SK Telecom announces “AI Infrastructure Superhighway”

The announcement comes after the company joining the Telco AI Alliance earlier this year 

SK Telecom has announced a new initiative to expand its AI capabilities by creating an “AI Infrastructure Superhighway.” The national network will rely on advanced data centres, cloud-based GPU services, and Edge AI technology. 

CEO Ryu Young-sang outlined his vision for the project at the company’s recent SK AI Summit 2024, explaining that SK Telecom aims to position South Korea as an AI leader in the Asia-Pacific. Earlier this year, SK Telecom became a founding member of the Global Telco Alliance, along with Singtel, Deutsche Telekom, e& and SoftBank. The five companies have agreed to develop Large Language Models (LLMs) that are specifically designed to meet telco needs, in areas such as improving customer interactions via digital assistants and chatbots. 

The company plans to build large AI data centres (AIDCs) in key regions, powered by renewable energy sources such as hydrogen, solar, and wind. SK Telecom intends to leverage SK Group’s energy-efficient technologies to make these centres regionally and globally connected, supported by submarine cables. 

In December, SK Telecom will open an AIDC testbed in Pangyo, featuring state-of-the-art cooling systems, AI semiconductors, and energy optimization tools. This facility will demonstrate next-generation AI infrastructure for industry experts and partners. 

To meet South Korea’s GPU demands, SK Telecom will introduce a cloud-based GPU-as-a-Service (GPUaaS) model, providing NVIDIA GPUs for AI development. This service will allow companies to create AI applications affordably, strengthening Korea’s AI ecosystem. 

Additionally, SK Telecom is working on “Edge AI,” which integrates mobile networks with AI computing to reduce latency and improve security. The company is running trials in areas like healthcare, robotics, and CCTV to explore specific uses for Edge AI. 

“So far, the competition in telecommunications infrastructure has been all about connectivity, namely speed and capacity, but now the paradigm of network evolution should be changed,” said Ryu Young-sang at the event. 

“The upcoming 6G will evolve into a next-generation AI infrastructure where communication and AI are integrated.”