SKT Gets Ready to Claim Global 5G First, as Verizon Muscles In

The mobile 5G race is now on: SK Telecom (SKT) and Verizon are gearing up to stake their claim as the first mobile carrier in the world to launch 5G services that actually work on new 5G smartphones.
The South Korean operator, which has already been actively messaging on its 5G position along with domestic peers KT and LG Uplus, plans to launch its mobile 5G services on Friday April 5, chiming in with the arrival of the Samsung Galaxy S10 5G smartphone in South Korea. SKT said it has built a total of 34,000 5G base stations with a focus on data hotspots in urban areas and in-building coverage, and plans to expand the network in the second half of 2019. It has also unveiled its 5G price plans and a new 5G content strategy including games, ultra-high definition (UHD) video, and augmented and virtual reality. SKT is already claiming that its 5G network supports data transmission speeds of up to 2.7 Gb/s, which it said “makes it ideal for streaming and downloading ultra-large volume VR and UHD content.”
Verizon has clearly been keeping tabs on its Korean rival, and on Wednesday it rushed out a press release to boast that it has already turned on its mobile 5G network in Minneapolis and Chicago “a week ahead of schedule.