AI-driven 6G radio access technology that could raise transmission efficiency up to tenfold over 5G and deliver smarter, more resilient wireless connectivity for future electronics and IoT networks.
South Korea’s Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI) has developed an AI-powered intelligent 6G radio access platform that embeds artificial intelligence directly into the wireless access network, targeting a significant leap in performance and adaptability over current 5G technology. The new AI-RAN (AI-Radio Access Network) technology integrates AI into key communication processes from wireless transmission and network control to edge computing enabling the system to sense network conditions and autonomously optimize itself. The result is up to ten times higher transmission efficiency compared with 5G, particularly in ultra-dense network environments where traditional radio systems struggle.
At the heart of the advancement is a neural receiver that replaces conventional statistical signal processing with machine learning models that directly restore wireless signals and detect errors. In millimeter-wave test environments, this approach has shown measurable gains: roughly 18 % better data recovery accuracy, 15 % improved channel prediction, and a 30 % drop in data loss rates underscoring AI’s potential to sharpen wireless link quality where high frequencies and complex propagation conditions challenge legacy systems.
The AI-RAN architecture also tackles multiple network-level functions: adaptive beamforming, power control, interference coordination between base stations, traffic prediction at the edge, and delay minimization capabilities that could make next-generation networks more responsive and reliable for electronics that demand low latency and high throughput.
Beyond performance metrics, ETRI is pushing to embed these technologies into global 6G standards, contributing multiple proposals and patents to the 3GPP international standardization process. Future plans include evolving AI-RAN into a self-evolving RAN, where machine intelligence continually refines network behavior without human oversight.
Industry watchers see such AI-centric radio systems as a key enabler for 6G’s broader ambitions: integrating communication with sensing, computing and automation to support advanced use cases from industrial IoT to immersive augmented reality. The work aligns with global efforts to make AI a native component of 6G architectures, rather than an add-on, and could accelerate the commercialization of smarter wireless networks by the end of this decade.
