South Korea’s already impressive Internet speeds are about to pull even farther ahead of the rest of the world with plans to introduce a next-generation 5G wireless service capable of downloading full-length films in a second.
The country’s science ministry said this week it would invest 1.6t won ($A1.5bn) with local firms in the service, with a view to making it commercially available by the end of the decade. The 5G network will enable users to download an 800-megabyte movie in one second, compared with 40 seconds on the current 4G network – already the fastest in the world. That would mean passengers on high-speed trains would be able to access the Internet even at speeds of 500kmh, compared with the current limit of 300kmh.
