3GPP Accelerates Design of 'AI Neural Network' 6G Network

TTA Secures Approval for 6G Research Items at 3GPP Technical Plenary
Moves to Lead in 6G Mobile Communication Standards

The 108th 3GPP Technical Plenary was held in Prague, Czech Republic, with about 600 attendees. Photo by TTA

The Telecommunications Technology Association (TTA) of Korea has launched full-scale activities to secure leadership in 6G mobile communication standards. On June 17, TTA announced that at the 108th 3GPP Technical Plenary held in Prague, Czech Republic, from June 9 to 13, detailed study items that are core to the 6G mobile communication standard were approved, marking the official start of technical research.

Approximately 600 people attended the plenary, where research items on 6G system architecture and radio access network technologies were finalized. Notably, research items included AI services, data frameworks, computing resource management, sensing, and non-terrestrial network connectivity?core functions proposed by the Korean industry?which is expected to give Korea an advantageous position in the early 6G market.

6G is considered not merely an evolution of 5G mobile networks but as a national infrastructure for the AI era. It will feature ultra-high-speed networks capable of transmitting massive data in real time and a hyper-connected structure linking tens of millions of devices, robots, sensors, and vehicles. Furthermore, as an ultra-low latency system capable of instantly executing AI decisions, it will function as the "neural network of AI."

At this technical plenary, it was agreed that the new 6G radio access network would operate in standalone mode, efficiently sharing frequency bands with 5G radio networks. The plenary also agreed to research effective radio interface structures and procedures for transmitting various types of data, including AI and sensing data.

In particular, core technologies from the Korean industry were included as research items, such as radio access network security to protect against external attacks, energy efficiency improvement research, and large-scale multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antenna technologies for enhanced performance and expanded coverage.

Energy-saving technologies and AI-based network automation technologies, areas where the Korean industry has strengths, are expected to provide opportunities for future inclusion in 6G standard-essential patents.

Son Seunghyun, President of TTA, emphasized, "6G is a real-time execution platform that makes AI work in reality," and added, "As securing 6G standard leadership is essential for realizing the national AI strategy, we will continue to expand support for standardization activities linked to national research and development (R&D)."