Hundreds of users sue Korean carriers over disappointing 5G service
Eric Zeman / Android Authority
TL; DR
- Over 500 people have filed a joint lawsuit against large Korean networks because of the disappointing 5G service.
- A government report found that 5G was not reaching the theoretical speeds originally announced.
5G connectivity has been around for a couple of years, with many networks going online in 2019 and 2020. The new generation cellular standard promised much faster speeds, but we wouldn’t blame you if you are disappointed with real world speeds. Legal steps have now been initiated on the basis of these results.
Korea Yonhap news reports that around 520 people have filed a joint lawsuit against the country’s three main cellular networks (SK Telecom, KT and LG UPlus). The filing alleges that the three networks offered “incomplete” 5G services, which resulted in poor network quality.
“The lawsuit is seeking compensation (from freight forwarders) for failing to meet their obligations,” Kim Jin-wook, an attorney with the Joowon law firm, was quoted as saying by the outlet. “We are planning to gradually initiate further legal steps with other users.”
The networks initially advertised 5G theoretical downlink speeds that were 20 times faster than 4G LTE connectivity, but Yonhap cited a government report that stated that 5G was actually four times faster than 4G LTE. It’s worth noting, of course, that due to other users, environmental factors, and more, it’s virtually impossible to achieve theoretical download speeds on a real-world 5G network.
The booth of 5G in Korea
That news also comes shortly after cellular analyst RootMetrics praised South Korea’s 5G network coverage and speed. The company released a report last week stating that South Korea is “leading the global 5G race”. Check out the slides above to get a better idea of how the market has been performing.
RootMetrics claimed that all three major carriers in four cities achieved average download speeds of over 430 Mbps (up to 664 Mbps for LG UPlus). It also found that South Korea leads the way in 5G access, with 95.2% of users having access in Seoul. Still, it is understandable that Korean consumers would be upset when the networks actually promise too much in terms of coverage and speed.
Do you think real 5G connectivity lived up to the hype? Let us know via the poll below.
