Among Korean communications firms, SK Telecom has the best 5G availability in the capital areas of Seoul and Incheon, while LG U+ has the fastest 5G download speed, according to UK market research institute Open Signal on Sunday.

“Korea’s 5G experience continues to improve with more users opting for a 5G handset,” said Open Signal, “The 5G network connection was faster in Seoul, Incheon and Busan than elsewhere in the country.”

According to Open Signal in research conducted in Seoul, Incheon and Busan in the months of June through September, SK Telecom’s 5G availability was the highest in the three areas, followed in order by LG U+ and KT.

The availability of 5G refers to the amount of time people are connected to the 5G network in an area. It is the total amount of time people spent on cellphones in proportion to the time they were using 5G.

SK Telecom scored 32.9 percent in Seoul, 30.8 percent in Incheon and 28.9 percent in Busan.

LG U+ marked 30.6 percent in Seoul, 25.2 percent in Incheon and 23.6 percent in Busan.

KT rated 28.4 percent in Seoul, 24.4 percent in Incheon and 23.2 percent in Busan.

Overall, in the three metropolitan areas, the three companies’ average 5G usability well surpassed 20 percent to near-30 percent.

This was a notable improvement from Open Signal’s report in June, when Korea’s 5G availability remained around 15 percent throughout the nation.

In terms of 5G download speed, all three firms showed an average speed of 300 megabits per second in the three cities, while LG U+ had the best performance in Seoul and Incheon.

The 5G download speed of LG U+ was 363.7 Mbps in Seoul, 351.7 Mbps in Incheon and 314.8 Mbps in Busan.

SK Telecom’s was 347.8 Mbps in Seoul, 311.9 Mbps in Incheon and 374.9 Mbps in Busan.

KT’s was 329.3 Mbps in Seoul, 329.5 Mbps in Incheon and 353.9 Mbps in Busan.

By Lim Jeong-yeo (kaylalim@heraldcorp.com)