As part of a drive to upgrade 3G base transceiver stations (BTS), North Korea has begun importing second-hand equipment from China’s Huawei.
Daily NK reported that the process began in early October, with the equipment entering North Korea via China. The gear will go towards upgrading sites in major cities including the capital Pyongyang as well as Hamhung, Nampo, Pyongsong, Sariwon and Wonsan.
The upgrade has been delayed as a result of the pandemic, with Human Rights Watch noting that North Korea was the first country in the world to close its borders in response to COVID-19 in January 2020. It finally reopened its borders – or at least restored them to their usual status – in August this year.
North Korea already tightly controlled imports – as we explored last year in this feature – and during this extended period of border closure, the secretive nation is understood to have tightened border security and targeted the ‘grey market’ of unofficial imports.
TeleGeography reports that regional trade agencies will aid the network replacement initiative. There are two mobile network operators active in North Korea - Koryolink and Kang Song NET – both of which currently provide W-CDMA connectivity.
