Incheon Subway Opens Era of 5G Wi-Fi: "Network Speed Triples"

[Anchor]

Ultra-fast 5G-based Wi-Fi service has been introduced for the first time nationwide across all cars on Incheon Subway Lines 1 and 2. As a result, passengers on the Incheon Subway can now enjoy high-definition videos without interruptions and quickly download large volumes of data.

Reporter Song In-ho has the story.

[Reporter]

Inside an Incheon Subway Line 2 train car.

Passengers connect to the subway's public Wi-Fi to watch various social media videos in real-time or browse the mobile web.

However, during crowded commuting hours, passengers frequently experienced inconveniences such as slowed speeds when downloading large data files or streaming high-definition videos.

Moving forward, these issues will be a thing of the past, as passengers can now enjoy 5G-based ultra-fast Wi-Fi services across all cars on Incheon Subway Lines 1 and 2.

This is because the Incheon Metropolitan Government, in collaboration with the Ministry of Science and ICT and the three major mobile carriers, has replaced all existing LTE-based Wi-Fi equipment with cutting-edge 5G-based systems.

The average downlink speed has increased approximately threefold, jumping from the previous 83.2 Mbps to a maximum of 285 Mbps.

This drastically shortens the time required to download a 5-gigabyte movie from about 8 minutes down to 2 to 3 minutes.

[Jin Ye-seul / Juan-dong, Michuhol-gu, Incheon: I mostly use social media on the subway, and short videos tended to buffer slightly before. Now, I feel like I can watch them comfortably and smoothly.]

Under the previous LTE network, when more than 20 passengers connected simultaneously, high-definition video playback would buffer or speeds would slow down. Now, even if 40 people connect at the same time, the speed remains unaffected.

[Park Chan-dae / Mayor of Incheon: As the Mayor of Incheon, I am proud that we are the very first to launch the best service for Incheon citizens. I hope that this 5G Wi-Fi can expand nationwide, starting right here through Incheon.]

The Incheon Metropolitan Government plans to review whether to expand ultra-fast Wi-Fi services to other forms of public transportation, such as buses, beyond just the subway.

(Video by: Lim Dong-guk, Footage courtesy of: Incheon Metropolitan Government)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.