260,000 Expected to Flock to Gwanghwamun... Carriers Add Base Stations and Activate AI Networks

Ahead of BTS (Bangtan Boys)’ comeback concert to be held today, the 21st, in and around Gwanghwamun Square, the three major mobile carriers in South Korea have rolled out special measures. If a large volume of traffic concentrates in a short period of time, base stations could become overloaded, potentially causing mobile phones to stop working. According to police, as many as 260,000 people are expected to gather in the area.
According to the industry on the 15th, SK Telecom will operate its proprietary artificial intelligence (AI)-based network management system "A-One" for the first time to prevent any deterioration in network quality. By using A-One, the company can design an optimized communications environment in advance of the concert through functions such as proposing locations for new equipment based on coverage analysis, forecasting future traffic using past event data, and monitoring network quality via AI agents.
On the day of the concert, SK Telecom will continue to use A-One to monitor changes in on-site traffic in real time. It plans to respond immediately if the number of connected users surges, if there are changes in service quality, or if any equipment malfunctions occur. To manage traffic efficiently on the day, SK Telecom has also prepared differentiated communication measures, dividing the Gwanghwamun and Seoul Metropolitan Government areas into three zones based on crowd density and usage patterns and designing customized networks for each.
KT has significantly expanded network capacity by deploying six mobile base stations in and around Gwanghwamun Square and Seoul Plaza, and by newly installing 79 wireless base stations and 14 Wi-Fi access points. These steps are intended to ensure stable service quality even in a large-scale event environment with heavy crowds. On the day of the concert, KT will operate an emergency duty system centered on the Gwacheon Network Control Center. The company will monitor both upload and download traffic in real time and plans to respond immediately if any unexpected issues arise. At the site, more than 80 network specialists, including about 40 engineers, will be additionally deployed. LG Uplus will deploy additional mobile base stations and temporary repeaters at more than 10 key locations in and around Gwanghwamun Square. It is also inspecting the capacity of existing base stations and carrying out pre-optimization work to prevent Long Term Evolution (LTE) and fifth-generation mobile communication technology (5G) traffic from becoming excessively concentrated in specific sections. These plans incorporate LG Uplus’s autonomous network technology. Before the event, the company will preset operating conditions for mobile network cells around Gwanghwamun, and during the concert it will automatically monitor traffic in real time.
mkchang@fnnews.com Jang Min-kwon Reporter