Discover why SK Telecom says that 5G is the AI-superhighway

The Metaverse—a new world of opportunities driven by 5G

“Metaverse” was one of the newest and hottest topics in tech for 2021, and SKT is jumping into this new universe with its own B2C Metaverse application called IfLand. IfLand is a platform where people can come together virtually through their avatars to meet, socialize, and have concerts, conferences, and gatherings. On the B2B side, we work with smart factory owners in South Korea to enable a real-time service with robots and factory automation supported by Ericsson technology. In other words, there is tremendous opportunity for new services with the advent of 5G and AI.

The evolution from software to cloud native

The software world is becoming a cloud native, cloud first, cloud only environment, and SKT is no exception. All of our new services are based on the cloud, as it is currently the best way to proliferate them. A cloud native environment, and a virtual software dominated environment on the cloud infrastructure, brings major advantages for innovation in networks and services.

Building the world’s first container-based bare metal technology

SKT are not just looking at cloud native as a strategy for network evolution, however. It is seen as a key strategy for the entire AI service evolution. And part of that is through SKT’s work with Ericsson in building the world’s first container-based bare metal technology. Kim sees this is the perfect example of how we collaborate to lead the world in not only going cloud native, but utilizing the cloud to maximize advancements in services.

The 5G AI-super-highway

Many years ago, former US presidential candidate Al Gore coined the phrase “information superhighway” to denote the internet. We see 5G as the “AI super-highway,” where it connects not only nodes between machines, but also between intelligent things like AI agents and intelligent machines. It’s hyper-connectivity, and hyper-connected intelligence, and will be powered by 5G.

5G powering smart infrastructure

SKT sees itself, not just as a mobile service provider and mobile services company but also as a smart infrastructure company. Digital infrastructure can mean wireless infrastructure like 5G, edge cloud infrastructure or compute infrastructure. We recently launched an AI accelerator, a semi-conductor that is the first of its kind in Korea. We believe the foundation of AI services lies in its real-time intelligent nature, meaning we will cover not only the wireless network infrastructure but also computing and storage infrastructure. This is the first step toward a true AI service.

We can proactively help the customer

SKT has half of South Korea’s population as subscribers – through services ranging from gaming to content to media to B2B applications. They collect a massive amount of data. And so, with the advent of data processing, AI, and machine learning, they can figure out what the subscriber needs, wants, and will request, in almost real time.

Energy efficiency and cost reduction

In addition to using AI to understand customer needs, SKT also use it to make their networks, systems, and infrastructure extremely efficient and smart. That doesn’t just mean using AI to predict different problems and issues that can occur, it also means using AI to optimize power and energy use. This is not just to cut down on costs – which is important – but also to help with sustainability. Ensuring “greener” networks and computing infrastructure is seen as essential for their success as a company, as a country, and as a society.

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