Incheon Subway launches South Korea’s first 5G Wi-Fi service

Incheon Subway Lines 1 and 2 have become the first in South Korea to implement 5G-based Wi-Fi services through a collaboration involving all three major telecommunications providers: SK Telecom, KT, and LG Uplus.

As part of a subway Wi-Fi advancement pilot project led by the Ministry of Science and ICT, existing LTE-based equipment and aging power cables were replaced with 5G-based access points. This upgrade has increased average downlink speeds from approximately 83.2 Mbps to between 215 and 285 Mbps, a more than threefold improvement.

The service aims to provide stable, high-quality connectivity for large-capacity content, such as high-definition video streaming, even during peak commuting hours. Following the results of this pilot program, the government plans to expand the implementation of 5G-based subway Wi-Fi to other regions across the country.