Chief Executive Officer of LG Uplus, Bumshik Hong, delivers a speech during the opening ceremony of the 20th edition of the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, Spain, 02 March 2026. Mobile World Congress 2026 runs from 02 to 05 March. Photo by Alberto Estevez / EPA
March 3 (Asia Today) — South Korea’s three major telecom operators laid out competing but converging visions for the artificial intelligence era at the Mobile World Congress in Spain, redefining themselves not as simple network providers but as designers of AI infrastructure.
At MWC 2026, themed “IQ Era,” executives from SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus emphasized that telecommunications networks will serve as the core platform enabling AI ecosystems.
LG Uplus: Human-centered AI
Hong Beom-sik, chief executive of LG Uplus, took the stage as the only Korean telecom CEO to deliver an opening keynote at MWC 2026. He introduced a voice-based AI call agent, “ixi-O,” positioning it as a human-centered interface in an age crowded with AI devices and services.
Hong said voice will remain the most intuitive and human interface. The company combines on-device AI with large language model technology to balance privacy protection and personalized user experiences. He called for global cooperation to establish common standards for voice-based AI services.
SK Telecom: Sovereign AI package
SK Telecom framed telecom operators as “designers and drivers” of AI infrastructure. CEO Jung Jae-heon unveiled a “Sovereign AI Package” strategy integrating AI data centers, a proprietary AI model known as A.X K1 and industry-focused AI services.
The approach aims to build domestically controlled infrastructure that integrates foundation models and industrial services, strengthening data sovereignty while supporting industrial innovation. During MWC, SK Telecom met with telecom operators from Europe, the Middle East and Asia to expand what it described as an AI cooperation belt across regions.
KT: 6G as integrated AI infrastructure
KT presented its vision for 6G as an integrated infrastructure capable of ensuring stable AI operations. The company described 6G competition not as a race over individual technologies but as a contest in integrated architecture combining AI, satellite, optical networks, security and operations.
KT said it plans to apply AI to network management while guaranteeing the ultra-low latency and high reliability required by AI services. It outlined concepts including three-dimensional coverage across land, sea and air, network slicing, photonic-based end-to-end ultra-low latency structures, quantum-safe security and autonomous networks.
From carrier to orchestrator
Across their presentations, the three telecom leaders delivered a shared message: in the AI era, telecom companies must evolve from data carriers into infrastructure orchestrators that design and operate the entire ecosystem.
Their blueprints also reflect a broader industry shift. Amid recent security and network stability concerns, executives suggested that the next phase of AI competition will hinge less on speed alone and more on reliability, control and integrated system design.
— Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI
© Asia Today. Unauthorized reproduction or redistribution prohibited.
Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260304010000736