Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI) is pushing ahead in earnest with research and development to secure core technologies for AI-RAN, an artificial intelligence-based radio access network technology.

ETRI said on June 9 that the Ministry of Science and ICT and the Institute of Information and Communications Technology Planning and Evaluation (IITP) launched the AI-RAN Global Leading Project in April 2026. They designated ETRI as a nationally designated specialized research institute and support it in developing foundational technologies and building a global cooperation system.

AI-RAN is a next-generation technology that combines AI with existing mobile communications radio access networks to optimize radio resources, predict failures and automate operations. It aims for an AI-native structure that seeks to embed AI training and inference functions within the network.

The project includes South Korea's three mobile carriers, SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus, along with communications equipment and software companies including HFR, Ucast and Cleverlogic. Industry, academia and research institutions including Sungkyunkwan University, Yonsei University, Seoul National University and Ajou University will work together to build an AI-RAN ecosystem. The total research period runs from April 2026 to December 2030. R&D funding totals 47 billion won.

Researchers will build an AI-RAN virtual network platform based on real base-station software and develop AI-RAN software based on 3GPP Releases 19 and 21. They will verify AI model performance and network optimization technology reflecting massive MIMO environments in a digital twin-based virtual network environment.

ETRI and participating institutions will also pursue joint South Korea-U.S. international research, cooperating on AI-based base-station energy-saving technology, an AI-RAN verification platform and digital twin wireless environment technology development. At the AI-RAN Global Leading Project kickoff workshop held on June 4, key government, industry, academia and research officials attended and shared the project vision, implementation strategy and direction for global cooperation.

Kim Il-gyu (김일규), head of ETRI's Mobile Communication Research Division, said "AI-RAN is a core technology that will determine national competitiveness in the 6G era" and added, "We will do our best to secure the technologies and verification system so that South Korea can lead the global AI-native network market."