South Korean operator KT announced it surpassed 1 million 5G subscribers on 21 September, and moved to expand access to the technology through roaming deals with partners in China, Italy, Switzerland and Finland.

The deals mean travelling customers can access the 5G networks of China Mobile, TIM, Sunrise and Elisa. TIM launched its service in Rome, Naples and Turin in June; Sunrise began offering it in 262 cities including Geneva and Zurich in May; while Elisa operates in five cities, including Finnish capital Helsinki.

Roaming is only available using the Samsung Galaxy S10 5G, but KT said the service will be expanded to other models. The operator’s Super Plan gives subscribers unlimited data roaming in the four countries.

KT, the second largest operator in South Korea with a 31 per cent market share, launched 5G service in early April.

Third-ranked LG Uplus last week detailed a 5G roaming partnership with China Unicom, following trials conducted in June. LG Uplus is initially offering unlimited access to data, voice and SMS for customers on some premium plans.

Market leader SKT said it reached the 1 million 5G subscriber milestone on 21 August.