Barcelona: South Korea's three major telecommunications companies said Tuesday they have outlined their artificial intelligence (AI) business strategies at this year's Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Spain. SK Telecom Co., KT Corp., and LG Uplus Corp. emphasized collaboration with local and global partners to establish a presence in the AI fields.
According to Yonhap News Agency, SK Telecom, the country's leading wireless services provider, organized a general meeting of the Global Telco AI Alliance (GTAA) at the world's largest mobile exhibition. In 2023, SK Telecom, along with Deutsche Telekom, the United Arab Emirates' state-owned telecom firm e and , and Singaporean telecom conglomerate Singtel, formed the GTAA to accelerate the AI transformation of existing telecom businesses and explore new growth drivers through AI-powered business models.
SK Telecom President and CEO Ryu Young-sang highlighted in his keynote speech that the AI revolution presents unprecedented business opportunities for telecom companies. He stressed the need for cooperation to establish the 'AI infra super highway' essential for expanding AI services. SK Telecom plans to increase the number of GTAA members to further accelerate AI innovation.
At the MWC, which kicked off Friday and will continue until Thursday, KT Corp., the country's second-largest mobile carrier and sole satellite communication company, identified satellite, quantum, and AI network as key technologies for the advent of 6G. This next-generation communications technology promises data transfer rates up to 50 times faster than 5G. KT has signed initial agreements with Korea Aerospace Industries Co. (KAI) and LIG Nex1 to secure core technologies in satellite and quantum segments, focusing on developing low-orbit satellite communication technology and exploring business opportunities in this field. Additionally, KT plans to develop AI technologies applicable to autonomous vehicles.
LG Uplus, the third-largest mobile carrier in South Korea, announced a collaboration with Google to enhance its AI competitiveness. Through this partnership, LG Uplus aims to expand the functionalities of its call assistant AI service, ixi-O, by leveraging Google Cloud and AI model Gemini. The AI service ixi-O will utilize Gemini to more accurately analyze call contexts, improve call content summarization, and suggest recommended actions.