Samsung Electronics is accelerating preparations for future communications by integrating AI technology into the entire Radio Access Network (RAN), from radio units (responsible for conversion between analog and digital signals at base stations, antennas, etc.) and digital units (including modems for digital signal modulation and demodulation, schedulers for resource allocation, etc.) to system operation, thereby advancing the convergence of telecommunications and AI technologies.

In mobile communication networks, RAN, which connects mobile phones to the core network, is a critical component that determines user experience in terms of transmission speed and communication quality. As RAN accounts for the largest share of energy usage among the entire communication network, including core networks and data centers, the need for energy-saving technology is also high.

Samsung is conducting research on AI-RAN technology, which integrates AI technology into RAN. In particular, at the Silicon Valley Future Wireless Summit held last November, AI-RAN technologies were demonstrated in collaboration with industry partners, showcasing capabilities to improve base station data throughput (i.e., the amount of data successfully transmitted by a base station over a certain period), communication coverage (i.e., the geographical range where communication services provided by a base station are available) and energy efficiency, among others.

One example is to utilize AI technology to improve the performance of channel estimation technology for estimating the state of wireless channels where data is transmitted between base stations and mobile phones. The result showed that the downlink data throughput from the base station to the mobile phone and the uplink data throughput from the mobile phone to the base station were significantly improved compared to 5G RAN.

In addition, it was shown that energy efficiency was enhanced by applying power adaptively according to the strength of transmitted signals.

These industry-first demonstrations shown to telecommunications operators with Proof of Concept (PoC) results applying AI across the entire RAN have identified AI’s potential to significantly enhance communication performance, user experience and energy efficiency in future communication networks.

“We thank our partners for collaboration on these ground-breaking AI wireless innovations,” said Charlie Zhang, Senior Vice President at Samsung Research America (SRA) and Head of the 6G Research Team at Samsung Research. “Samsung Electronics will continue to work with our ecosystem partners to lead innovation in making AI-RAN a reality in the coming years.”

Leaders from major global wireless operators were very pleased with the promising results of integrating the latest AI technology into the design of future RAN and appreciated Samsung’s efforts in leading the industry efforts on the AI-Native wireless technology.

Additionally, leaders from Samsung’s global partners, who were also collaborators for these demonstrations, were thrilled to be part of the collective effort in leading the way toward an AI-Native next generation network and shared their vision on how AI can help shape the future of wireless communications.

The successful demos are widely recognized as a promising starting point of industry collaboration to bring AI-Native Wireless to future radio access networks. Samsung plans to build on the innovation momentum and continue to work with partners in the ecosystem through industry associations such as AI-RAN Alliance, where Samsung is a founding member, to enhance user experiences by making the promise of AI in RAN a reality.

Over a term of office that begins this April and extends through to 2023, Samsung is set to play a key role in the decision-making undertaken by the O-RAN open source project’s TOC.

Active Participation for the Future of Telecommunications Technologies

Through its participation in the O-RAN Alliance, Samsung has been expanding its influence in the Open RAN domain, an area that is currently in the spotlight thanks to its potential to be the next generation of radio access network (RAN) technology. Over the past two years, the company has been continuously developing open source code for RAN Intelligent Controller (RIC).

Thanks to this pioneering work, Samsung has been elected as an official member of the TOC, the top voting body of the O-RAN SC, along with 11 other companies. JinGuk Jeong, Vice President and Head of Advanced Solutions Team at Samsung Researchh¹‘s Advanced Communications Research Center has now begun his term as the company’s representative to the TOC following the membership offer.

▲ JinGuk Jeong, Vice President and Head of Advanced Solutions Team at Samsung Research’s Advanced Communications Research Center

Setting Standards for Global Specifications and Open Source Software

The O-RAN SC TOC has twelve seats comprised of six global telecommunications operators — AT&T, China Mobile, Deutsche Telekom, Orange, NTT Docomo and TIM — and 6 telecommunications equipment and components providers — Samsung Electronics, Ericsson, Nokia, Windriver, Radisys and Viavi.

O-RAN SC is sponsored by O-RAN Alliance, which releases specifications, and it develops and releases their specification compatible software as open source. As a member of the TOC, Samsung is set to play a role in the final approval of the bi-annual open source code release, the establishment of a development roadmap, and in making decisions necessary to ensure alignment with the O-RAN Alliance.

Through the open source leadership secured with this TOC membership, Samsung plans to continue strengthening its advanced research in Network AI (Artificial Intelligence) / ML (Machine Learning) based on O-RAN technology as it expands its influence in other related industries.

¹ Samsung Electronics’ advanced R&D hub, which leads the development of future technologies for its Device eXperience division