The government is pushing to require all communication facilities to install bypass networks in case of serious disruptions to its operations following a transceiver station fire at the nation's second-largest mobile carrier KT Corp., officials said Thursday.

A set of countermeasures to strengthen communication facility management was drafted by the Ministry of Science and ICT and finalized during a government meeting presided over by Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon earlier in the day, they said.

ICT Vice Minster Win Won-ki talks to reporters on Dec. 27, 2018.

The blaze broke out at a KT base station in western Seoul on Nov. 25, paralyzing fixed-line, mobile and Internet networks for individuals and businesses that use the carrier. The incident caused services to be halted for a fifth of the Seoul area, as well as some parts of Gyeonggi Province, which surrounds the capital city.

Under the measures, the mobile carriers -- SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus Inc. -- and Internet operators must install bypass communication circuits at all communication facilities, including ones with a D classification, they said.

The government currently divides communication facilities into four grades from A to D depending on the size of jurisdiction, with 835 facilities across the country falling into category D, covering the smallest area.

The ministry said it has conducted a nationwide inspection of a total of some 1,300 facilities, with nine facilities needing to be regraded. (yonhap)

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