The average download speed via 4G LTE networks in South Korea got faster this year, the country's ICT ministry said Monday, with SK Telecom Co. offering the fastest data transmission speed.

The average 4G LTE download speed in South Korea reached 158.53 megabits per second in 2019, up 5.2 percent from a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Science and ICT's telecommunication service report. The average LTE upload speed, however, was 42.85 Mbps, down 2.5 percent from a year ago. 

SK Telecom, the country's largest mobile carrier, offered the fastest data transmission speed in LTE with a download speed of 211.37 Mbps and an upload speed of 52.99 Mbps. 

The company was followed by No. 2 player KT Corp. with a download speed of 153.59 Mbps and an upload speed of 34.28 Mbps, and No. 3 LG Uplus Corp. with a download speed of 110.62 Mbps and an upload speed of 41.21 Mbps.

The average LTE download speed in major cities was 183.58 Mbps, while that in rural areas was 128.52 Mbps.

The average download speed of commercial Wi-Fi was 333.51 Mbps, up 8.37 percent from last year's 305.88 Mbps. The average download speed of public Wi-Fi was 394.76 Mbps, an 11.5 percent increase from last year's 354.07 Mbps, according to the data. (Yonhap)