Samsung Electronics and SK telecom have embarked on forming alliances with global operators to lead the development of 6G and integrate Large Language Models (LLM) into their services. While Samsung Electronics is co-establishing a consortium with big tech companies across various sectors such as telecommunications equipment, semiconductors, communications, and software, SK telecom is joining forces with foreign telecommunications companies to build an AI alliance for technology innovation and industry leadership.
Samsung Electronics announced on Feb. 26 that it has become a founding member of the “AI-RAN Alliance,” aimed at researching 6G technology and creating an ecosystem through the convergence of AI and wireless communication technologies. Launched officially at MWC 2024 in Barcelona, Spain, the AI-RAN Alliance includes Samsung Electronics, Nvidia, Arm, SoftBank, Ericsson, Nokia, Microsoft, and Northeastern University in the United States among its founding members, totaling 10 companies and one university.
Samsung Electronics plans to lead the research and expansion of the 6G ecosystem by applying AI to wireless communication technologies, thereby driving service innovation and enhancing network efficiency through its participation in this alliance. The “AI for RAN” working group will focus on researching wireless communication optimization technologies using AI and machine learning to improve frequency, cost, and energy efficiency. The “AI and RAN” working group will concentrate on AI and wireless network convergence technologies for efficient resource management and infrastructure utilization. The “AI on RAN” working group will focus on discovering new AI applications and services within the wireless network.
The technical reports and white papers resulting from these activities are expected to significantly contribute to the discovery of new services, technical requirements, and standards for 6G standardization and commercialization. Charlie Zhang, vice president and head of the 6G Research Team at Samsung Research, expressed anticipation for the innovations and new values that will emerge from centering around AI and 6G networks, revolutionizing how people interact with technology.
On the same day, at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2024 in Barcelona, Spain, SK telecom announced the establishment of a joint venture for the joint development and business cooperation of AI technology with the top executives of leading telecommunications companies from Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. SK telecom, Deutsche Telekom, e& Group, Singtel Group, and SoftBank held the founding general meeting of the Global Telco AI Alliance (GTAA) at MWC24 and signed a contract for the establishment of a joint venture to jointly develop and cooperate on business related to AI Large Language Models (LLM).
The founding general meeting was attended by top executives, including SK Chairman Chey Tae-won; SK telecom CEO Yoo Young-sang; Tim Höttges, chairman of Deutsche Telekom; Hatem Dowidar, CEO of e& Group; Yuen Kuan Moon, CEO of Singtel Group; and Tadashi Iida, CISO of SoftBank, who came together to sign the contract for the establishment of the joint venture. The five companies plan to develop a Telco LLM specialized for telecommunications companies through this joint venture with the goal of developing a multilingual LLM supporting various languages including Korean, English, Japanese, German, and Arabic. The joint venture is expected to be established within the year.
Yoo Young-sang, president of SK telecom, said, “Based on the joint venture we will expand the GTAA to secure global AI ecosystem leadership, enabling 1.3 billion global telecommunications subscribers to enjoy new AI experiences through the telecom-specific LLM.”