Samsung Electronics said on the 24th that it signed a business agreement with SoftBank to collaborate on research into next-generation communications technologies, including sixth-generation mobile communications (6G) and artificial intelligence (AI)-based network technologies.
The two companies selected next-generation communications as a key candidate requiring the securing of future technologies, and divided it into four core technology areas: 6G; AI for RAN (AI for radio access networks); AI and RAN (the combination of AI and radio access networks); and Telco LLM (large language model specialized for telecom data). Based on this, they plan to jointly pursue the discovery of new use cases and the co-research and verification of core technologies.
Jeong Jin-guk, vice president and head of the Next-Generation Communications Research Center at Samsung Research of Samsung Electronics, said, "Through cooperation with SoftBank, we will discover use cases meaningful to both telecom operators and users and preempt core technologies for commercialization," adding, "Samsung Electronics will continue to lead innovation in future communications based on its advanced technological capabilities in AI-RAN and 6G."
Tsukuda Hideyuki, SoftBank's chief technology officer (CTO) and vice president, said, "By combining the two companies' advanced expertise, we will accelerate the realization of a more efficient and reliable next-generation network through AI-RAN," adding, "SoftBank will take the lead in building the core infrastructure of a future society where AI and humans coexist."
The Next-Generation Communications Research Center at Samsung Research plans to hold the "Silicon Valley Future Communications Summit" next month to engage with the telecom industry, academia, and government agencies on the theme of AI-RAN research.