Telecom firms, science ministry urged to prove 5G standalone reliability

The planned rollout of 5G standalone (SA) services is renewing calls for telecom operators and the ICT ministry to deliver more reliable connections amid concerns that the transition could repeat the shortcomings of the initial 5G rollout unless consumers see tangible improvements in service quality. The Ministry of Science and ICT made the 5G SA adoption a policy priority late last year, requiring telecoms to transition to the technology as a condition for mobile spectrum reallocation. SK Telecom and LG Uplus are targeting commercial launch of 5G SA services by the end of this year, joining KT, which introduced SA support for the iPhone 17 series in March. Unlike earlier 5G networks that rely on a fourth-generation (4G) LTE core, 5G SA uses a dedicated 5G core to reduce latency and support applications such as autonomous driving and physical artificial intelligence (AI). The rollout comes amid lingering concerns over service reliability, with consumers having faced higher bills but limited improvements over LTE during the initial 5G transition. If operators seek to charge more for SA-b