South Korea broadband revenue forecast at $3.9bn by 2031

By Rebecca Stone

South Korea’s fixed broadband service revenue is forecast to increase from $3.7 billion in 2026 to $3.9 billion in 2031, a compound annual growth rate of 0.8%, according to GlobalData’s South Korea Fixed Services Forecast (Q3-2026), in an analysis published Nov. 2, 2026.

The projected five-year gain is about $200 million. GlobalData expects operators to achieve that limited growth through fibre migration and gigabit plan uptake rather than a surge in household penetration, which is forecast to reach 99.3% by 2031.

What is driving the forecast?

GlobalData’s central assumptions are:

• Residential fixed broadband access lines will grow at a 0.7% CAGR from 2026 to 2031.
• Fibre will account for about 92% of the market in 2026 and 95% in 2031.
• Cable and xDSL connections will continue to decline as operators promote gigabit-speed fibre plans.

Operators plan to bundle those plans with Wi-Fi 7 routers for streaming, gaming and smart-home use, linking the access-network upgrade to the home network rather than treating fibre speed as the only sale.

Srikanth Vaidya, telecom analyst at GlobalData, said:

“Fibre will remain the backbone of South Korea’s fixed broadband services market, accounting for about 92 per cent in 2026 and expected to increase to 95 per cent by 2031, as legacy cable and xDSL connections continue to decline.”

That leaves the revenue question with operators. A rising fibre share can sustain service revenue in a nearly fully penetrated household market, but the forecast does not assume that faster access speeds will produce equivalent price increases.

Where do the operators stand?

KT, South Korea’s largest fixed broadband operator, holds a 41% share of broadband lines in 2026, according to GlobalData. It is positioning Total Ansim Internet, Homecam Ansim and its Wi-Fi 7-enabled KT Wi-Fi 7D router around security and smart-home services.

Those names describe commercial propositions, not measured results. The forecast provides no subscriber numbers, revenue contribution or ARPS uplift for KT’s security products, so their ability to change the company’s economics remains unquantified.

Can Wi-Fi 7 lift returns?

SK Broadband launched the Giga Wi-Fi 7 router in January 2026, offering wireless speeds of up to 2.88 Gbps and wired speeds of up to 2.5 Gbps. LG U+ was the first South Korean operator to offer a Wi-Fi 7 router supporting the 6GHz band.

Those figures are maximum product speeds, not observed network throughput, and the source includes no evidence of customer adoption. In standards terms, GlobalData treats Wi-Fi 7 and 6GHz support as part of the current home-network upgrade cycle; it provides no regulatory approval dates or mandated migration timetable.

Why does business revenue lag?

Business fixed broadband service revenue is forecast to grow at a modest 0.4% CAGR from 2026 to 2031, even as broadband lines expand at 1.9% annually. GlobalData attributes the gap to a decline in business average revenue per subscriber (ARPS).

To defend revenue, operators are selling connectivity alongside other services. In June 2026, SK Broadband teamed with payment and point-of-sale provider Toss Place to bundle internet with payment services for small merchants, making the broadband contract the anchor for a wider commercial relationship.

That approach may preserve customer value without relying on a higher standalone broadband price. It also shifts competition toward bundles, retention and service quality, although the forecast does not quantify the take-up or margin of the Toss Place arrangement.

What must operators prove?

Vaidya concluded:

“Revenue growth will remain modest, driven mainly by incremental line additions and the shift to fibre. Residential ARPS is forecast to stay broadly flat through 2031, while business ARPS comes under pressure. Operators will therefore rely on Wi-Fi 7, AI-enabled home network services, security add-ons and fixed-mobile bundles to protect ARPS in a highly saturated and competitive market.”

Through 2031, the test is whether those services can offset flat residential pricing and falling business ARPS while fibre reaches a 95% share; the forecast provides no basis for expecting faster revenue growth before then.