SK Telecom said on Oct. 15 that it won the award for the most innovative 5G communications service at the Network X Awards held in Vienna, Austria, on Oct. 14 local time.

Network X is an international event hosted by Informa, a global ICT media and research company. This year’s event runs from Oct. 13 to 15, with global telecom operators, companies and startups taking part.

SKT won with its autonomous vehicle movement (AVM) technology for finished vehicles using an AI-based radio access network (AI-RAN). AI-RAN is next-generation network infrastructure that provides communications and AI services at the same time. SKT said it developed AI-RAN base stations and confirmed through verification tests that stable communications quality is maintained even while processing AI services.

AVM is a technology that automates vehicle transfer and alignment work based on a network. When LiDAR sensors installed on site collect surrounding environment data, AI-RAN base stations build a digital twin from it, calculate vehicle movement routes and issue driving commands. Even regular vehicles without autonomous driving functions can be transferred without drivers if separate modules and programs are installed.

SKT also carried out a demonstration of autonomous valet parking at an actual parking facility. The entire process, from collecting sensor data to AI decision-making and delivering driving commands, was carried out within the time needed for vehicle control. The vehicle completed autonomous parking without driver intervention.

Through a government project to build a hyper AI network foundation, SKT plans to apply the technology to domestic finished-vehicle plants in 2027 and conduct demonstrations. It plans to expand its use to large logistics sites such as ports and airports, and to develop it into a physical AI service in the network evolution process from 5G standalone mode (SA) to 6G.

Tak-ki Ryu (류탁기), head of network technology at SKT, said, "We will advance AI-RAN-based physical AI services and accelerate evolution toward autonomous networks to provide new value to customers and industrial sites."