South Korea’s government outlined plans to nurture the country’s 5G ecosystem, with the goal to boost the number of companies developing new services nearly 20-times over the next five years, Yonhap News Agency reported.

The Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT) aims for 1,800 companies to specialise in 5G services by 2026, up from the current 94, the news service wrote. From 2023, the government also plans to establish a city which fully integrates compatible services, with details of the project being worked out.

Yonhap News Agency reported MSIT plans to back development of services and aims to encourage adoption of promising technologies which will give companies a competitive edge.

Operator data showed South Korea had 16.4 million 5G subscribers at end-June, 23 per cent of the nation’s total.

Earlier in the year, SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus agreed to share 5G infrastructure in rural and remote areas as part of an MSIT initiative to broaden access.

In 2018, the government mandated operators share fibre infrastructure to reduce deployment costs and speed 5G launches.