The Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI) has unveiled a strategy to build an "AI Highway," which will serve as a core foundation determining national competitiveness in the era of artificial intelligence (AI). The plan envisions connecting the entire process—from AI model development and training to inference and service operation—into a single network system.

On the 13th, ETRI held the 'AI Highway Forum' at the L Tower in Yangjae-dong, Seoul, and announced the direction for building national AI infrastructure and a network-centric research and development strategy. The event was attended by representatives from the Ministry of Science and ICT, the National Science and Technology Council (NST), and industry, academia, and research institutes.

The research team explained that the importance of ultra-high-speed, ultra-low-latency network infrastructure is growing as data traffic surges due to the proliferation of AI services and computing structures shift from central clouds to distributed edge environments. Analysis suggests that as real-time response-based services such as autonomous driving, telemedicine, and smart factories expand, communication networks are establishing themselves as a key element connecting the overall operation of AI systems.

ETRI defined the AI Highway as a national-level infrastructure that integrates data, computing, and networks. Through this, the plan is to establish a structure capable of stably processing the entire lifecycle of AI models in real time. Key areas of focus include 6G-based AI wired and wireless networks, satellite networks, data center networks, AI data compression and transmission technologies, and AI infrastructure security technologies.

At the event, Choi Jin-sung, Chairman of the AI-RAN Alliance, an international cooperation body in the field of AI networks, delivered a keynote speech on the theme of 'The Future of AI Networks'.

Next, Tae-Sik Jeong, Head of the Network Research Division at ETRI, presented the direction of research and development, and subsequently, during an expert panel discussion, topics such as AI-RAN and 6G-based network evolution, integrated data and computing architecture, media and security technologies in the AI era, and policy support measures were discussed.

Based on its experience in developing existing communication technologies such as CDMA and 5G, ETRI is expanding its research in the fields of AI-Native networks and 6G.

Baek Yong-soon, Head of the 3D Communications Research Institute at ETRI, stated, “Competitiveness in the AI era is ultimately determined by infrastructure capabilities,” adding, “We will respond to securing national AI competitiveness based on AI network technology.”