LG Uplus checks network at Jamsil Baseball Stadium ahead of final postseason

Quality check ahead of postseason at stadium set for remodeling

Carrier inspects in-stadium equipment, traffic capacity and response systems

An LG Uplus employee inspects telecommunications equipment at Jamsil Baseball Stadium. [LG Uplus]

LG Uplus has conducted a special network inspection ahead of what will be the final Korea Baseball Organization postseason at Jamsil Baseball Stadium. The carrier expects heavy data traffic this year, as postseason attendance last year ran about 15 percent higher than the regular-season average, and is moving to reinforce network stability accordingly.

LG Uplus said Wednesday it completed the special network check ahead of the 2026 KBO postseason games at Jamsil. The stadium will begin a full remodeling project after this season concludes.

With large crowds expected to turn out for autumn baseball at the venue one last time before the renovation, the inspection is aimed at ensuring customers can use mobile communications services smoothly both inside and outside the stadium.

Jamsil Baseball Stadium opened in July 1982 and has operated for 44 years, establishing itself as the most iconic venue in Korean professional baseball. Remodeling work is set to begin after this year's schedule wraps up, making the current postseason the last to be played in the existing structure.

Attendance at Jamsil has been rising steadily. According to KBO data, every postseason game at the stadium last year sold out at 23,750 seats — about 3,105 more fans per game, or roughly 15 percent above the regular-season per-game average of 20,645.

Total KBO regular-season attendance this year reached approximately 12.77 million, up more than 450,000 from about 12.31 million last year.

LG Uplus expects playoff games to sell out again and carried out the preemptive network inspection to prepare for the surge in traffic that comes with larger crowds.

Ahead of the playoff opener on Tuesday, the carrier optimized indoor and outdoor antennas at the stadium and conducted on-site quality measurements. It also deployed AI agents for traffic control and parameter optimization so that users can access wireless internet without interruption even when large numbers of people connect simultaneously.

LG Uplus said it has steadily expanded the stadium's infrastructure over the years. The number of 5G units installed has grown to about 1.5 times the level at initial commercialization, and antennas have been replaced periodically to deliver LTE signals more broadly and evenly throughout the venue.

The carrier also inspected aging Wi-Fi equipment and has deployed mobile base stations for high-demand events such as the Korean Series and playoff games where sellout crowds are expected.

"As postseason attendance runs about 15 percent higher than the regular-season average at Jamsil, we expect data usage to increase by a similar margin," said Kwak Jun-young, LG Uplus's head of Greater Seoul infrastructure. "We will do everything we can to deliver the best call quality without any dropped connections, no matter how large the crowd."

chami@heraldcorp.com