Seoul, Mar 6 (IANS): South Korea will push to commercialise sixth-generation (6G) services by around 2028, the country's Science Minister has said.

Science and ICT Minister Lim Hye-sook made the remarks during her speech at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2022, a mobile technology trade fair underway in Barcelona, reports Yonhap News Agency.

The MWC is one of the top three annual tech events in the world, along with the Consumer Electronics Show in the US and the IFA in Germany.

"We are continuing our preparations for the 6G era with the aim of commercialising 6G from 2028 to 2030 ... it will offer a network 50 times faster than the current service and an expanded coverage of up to 10 kilometres above the ground," Lim said.

Lim added that South Korea has made meaningful progress in 5G network speed and coverage since it became the first country to commercialise 5G services in April 2019.

South Korea will push ahead to unfold a new age with innovative digital technologies, including metaverse, blockchain, artificial intelligence and cloud, she said.

The Minister also held bilateral talks with officials from the US, Finland and Indonesia to discuss partnerships in 5G, 6G and metaverse, the ICT ministry said.

This year's MWC marks its first offline event in three years as the trade fair was canceled in 2020 and held online last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.