SK Telecom said on the 8th that it successfully provided stable mobile service at a cherry blossom festival that ran through the 7th by applying an artificial intelligence (AI)-based core network control system. The festival was held simultaneously in key areas, including Seokchon Lake and Yeouido.
In particular, over the weekend alone, a total of 44.9TB of mobile data was used in the Seokchon Lake and Yeouido festival areas. That was 1.5 times the prior weekend. With 1TB, it is possible to transfer about 200,000 photos (5MB per photo, standard smartphone 12–16MP shooting) or stream about 400 hours of video (2.5GB per hour, 1080p full HD). Based on that, the data used over the period could have transferred about 8.98 million photos or streamed about 17,960 hours of video.
According to SK Telecom, the day with the heaviest traffic was Saturday, on the 4th, with 15.91TB at Seokchon Lake and 7.3TB in Yeouido. In Yeouido, data usage was higher on Sunday the 5th (8.5TB) than on the 4th.
Over the two days of the 4th–5th, subscribers aged 50 and older accounted for 31%, the largest share among festival attendees, followed by people in their 20s, 30s, 40s, and teens. By contrast, the share of data usage by age group was highest among people in their 20s at 29%, showing particularly active data use among younger users.
The gender split was roughly even, and by app, YouTube generated the most traffic, followed by Instagram, Naver, and Facebook.
The company said the AI-based "SPIDER" system played a key role in the successful delivery of service. SPIDER, developed using SK Telecom's AI platform, centrally controls all equipment in the core network and automatically analyzes alarms and statistical data. By integrating previously siloed control systems by equipment type, it significantly improved efficiency, and by automatically executing AI-driven anomaly detection and rapid response recommendations, it greatly strengthened network stability, the company said.
SK Telecom said it operated the recently commercialized AI-based network operations system A-One (Access All-in-One) alongside SPIDER to proactively design an optimized communications environment and provide stable service during the event. By linking the two systems, the company could address predictable network load in advance and take immediate action through real-time monitoring.
Kang Kyung-pyo, SK Telecom's head of core network, said, "By linking the AI-based core network management system SPIDER with A-One, we were able to provide seamless service even at large-scale festival sites," adding, "We will continue to ensure that customers can experience the highest-quality service anytime, anywhere through an Autonomous Network based on SKT's differentiated AI network technology."