The selection of operators for the government's AI service, 'AI for All', targeting the entire population has been completed. Large-scale service operation capability was applied as an important criterion in choosing the operators.

Given the project requirement to provide AI services stably to about 50,000,000 people, the three mobile carriers, which have infrastructure such as GPUs and server and network systems, all took part in the three final consortia.

The Ministry of Science and ICT said on Aug. 28 that consortia involving SK Telecom, Kakao and KT were selected as the final operators for 'AI for All'. SK Telecom and KT are lead companies for their respective consortia, and LG Uplus joined the Kakao consortium as a participating company.

A total of 6 consortia took part in the tender. The ministry selected 3 consortia after written and presentation evaluations. Consortia led by East Soft, Xenon and MKD were eliminated.

'AI for All' is a project that will let anyone use a general-purpose AI chatbot and a public AI agent without limits on cost or usage, using domestic AI models. Its operating scale is larger than typical AI services because it effectively treats the entire population, not a specific company or subscriber group, as potential users.

The evaluation criteria also placed weight on service expansion and operational capability. In the written evaluation, the ministry reviewed technical suitability, including AI model and service competitiveness and plans for GPU use and infrastructure operations. Of 100 points in the presentation evaluation, it allocated 50 points to service convenience and strategies to acquire and retain users, 30 points to plans to secure service quality and stability, and 20 points to plans to contribute to the domestic AI ecosystem.

The industry sees the selection outcome as likely reflecting the importance of operational experience to support an AI service on a nationwide scale. As users increase, demand rises for GPUs and servers needed for AI inference, along with the ability to operate the data centres and networks that support them.

An infrastructure industry official said, "Infrastructure capability to operate large-scale GPU resources stably and connect them to actual services is important." The official added, "Telecom companies that have operated networks and data centres together likely had a relative advantage in this respect."

The selected consortia will actively use not only infrastructure but also their existing channels to reach the public.

SK Telecom will enable people to use AI not only via apps and the web but also through phone calls and text messages. It plans to broaden eligible users to include older people and digitally vulnerable groups who are not familiar with installing separate apps, and to link services with Goodoc, Liner, Shinhan Card, SK Broadband, Tmap Mobility and Hana Card, among others.

The Kakao consortium will use KakaoTalk as its main contact point. It will allow users to use a general-purpose chatbot and AI agent within KakaoTalk, and plans to introduce a phone-based AI service with LG Uplus. LG AI Research, LG Electronics and LG CNS also joined the consortium.

KT will connect external services such as portals, shopping and real estate to its telecommunications and media services. It plans to create AI access routes in the Daum portal and app and in Danawa, Musinsa and Zigbang, and to provide services through KT telecommunications channels and IPTV as well.

A ministry official said the selected operators received high evaluations because they presented plans to provide diverse and broad public contact points by using their respective strengths and characteristics.

The government will provide the 3 operators selected this year with a total of 512 Nvidia B200 GPUs. The operators will use them to develop services and build systems capable of handling large-scale usage. From next year, the government plans to support the costs needed to provide services to the entire population.

The selected operators must build services in line with development requirements, including using domestic AI models for more than 80 percent of the service, including their own AI foundation models, and including at least 30 percent domestic models developed by other companies.

The ministry plans to sign agreements with the selected operators in September, form a working-level consultative body, and then officially launch 'AI for All' within the year after a beta service.