SK Telecom (SKT) has verified technology capable of simultaneously processing AI calculations and communications, establishing a network AI foundation.

SKT announced on the 17th that it has successfully demonstrated a next-generation virtualized base station in indoor and outdoor commercial environments in cooperation with global equipment manufacturers Samsung Electronics, Ericsson, and Nokia.

This is the first case among domestic mobile carriers, and is drawing attention as a verification of key technologies for realizing Network AI.

Through this demonstration, SKT comprehensively verified key performances such as service quality, capacity, and power efficiency compared to existing virtualized base stations, and confirmed improved performance.

In particular, it is characterized by the development of a new base station that reduces power consumption and increases data processing efficiency by evolving the accelerator structure, thereby simultaneously improving efficiency and economy.

The next-generation virtualized base station can be implemented through software on general-purpose servers, greatly improving openness and flexibility regardless of the manufacturer.

In the past, dedicated hardware and software from specific manufacturers had to be combined, but this technological advancement has made it possible to realize 'network AI', which combines mobile communications and AI.

SKT is based on open front-haulThe next-generation virtual base station of Samsung Electronics and the wireless device of domestic network equipment company HFR were linked according to the Open RAN (O-RAN) standard, and performance verification was completed in an indoor office space.

Based on this research, SKT is researching various chipset-based base station equipment including GPUs and virtualization resource distribution technologies, and aims to derive an AI base station (AI-RAN) structure that can simultaneously implement communication services and AI workloads.

We are continuously disclosing our research results, such as announcing the initial benchmarking results of GPU-based virtualized base stations at the last MWC25 and introducing orchestration technology that provides AI services without degrading wireless communication performance in AI base stations.

In addition, SKT has been expanding its global cooperation by developing and presenting virtualized base stations of various structures in cooperation with Ericsson and Nokia at the 'O-RAN Global Plugfest 2024' last year, and publishing a white paper on virtualized base station technology with Japan's NTT Docomo.

Ryu Tak-ki, head of SKT’s infrastructure technology division, said, “This successful demonstration is very meaningful in that it verifies the core technology for realizing network AI, which is SKT’s vision for the evolution of the next-generation infrastructure structure,” adding, “We plan to continue to take the lead in implementing future networks through continuous research and development and global cooperation.”