South Korea's three major mobile carriers on Apr. 3, 2019 celebrated the world's first commercialization of a 5G network as they opened new mobile services for honorary customers.
According to industry insiders, SK Telecom Co. the nation's top mobile carrier, began its 5G mobile service at 11 p.m., and several of its 5G service promotion ambassadors had the honor of experiencing the upgraded technology first.
They were: K-pop boy band EXO; former Olympic figure skating champion Kim Yu-na; professional gamer Lee Sang-hyeok, better known as "Faker;" para swimmer Yun Sung-hyuk; and loyal customer Park Jae-won, who has been using SK Telecom since 1988.
Earlier in the day, SK Telecom presented each with a Samsung Galaxy S10 5G smartphone to use the service.
KT Corp., the nation's No. 2 mobile carrier, also began its service at 11 p.m. honoring its first 5G customer, while No. 3 carrier LG Uplus Corp. celebrated with a power blogger to mark the inauguration of its service.
The three telecom firms originally planned to start their 5G services on Apr. 5, 2019, but they decided to do it early following rising speculation that U.S. mobile carrier Verizon may start its 5G services on Apr. 4, 2019. (Yonhap)