More than 560,000 South Korean 5G users return to 4G: dissatisfied with 5G speed and poor signal coverage

Recently, more than 560,000 5G users in South Korea returned to the 4G network due to dissatisfaction with 5G speeds and operator services.

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According to Nikkei Asia Review, Hong Jeong-min, a member of the South Korean Broadcasting and Communications Commission, recently stated that as many as 562,656 people have switched back to 4G services from 5G due to consumer dissatisfaction with the poor quality, insufficient coverage and high charges of 5G.

On April 3, 2019, South Korea became the first country in the world to provide 5G communication services. However, due to poor connectivity, a large number of Korean consumers canceled their 5G contracts and returned to 4G networks.

As of the end of August, users who returned from 5G to 4G accounted for 6.5% of the total 5G users of South Korea's three domestic mobile operators, SK Telecom, KT, and LG Uplus.

Hong said the contract change process is complicated, but consumers are still insisting on changing because they are disgusted by the poor quality, insufficient coverage and high charges of 5G.

Some users said that switching to 5G would cause the phone battery to drain faster and would not achieve the desired speed.

Initially, the South Korean government and mobile operators claimed that 5G transmission rates were 20 times faster than 4G LTE, but in reality, operators' average 5G speeds were only 4 times faster than 4G LTE.

In addition, 5G coverage is mainly limited to the Seoul area, the capital of South Korea, and six large cities.