SK Telecom and Ericsson have today (March 19) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that will see the two companies work towards an “open” 6G.

As part of the agreement, the South Korean telco and Swedish vendor will work together to prepare for 6G’s arrival, which is tipped for the latter part of this decade.

The MoU is effective until March 2, 2031, and will cover joint R&D trials during this period.

According to SK Telecom, the companies will explore AI-RAN networks in an effort to boost performance, security, and energy efficiency.

The companies will also continue working together on 5G, trying to open up more monetization opportunities for businesses.

The focus around 6G will see SK Telecom and Ericsson pair on 6G standardization and future technologies such as spectrum strategy, extreme MIMO evolution, energy efficiency, and Integrated Sensing and Communication (ISAC).

“Our collaboration with Ericsson will be a core engine propelling the evolution of AI-powered networks, paving the way toward 6G,” says Yu Takki, head of network technology office at SK Telecom.

“Through research focused on global standardization and real-world validation, we aim to secure world-class technological leadership in AI-powered network evolution and 6G.”

Ericsson has set out its vision for 6G in recent weeks, doing so prior to MWC, while outlining the company’s AI-RAN products

The vendor also recently claimed to have completed a successful 6G pre-standard over-the-air (OTA) session at its US HQ in Plano, Texas. Ericsson’s demonstration featured radio hardware, RAN Compute, software-defined air interfaces, and cloud platforms.

“We’re pleased to deepen our partnership with SK Telecom to accelerate AI‑powered RAN, 5G monetization, open autonomous networks, and zero‑trust security — while laying the groundwork for AI‑native 6G,” added Mårten Lerner, head of networks strategy and product management at Ericsson.