5G is currently among the most awaited upcoming technologies. It was expected to launch for the first time in South Korea within the first three months of 2019. But according to the South Korean government, the first major launch of 5G networks will be delayed to Q2 2019, most likely in April. The government did not give a definitive confirmation about the delay, but it is almost sure.
South Korea’s Ministry of Science and ICT gave two main reasons for the delay. The first is the lack of 5G phones: the Samsung Galaxy S10 5G should have been ready and completely tested within March, but it seems that the handset will not be ready for a launch in March. LG is waiting to adopt the Snapdragon X50 modem (that is the first 5G modem by Qualcomm) on the V50 ThinQ, but it will not be ready until April.
The second reason for the delay is the pricing structure of South Korean carriers. The government rejected the proposals from the famous local carrier SK Telecom because the requested prices were too high and not suitable for normal users. The plan was defined expensive and thought only for people in need of huge amounts of data.
