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Photo courtesy of SK Telecom |
[Alpha Biz= Kim Minyoung] The government has finalized its decision to base key spectrum reallocation auction conditions on the original winning year, effectively accepting LG Uplus’s stance in its long-running dispute with SK Telecom.
According to reporting by Alpha Economy on December 6, the Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT) has recently finalized its detailed plan for the upcoming spectrum reallocation auction.
The MSIT is expected to announce specific reallocation plans soon for a total of 370 MHz of 3G and 4G spectrum whose usage terms expire in June and December of next year.
A senior MSIT official explained, “It is basic common sense that even in the same building, interior structures differ. SK Telecom and LG Uplus were allocated the 2.6 GHz spectrum at different points in time, so naturally their allocation prices must reflect the respective auction years.”
In the 2.6 GHz band, SK Telecom currently holds 60 MHz and LG Uplus 40 MHz.
When the price SK Telecom paid in the 2016 auction for a 10-year license is converted into the annual per-MHz usage fee, it amounts to 2.13 billion won—nearly twice the 1.09 billion won paid by LG Uplus.
SK Telecom has long argued that it is unfair for the company to incur higher spectrum fees than LG Uplus solely because it won its allocation at an earlier auction.
During a recent public hearing, the MSIT proposed using both the 2016 auction price and the 2020 reallocation price as baseline pricing, while also offering a 15% discount if mobile operators expand their investment in 5G indoor coverage.
Alphabiz Kim Minyoung (kimmy@alphabiz.co.kr)
