SK Telecom (SKT) has partnered with Intel to develop a technology that significantly reduces communication latency within 6G Core networks.
The Core network is the central gateway that routes voice and data traffic from mobile devices to the internet. As mobile networks evolve into 5G and 6G, increasing complexity inside the Core has led to higher internal latency, which can limit the speed, reliability, and responsiveness required for advanced services, including AI-driven applications.
The partners designed an Inline Service Mesh that runs on Intel Xeon processors with integrated AI capabilities. This solution lowers latency between Core network components by up to 70 percent without relying on traditional proxy architectures, enabling much faster communication within the Core.
“This will allow AI requiring large amounts of computation to be applied to the Core network in more areas,” said Yu Takki, VP and Head of Infra Tech at SKT.
SKT reports it has previously applied similar approaches to reduce wireless resource consumption by 40 percent and to improve user connectivity by analyzing real-time movement patterns. Those results informed the development of the Inline Service Mesh.
By cutting internal delays, SKT and Intel estimate the new technology can raise overall service efficiency for 6G Core networks by roughly 33 percent. Such gains are expected to be critical for delivering the flexibility, reliability, and intelligent features envisioned for 6G services.
Commercial testing of the technology in network equipment is planned for next year. SKT and Intel have worked together for more than a decade to advance foundational mobile communication technologies.
“Our research with SK Telecom continues to deliver innovations deployed worldwide,” said Dan Rodriguez, Corporate VP at Intel. “By using the latest Intel Xeon processors, we drive the performance and efficiency vital to future Core networks.”
Both companies plan to continue integrating AI into Core network processing to further improve traffic handling, maintain service quality, and support SKT’s leadership in 6G networked services.
A technical whitepaper published by the partners provides a detailed description of the technology and its architecture.
(Image Credit: SK Telecom)
See also: Telefónica to deploy Helium hotspots for decentralised 5G network
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