on previous mobile standards.

Looking ahead to the next generation of cellular data networks, SK Telecom emphasizes the need for collaboration in the industry to pave the way for 6G. This collaboration involves establishing clearer expectations for 6G products and services and avoiding a fragmented architecture. The aim is to provide customers with a higher level of service quality than what has been achieved with existing 5G services.

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