SEOUL, April 3 (Xinhua) -- SK Telecom, South Korea's wireless carrier, said Wednesday that it will launch its 5G network services later this week to open the era of a super-speed data trafficking.

The 5G network service would be effective for users from Friday as SK Telecom has already built a total of 34,000 units of 5G base stations, allowing it to provide the widest 5G network coverage in the country, the mobile operator said in a statement.

Helped by the development of a dual connectivity technology with 4G and 5G networks, SK Telecom's 5G network can support the data transmission speed of up to 2.7 gigabits per second (Gbps).

The company said its 5G network would cover data traffic-concentrated areas in 85 cities nationwide, including the downtowns, university districts, sports stadiums, expressways, bullet trains, subway lines, shopping malls and airports.

SK Telecom planned to expand the 5G network coverage to nationwide subways, national parks and festival sites in the second half of this year.