Page 89 - SAMENA Trends - June-July 2025

ARTICLE SAMENA TRENDS

vision in smart cities or voice synthesis in virtual assistants, rely ment, can evolve based on data-driven intelligence.
on high uplink speeds and stable latency, both of which are en- In practice, this results in networks that think, adapt, and improve
hanced in 5G-A. continuously, creating not only better performance but also new
• Integrated Sensing for AI Contextual Awareness: With 5G-A's business models. For example, telcos can offer AI-as-a-Service
ability to sense location, movement, and environmental parame- bundled with private 5G-A and edge compute, enabling hospitals
ters, AI models gain richer context to drive decisions – e.g., ad- to run diagnostics in real time, or manufacturers to deploy autono-
justing traffic lights based on congestion or rerouting delivery mous quality checks on assembly lines.
drones around weather conditions.
Learnings from Five Global Telco: Use Cases & Real Deployments
Summary: The Advent of the AI-Native Networks as the “Net- Where 5G-A and AI Converge
works of Tomorrow” Around the globe, leading telecom operators are no longer talking
about 5G-A and AI as future aspirations – they're actively deploy-
5G-A marks the shift from “AI-supported” to “AI-native” networks ing them in tandem to drive smarter networks, immersive services,
. This means: and enterprise transformation.
• The network doesn’t just host AI applications – it runs on AI Within this domain, there are a few standout examples of where
• AI becomes a foundational design principle, not an add-on telcos are operationalizing the convergence of 5G-Advanced and
• Every layer – from spectrum management to customer engage- AI today.

1. SK Telecom (South Korea): AI-First Strategy on a 5G-A Foundation

SK Telcom (SKT) sets forth ‘AI Pyramid Strategy’ to accelerate which has a character that speaks to people. SKT has integrated
innovation centered around three key areas: AI Infrastructure, AI its various service from music streaming to e-commerce into
Transformation (AIX) and AI Service . A.
• AI Infrastructure, which consists of data center, AI semiconduc- - ‘A.’ users can create and customize an AI character that reflects
tor, and multi LLM, will serve as a technology platform that forms their personalities; and communicate with the character
the basis of SKT as an AI company. through conversations or text messages, and ask for diverse
• AI Transformation (AIX) of SKT’s core business areas such as information.
mobile, broadband and enterprise, as well as new business ar- - A. is currently only available in Korean. And company is in the
eas like mobility and healthcare will be pursued to reach a new early stages of exploring an international launch for the service.
level of productivity and customer experience.
• AI Service, SKT announces the official launch of ‘A.’ and plans SKT will strengthen its own AI capabilities and collaborate with di-
to build a globally competitive personal AI assistant service by verse global players to expand its presence in the global AI market.
leveraging its telco and AI assets. By 2028, SKT will triple the proportion of its AI-related investments
- “A.” (pronounced “A dot”) is an artificial intelligence chatbot and become a global AI company with revenue of KRW 25 trillion
SK Telecom’s ‘AI Pyramid Strategy’ to Become a Global AI Company

Source: SK Telecom
89 JUNE-JULY 2025