The Ministry of Science and ICT said on the 5th that it held a launch ceremony for the public-private and industry-academia-research council "AI Network Alliance (AINA)" at the site of MWC 2026, the world's largest mobile communications exhibition in Barcelona, Spain, to secure leadership in the next-generation intelligent (AI) network industry.
Attending the on-site MWC 2026 launch ceremony were Choi Woo-hyuk, Ministry of Science and ICT Deputy Minister for Cybersecurity and Network Policy, Seo Chang-seok, AINA chair (KT), Choi Jin-sung, chair of the AI-RAN Alliance (SoftBank vice president), and officials from Nvidia, Microsoft, Qualcomm, and Vodafone.
AINA set a goal of achieving a 20% share of the next-generation mobile communications market centered on AI-RAN (currently 5%), in step with the completion of the 6G standard in 2028 and commercialization from 2030. It will pursue an industry demand-based technology development roadmap, create demand by linking upstream and downstream AI ecosystems, and promote global cooperation for overseas expansion.
Member companies number more than 30, including KT, SK Telecom, LG Uplus, Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics, Ericsson, Nokia, domestic small and midsize enterprises, and AWS, with KT serving as the chair company. AINA signed MOUs for cooperation with the AI-RAN Alliance and the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD), and also held an event to share export outcomes from Ministry of Science and ICT demonstration projects.
Follow-up discussions were also held to implement the "Korea Team–Nvidia" AI-RAN cooperation MOU signed at APEC in Oct. 2025. Samsung Electronics and other Korea Team members and Nvidia Vice President Ronnie Vashishta discussed industry cooperation plans and agreed to produce tangible results within the first half.
Choi said, "We will make 2026 the first year of a great leap forward for AI networks," signaling the operation of a 6G and AI network industry strategy committee and the start of large-scale demonstrations. The Ministry of Science and ICT plans to provide 128.7 billion won in support for AI-RAN technology development and industry promotion starting in 2026.