Sweden telecommunications equipment corporations Ericsson stressed that networks are needed to support the surge in data traffic in the age of artificial intelligence (AI), and proposed AI-based radio access network (AI-RAN) and a shift to 5G (fifth-generation mobile communications) standalone (SA) as solutions.
Sibel Tombaz, Ericsson Korea chief executive officer (CEO), said at a press briefing at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Jung-gu, Seoul, on the 10th, "The Korean government is trying to switch to 5G SA next year, and AI-RAN and 5G SA must be prerequisites to support a variety of services in the digital age."
Ericsson released the "Ericsson Mobility Report (EMR)" on the day. The report projected that for AI applications, uplink traffic accounts for 30% of the total. Because of this, new network usage patterns such as operating large-scale AI models, uploading cloud-based content, and real-time streaming are rapidly overturning the existing downlink-centered traffic structure, and as a result, it assessed that for telecommunications infrastructure, it is an inevitable moment to go beyond a simple data transmission network and undertake a comprehensive redesign of network architecture.
Uplink refers to the traffic used when transmitting data from a device such as a smartphone to a base station (or server), and downlink refers to the traffic used when transmitting data from a base station (or server) to a device.
AI-RAN is a technology in which AI predicts and analyzes in real time the traffic generated in the radio access network and automatically allocates and adjusts network resources. Ericsson said such technology is only feasible in a 5G SA architecture.
Until now, major domestic carriers have provided 5G service using non-standalone (NSA) mode, which uses 5G and Long Term Evolution (LTE) spectrum together. But in the AI era's low-latency, ultra-high-speed communications environment, introducing 5G SA, which uses only 5G spectrum, is essential. According to Ericsson, of 360 carriers worldwide that have launched 5G service, more than 80 are building or operating 5G SA.
Currently, the only carrier that has introduced 5G SA is KT. The Ministry of Science and ICT recently announced a plan to reassign LTE spectrum to introduce a nationwide 5G SA network next year and mandated the provision of 5G SA service.
CEO Sibel Tombaz said, "Investment in 5G SA is a gateway that must be passed before moving to 6G (sixth-generation mobile communications)," adding, "From a consumer standpoint, people may not enjoy the benefits, and Korea's technology leadership could fall behind other countries."