SKT Successfully Demonstrates Next-Gen 'AI-RAN' Base Station Technology

SK Telecom (017670) announced on the 26th that it has successfully demonstrated 'AI-RAN,' a next-generation base station technology combining artificial intelligence (AI) with telecommunications infrastructure, developed in collaboration with domestic and international partners.

The company plans to showcase achievements in AI-RAN and technologies for integrated management of virtualization and AI-based resources at Mobile World Congress (MWC) 26, the world's largest mobile telecommunications exhibition opening on March 2.

AI-RAN is a technology that provides both telecommunications and AI services from a single piece of equipment. It enables smooth delivery of AI services while maintaining stable network quality. The successful demonstration in an actual network environment confirmed the potential for evolution toward 'Network AI,' where telecommunications networks autonomously make decisions and optimize themselves.

SK Telecom collaborated with Nokia and HFR, a domestic telecommunications equipment company, to develop various equipment architectures for AI-RAN utilizing NVIDIA GPU-based general-purpose servers. For network operational efficiency including AI-RAN, the company partnered with Intel to verify AI-based integrated resource management technology in virtualized base station environments.

"The demonstration of AI-RAN and AI-based integrated resource management technology is a meaningful achievement that accelerates the evolution toward autonomous networks where wireless networks make their own decisions and optimize themselves," said Ryu Tak-ki, Head of Network Technology at SK Telecom. "We will continue developing software optimization for AI-RAN architecture and orchestration intelligence technologies to progressively elevate the level of network operation automation."