Korean mobile carrier LG Uplus said Sept. 16 it will roll out 5G roaming service in China in partnership with a state-run telecom operator, China Unicom. 

The preliminary service began earlier in the day for LG Uplus’ 5G customers visiting China, and the full-fledged mobile service will be launched in late September when China Unicom officially launches its 5G service in the nation.

China Unicom, which has 302 million subscribers, switched on the 5G network in seven major cities in May, including Beijing and Shanghai, and has provided preliminary service in 40 other cities since August.

The service will be compatible with LG V50 smartphones at first, and Samsung‘s 5G smartphones, including Galaxy S10 and Note 10, will be available after software upgrades, the Korean carrier said.

The 5G roaming service will be charged at the same price as 4G roaming, as the infrastructure for the next-generation mobile network is not yet fully ready in China, it added.

LG Uplus is the first Korean carrier to launch the 5G roaming service in China.

The firm has offered 5G roaming service in Finland since July, and has been negotiating with other partners in Europe and Asia to expand the service.

By Ram Garikipati and newswires (ram@heraldcorp.com)