(123rf) South Korea’s military is overhauling the broadband network supporting military operations and advanced weapons systems after bandwidth shortages emerged at some units, even after the system recently underwent costly upgrades.According to military officials on Thursday, the Ministry of National Defense has commissioned a policy study on optimizing the Military Broadband Convergence Network.The Military Broadband Convergence Network is a dedicated military broadband network that carries voice, video and data for command-and-control operations and administrative work.The roughly 600 billion won ($415 million) next-generation project, completed in 2024, expanded the network from a system centered largely on front-line Army units to more than 2,000 units across the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and units directly controlled by the Defense Ministry.The upgraded network was also intended to support the military’s growing use of artificial intelligence, drones and crewed-uncrewed teaming systems.However, bandwidth was allocated without sufficiently accounting for differences in unit type and size or the actual volume of traffic carried by individual networks, according to the ministry’s research notice.As a result, some sections have experienced bandwidth shortages. At certain units, existing communications equipment is unable to handle assigned capacity, limiting use of the new network.The problems have prevented the military from fully realizing the expected benefits of the project, including reduced commercial telecommunications costs and stronger security through greater reliance on military-operated lines.The ministry plans to analyze network structures and actual traffic levels at a sample of military units and propose appropriate bandwidth levels for different types of units.It will also estimate future communications demand as the military expands its use of AI-enabled systems, drones and other crewed-uncrewed platforms.The study will assess upgrade requirements across the network’s backbone, transport and access layers and explore the adoption of software-defined networking.The technology would allow the military to manage the network through software and respond more flexibly to equipment failures and sudden changes in traffic.Operating costs will also be reviewed. Although about 10 percent of the operating budget is normally reserved for work such as relocating communications facilities and cables, some necessary work was delayed last year because of insufficient funding.The ministry said it will recommend an appropriate operating budget and examine whether the network’s current build-transfer-lease structure restricts timely upgrades as communications technology and military requirements evolve.