Regulatory Compliance News

South Korea RRA Updates Technical Standards for 5G NR and Next-Gen Telecommunications Equipment

The National Radio Research Agency (RRA) of South Korea has announced a significant revision to the technical requirements for radio equipment used in telecommunications services. This update is designed to ensure that domestic network infrastructure remains compatible with evolving global 3GPP standards and to facilitate the deployment of advanced wireless technologies.

As South Korea moves toward "5G Advanced" and prepares the groundwork for 6G, these regulatory adjustments focus on refining spurious emission limits, bandwidth efficiency, and interference mitigation strategies for high-frequency equipment.

Core Objectives of the Amendment

The RRA's proposal addresses several technical gaps in the current "Radio Waves Act" framework:

• • 5G NR (New Radio) Optimization: Updating technical specifications for base stations and repeaters to support wider channel bandwidths and improved beamforming accuracy.
• • International Alignment: Harmonizing domestic test methods with ITU-R recommendations to reduce the compliance burden for manufacturers exporting to or from the Korean market.
• • Spectrum Coexistence: Introducing stricter requirements for unwanted emissions to prevent interference between telecommunications services and adjacent satellite or scientific radio operations.

Key Technical Changes for Manufacturers

• • Refined Test Procedures: Modification of the measurement protocols for millimeter-wave (mmWave) equipment to more accurately reflect real-world operational performance.
• • Enhanced IoT Connectivity: Updated standards for low-power, wide-area (LPWA) telecommunications equipment to support the growing density of industrial IoT deployments.
• • Certification Efficiency: Streamlining the "Conformity Assessment" process for equipment that utilizes pre-certified radio modules, potentially shortening the time-to-market for new devices.

Implementation and Industry Feedback

The RRA is currently seeking feedback from domestic and international stakeholders regarding these technical updates. This move follows South Korea's recent initiative to expand the 6 GHz band for Wi-Fi 7, signaling a comprehensive effort by the MSIT to modernize the country's entire spectrum landscape. Manufacturers are advised to review the specific emission mask changes to ensure upcoming product lines meet the new compliance thresholds.