The fourth-generation Long Term Evolution internet speeds are not consistent and vary across the Seoul metropolitan area, a lawmaker said Monday.

Citing a 2018 survey conducted by the Ministry of Science and ICT, Rep. Park Gwang-on of the ruling Democratic Party said the LTE speed gap between the fastest and slowest neighborhood was as much as three times.

Of the 85 areas in Seoul and surrounding metropolitan areas, residents of Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, experienced the fastest speed of 201.85 megabytes per second. The lowest was in Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province, with 71.71 Mbps. 

“Even though subscribers pay the same price, the quality of LTE services vary across the region,” Park said. “The mobile carriers should act more aggressively to upgrade their infrastructure and reduce the speed gap.”

SK Telecom, KT, and LG Uplus have been providing nationwide LTE services since 2011. The network speed survey on the 5G network will be conducted in 2020 after full-fledged nationwide services begin.

(jasonyeo@heraldcorp.com)