en.Wedoany.com Reported - Ericsson has been selected as the sole global technology partner for the Hyper-AI network infrastructure demonstration project consortium led by SK Telecom. The project is a government-supported demonstration initiative jointly led by South Korea's Ministry of Science and ICT and the National Information Society Agency.
The project will build and validate an AI-RAN trial network as a foundational element of South Korea's "AI Highway" agenda, serving the country's broader innovation landscape in AI and 6G. Ericsson will leverage its expertise in 5G Advanced and AI-native networks to provide an end-to-end network foundation for connecting, coordinating, and continuously optimizing intelligent machines and autonomous industrial operations, while playing a key technology role in advancing South Korea's 6G and physical AI initiatives.
Within the consortium, Ericsson will participate in developing and demonstrating an AI-RAN trial network that combines advanced radio access network (RAN) capabilities, 5G standalone expertise, AI-RAN innovation, and intelligent network automation. Its contributions extend beyond AI for network operations to encompass AI in the RAN as well as time-critical 5G Advanced capabilities supporting physical AI and connected intelligent applications. Leveraging Ericsson AI RAN, the Ericsson Intelligent Automation Platform (EIAP), and AI-driven rApps, the overall solution will deliver intelligent automation, distributed AI processing, and new network capabilities; open network management and automation capabilities will enable autonomous network control, intelligent resource orchestration, and real-time network optimization for physical AI services.
The Hyper-AI project will validate ultra-low latency, high reliability, differentiated connectivity, high-capacity uplink, distributed AI computing, mobility, and network autonomy capabilities required for physical AI use cases, spanning scenarios such as autonomous transportation, industrial safety monitoring, and humanoid robots. SK Telecom will collaborate with partners in the network, AI, robotics, and industrial sectors to demonstrate three physical AI services by 2027. In the second phase of the project, the AI-RAN trial network is expected to be deployed in the real logistics environment of KG Mobility's Pyeongtaek plant, transitioning from lab validation to actual industrial deployment.
The consortium will validate the performance of the AI-RAN trial network and the readiness of physical AI services across various industrial scenarios. Validation will cover network slicing, 5G standalone capabilities, AI-based network autonomy, service management and orchestration, distributed AI computing resources, as well as physical AI use cases including patrol robots, autonomous transportation, and low-power modes for humanoid robots.
The project will also compare different vendors' architectures, computing resource configurations, and deployment models in practice, providing a reference for the AI-RAN ecosystem. The experience gained is expected to support standardization and ecosystem development in South Korea's 6G advancement. South Korea is one of the markets with high mobile communications technology and competitiveness levels globally, with AI, next-generation networks, and industrial digitalization as key focus areas.
For physical AI services such as robots, autonomous vehicles, industrial sensors, and intelligent machines, AI-RAN can distribute computing tasks across devices, radio access networks, edge infrastructure, and data centers, thereby reducing device burdens, improving response speeds, extending battery life, and supporting more reliable real-time decision-making in complex industrial environments.
Sibel Tombaz, Head of Ericsson's Customer Unit South Korea, stated that being selected for this government-supported project is significant recognition of Ericsson's technology and the long-standing partnership between the two companies. Ericsson will work with SK Telecom and consortium partners to bring its expertise in 5G, AI-RAN, orchestration, and intelligent network automation to this national initiative, driving the transformation of South Korea's 6G vision into industrial value.
Takki Yu, Vice President and Head of Network R&D at SK Telecom, stated that as a national project supporting South Korea's Hyper-AI network strategy, SK Telecom will collaborate with partners such as Ericsson to advance AI-RAN technology, establish strategic win-win cooperation, demonstrate industrial application value, and strengthen South Korea's future AI-RAN technology capabilities and ecosystem.
