South Korean regulator KCC has been hit with a class-action lawsuit over its decision to let Korea Telecom to switch off its 2G network next week.
Nearly 1,000 2G phone owners have filed the suit against the regulator, attempting to overturn a decision allowing KT to cease 2G services on the prized 1,800MHz band, Korea Timesreported.
KCC last week approved KT's application to switch off the network, and refarm the spectrum for LTE.
The regulator had rejected two prior requests on the grounds that there remained too many 2G users that would be affected by the shutdown.
But the plaintiffs argue that under Korean telecom law, KT should have been required to give 2G handset owners two months' notice of the plan to shutter the network.
The lawyer representing the claimants has also accused KT of engaging in “unlawful” and “dubious” behavior to artificially reduce the number of 2G customers.
After aggressive marketing campaigns aimed at convincing users to upgrade, KT's 2G subscriber base has fallen to just 160,000, or less than 1% of its wireless customers. KCC had decided that this was a low enough figure to allow 2G services to be suspended.