SK Telecom and Samsung Electronics have agreed to jointly develop core technologies for 6G wireless networks, deepening a collaboration that has already produced advances in current-generation mobile infrastructure.
The South Korean companies signed a memorandum of understanding focused on artificial intelligence-based radio access network technology, or AI-RAN. Research priorities include AI-driven channel estimation that predicts and corrects signal distortion in real time, distributed multiple-input multiple-output transmission systems, and intelligent network schedulers.
Under the arrangement, SK Telecom will contribute operational data from its nationwide network and establish testing infrastructure. Samsung Research will develop the underlying AI algorithms and signal processing models.
Both companies are members of the AI-RAN Alliance, an industry consortium advancing AI integration in telecommunications. The partners recently secured approval for a joint AI-based channel estimation proposal at the alliance’s general meeting, lending credibility to their technical approach.
The collaboration positions South Korea in the increasingly competitive global race to define 6G standards, where Asian technology giants are vying with European equipment makers for leadership. Nvidia recently invested $1 billion in Nokia to accelerate the Finnish company’s AI-RAN capabilities, underscoring the strategic importance of this emerging technology segment.
The partnership contains no disclosed financial terms or commercial timeline, reflecting the nascent state of 6G development. Industry observers expect commercial deployments remain years away, though some AI-RAN features may appear in 5G networks sooner.
