5G telecommunications services, which claimed to be twenty times faster than LTE, have disappeared altogether.

I'm using 5G right now, and I wonder what's going on.

Do you remember the advertisement at the launch of the carrier's 5G service?

The phrase "20 times faster than LTE" appears.

5G is divided into 3.5 gigahertz and 28 gigahertz, of which 28 gigahertz can be 20 times faster than LTE.

Of course, in theory, this is possible under the best conditions without obstacles.

What we're actually using right now is 3.5 gigahertz.

On average, it's only three times faster than conventional LTE.

After all, 20 times faster was just an advertising phrase.

Therefore, the Fair Trade Commission also imposed a fine of 33.6 billion won on three mobile telecommunications companies for false, exaggerated, and deceitful advertising.

However, for this 28 gigahertz band frequency, which can theoretically be up to twenty times faster than LTE, the three mobile operators have been stripped of their rights.

Here's why.

In 2018, when we won the bid for the frequency, we promised to build 15,000 base stations, but all three telecom companies installed only one-tenth of the base stations.

In the first place, 28 gigahertz is difficult to commercialize because it does not avoid obstacles and has a short reach.

In the end, they had no intention of commercializing it, and they were only used for hype, and they were stripped of the right to use it.

But there's nothing to make us feel uncomfortable.

Because, as I said, the 28 gigahertz 5G service has never been commercialized in the first place.

But consumers who have been believing in these twenty times faster ads and have been paying for expensive plans should just move on.

Mobile carriers have raised the price by 2~3 times more than the existing LTE service, taking advantage of the overwhelming speed.

In the first quarter of this year, the three mobile telecommunications companies increased their sales despite the economic slowdown, and their total operating profit exceeded 1.2 trillion won.

In the end, it wasn't much faster, but only consumers who paid twice as expensive were affected.

[Kim Jin Wook/5G Quality Litigation Attorney: Who should be held responsible for the damage caused to users who paid expensive 5G fees for 5G services that did not work? Although the damage caused by the lack of 5G base station construction continues, there is still a situation where users are only paying expensive fees. Did the people sign up for 5G services without properly building a 5G national network? I hope that users will be compensated for the unfairly overcharged charges.]

Fair Trade Commission Chairman Han Ki-jeong also said that a penalty is a penalty and that relieving victims is another matter, and he expressed his willingness to provide evidence to consumers who are in litigation.

[Han Ki-jung, Chairman of the Fair Trade Commission (KBS Radio, 30 May): If a penalty is imposed, that part will be returned to the national treasury. The victim relief part is a different matter. Therefore, the KFTC plans to provide a resolution with our judgment and evidence to those who are litigating so that they can help remedy the damages.]

The FTC is also investigating whether the three companies engaged in collusion or unfair trade in their overall business, including tariff plans, handset incentives, and the budget phone market.