SK Telecom said on the 26th that it signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Samsung Electronics to lead 6G mobile communication technology and will begin joint research on an AI-based radio access network (AI-RAN) in earnest. The two companies pursued cooperation to strengthen competitiveness in AI-based next-generation network technology and lay the groundwork for 6G commercialization.
Under the partnership, the companies will research and verify 6G core technologies, including: ▲ AI-based channel estimation technology ▲ distributed multi-antenna (MIMO) transmit-receive technology ▲ AI-RAN-based scheduler and core network technology. SK Telecom will provide data and build verification infrastructure, while Samsung Research will advance the AI channel estimation model and MIMO algorithms.
AI-based channel estimation technology corrects radio distortion caused by obstacles to make signal delivery more accurate, and distributed MIMO transmit-receive technology supports stable ultra-high-speed communications even in dense areas. In addition, an AI-RAN-based scheduler helps efficiently allocate network resources.
The two companies have been collaborating through the AI-RAN Alliance since last year, and in June they won approval for their joint technology at the general meeting in Espoo, Finland. SK Telecom published Korea's first 6G white paper in 2023 and has continued cooperation for AI-RAN base station demonstrations and technology development.