South Korea's three major mobile carriers announced Thursday they will implement special communication measures to ensure stable service during the Lunar New Year holiday, when data traffic is expected to surge.
SK Telecom said it will deploy an average of 1,400 personnel daily from Feb. 13-18 to operate a special communication control center and monitor telecommunications services around the clock. The company has completed capacity checks at approximately 1,200 base stations near major train stations, bus terminals, airports, and cemetery sites nationwide.
With the Winter Olympics running from Feb. 7-23 and related content distribution expected to spike, SK Telecom and SK Broadband will jointly strengthen their wired and wireless network management. SK Telecom will also operate an integrated security center with seven affiliates, enhancing response systems against security breaches. The company will detect and block hacking attempts in real time around the clock, with intensive monitoring of DDoS attacks. During the holiday period, the carrier plans to focus on blocking smishing attempts that impersonate government agencies.
KT will conduct preemptive network inspections and intensive management from Feb. 13-22, targeting airports, KTX stations, highway areas, terminals, and major commercial districts. For the Winter Olympics, KT will provide swift bypass measures for overseas customers experiencing local network issues to ensure uninterrupted roaming services.
KT will also conduct emergency recovery drills for wildfires and facility fires in preparation for increased fire risks due to cold and dry weather conditions. The drills aim to verify response systems and processes for fire-related risks while ensuring seamless network operations.
LG Uplus said it will open a comprehensive situation room at its Magok headquarters in Seoul for 24-hour intensive monitoring. The company has completed advance inspections and optimization work on 5G and LTE base stations at highways, bus terminals, rest areas, and KTX and SRT stations where network traffic increases are anticipated.
LG Uplus added it has analyzed holiday call volume and data usage trends to deploy field personnel at key locations including major highway toll gates and chronically congested rest areas, maintaining readiness for immediate dispatch. The company has also expanded cache server capacity in preparation for increased viewing of U+tv and over-the-top streaming services.
Meanwhile, all three carriers will offer free video calling from Feb. 14-18 at the request of the Ministry of Science and ICT, allowing customers to exchange holiday greetings with family and friends. However, prepaid phone users and video calls using mobile data through apps such as KakaoTalk and FaceTalk may be excluded from the free service.