KICS: "Advanced Communications Infrastructure and Spectrum Allocation Essential in the AI Era"

Regulatory Easing and Creation of a Sustainable Investment Environment

There have been calls for regulatory easing and the creation of a sustainable investment environment to build advanced communications infrastructure, which is deemed essential for the government’s ambitions to become one of the world’s top three artificial intelligence (AI) powerhouses.

The Korean Institute of Communications and Information Sciences (KICS) held a roundtable on June 10 under the theme “The Path Forward for Mobile Communications to Achieve AI Top Three Leadership,” discussing strategies for advancing communication networks in the AI era.

The event was attended by representatives from the telecommunications equipment sector—including Gigalane, Solid, OE Solution, Ubiquoss, HFR, and KMW—as well as academic experts.

Participants pointed out that while Korea was the first in the world to commercialize 5G in 2019, additional spectrum allocation and network investment have stagnated since, and with the recent AI boom, telecom operators are directing investment funds toward AI data centers (AIDC), pushing network investment down the list of priorities.

Industry insiders have raised concerns that, over the past six years, each operator has been allocated the same 100MHz of spectrum with no additional auctions, eliminating incentives for quality competition. Participants urged that, given it typically takes four to five years to build a nationwide communications network, spectrum should be supplied in a timely manner and proactive investment should be encouraged before the widespread adoption of AI services.

Lee Inkyu, President of the Korean Institute of Communications and Information Sciences, stated, "The communications network is a national strategic asset," adding, "Building advanced communications infrastructure and allocating spectrum for the AI era are core tasks for the nation’s future growth."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.