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SINGTEL has inked a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with South Korean mobile carrier SK Telecom (SKT) to collaborate on building next-generation networks over the next two years.

The proposed tie-up will drive innovation, improve network performance and security, and deliver enhanced customer experiences, said Singtel in a press statement on Monday (Jul 8).

SKT’s head of ICT Infra Kang Jong-ryeol viewed the partnership as a “significant first step in shaping the future of the global telecommunications industry”.

Under the MOU, both parties intend to explore the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and orchestration tools while furthering their domain knowledge of network virtualisation and other technologies.

Areas of collaboration include developing more network slicing capabilities as well as standardised telco application programming interfaces.

These were highlighted by Singtel as “central to laying the necessary building blocks for progressing to 6G”.

“With SKT, we’re looking to not only enhance the experience of our customers but to also drive industry innovation and help us prepare for the evolution to 6G,” said Anna Yip, deputy chief executive and CEO for business development at Singtel Singapore. 

Singtel and SKT also intend to work on developing differentiated innovative solutions including Edge-AI infrastructure, which performs AI inference and uses edge computing to reduce the computational burden concentrated on the cloud.

“This initiative is expected to not only enhance connectivity but also provide customers with unique AI service offerings and enable the operators to restore services faster, thus improving the customer experience,” the telco said.

Additionally, both telcos will release a white paper on their advancements in areas such as virtualisation, slicing, and network evolution.

The white paper can help other telcos globally to capitalise on the capabilities of 5G, and to prepare for 6G, said Singtel.