SKT Collaborates with Samsung to Enhance 5G with AI
SK Telecom (SKT) is collaborating with Samsung Electronics to improve 5G base stations using artificial intelligence (AI).
This South Korean telecommunications company announced on Monday that both companies will use AI based 5G base station quality optimization technology (also known as AI-RAN parameter recommender) to implement the project.
The significance
SKT stated that the two companies have recently developed a technology that can automatically recommend optical parameters for each base station environment based on their experience using artificial intelligence and deep learning in previous mobile network operation tests. Applied to SKT’s commercial network, it can fully leverage the potential performance of 5G base stations and improve user experience.
Ryu Tak ki, Minister of Infrastructure Technology at SK Telecom, stated in a statement, “It is meaningful to maximize the potential performance of individual base stations through artificial intelligence.”
SKT explained that the response of mobile base stations will vary depending on geographical conditions and surrounding facilities. So, even if we uniformly deploy the same devices with the same specifications throughout the network, the quality of 5G mobile services may vary by region.
Therefore, SKT can improve the experience by using deep learning to automatically obtain optimal parameters. Deep learning analyzes and learns the correlation between statistical data collected from existing wireless networks and AI operating parameters to predict various wireless environments and service characteristics.
The company added that when the radio wave signal is weak or data transmission errors happen, artificial intelligence can automatically adjust the output of base station radio waves or reset the tolerance range of radio wave retransmission, thereby improving the quality of radio waves.
This project utilizes Samsung Electronics’ Network Parameter Optimization AI Model to simplify the resources invested in network optimization and optimize the management of mobile communication networks established at the cluster level.
Sung Hyun Choi, Senior Development Team Leader of Samsung Electronics Network Division, stated in a statement, “Artificial intelligence is a key technology for innovation in many industries and plays a decisive role in the development of next-generation networks.”
Expand the use of AI
SKT and Samsung Electronics are diversifying the parameters suitable for optimizing AI models and extending them to subway systems with frequent changes in transportation patterns for further learning and validation.
Especially, the two companies are passionate about utilizing artificial intelligence to optimize “beamforming” technology. Beamforming “refers to the technique of concentrating the signals received by an antenna in the direction of a specific receiver to achieve strong transmission and reception. They are also committed to continuing to improve technology by developing features for real-time applications.
On the other hand, SKT stated that it is expanding the application scope of artificial intelligence to various fields of communication networks such as Telco Edge AI, reducing network power, intercepting spam emails, improving base station quality, and other operational automation.