SEOUL, Korea, Mar 18 – SK Telecom (NYSE: SKM, hereinafter referred to as “SKT”) announced that its Recommendation, “Signalling Requirements and Architecture for Artificial Intelligence Data Centers (AIDC),” was officially approved as an international standard at the ITU-T Study Group 11 (SG11) meeting held in Geneva earlier this month.
ITU-T, the Telecommunication Standardization Sector of the International Telecommunication Union, is a leading global body responsible for developing international standards for information and communication technologies, with participation from 190+ member states and 900+ organizations.
With the approval of this standard, a global benchmark for AIDC system interconnection has been established, further strengthening the foundation for the development and operation of AI infrastructure worldwide.
SKT proposed a standardization work item titled “Interconnection Structure and Methods for AI Data Centers” to ITU-T in May 2024, which was approved as a new standardization project. Following related discussions, the final standard was officially approved at the ITU-T SG11 meeting in March 2026.
■ Increasing Complexity of Data Centers with AI Expansion Calls for Interconnection Standards
With the increasing complexity of data center system interconnection architectures driven by the proliferation of AI services, there is a growing need for global standards to define interconnection and signalling requirements for data center operations.
In particular, AIDCs are complex infrastructures that not only handle large-scale computational processing, but also integrate various systems such as power, cooling, storage, security, and resource management. This results in a higher structural complexity compared to conventional data centers.
Amid these changes, the industry has consistently called for global standards that define signalling and interconnection methods among internal AIDC systems.
This newly approved standard organizes the interconnection structure and signalling requirements among internal AIDC systems, providing a global technical benchmark for data center operation and service delivery.
■ Defining AI Data Center Architecture Based on Three Layers: Service, Management, and Infrastructure
The new standard classifies the main functions of AIDCs into a three-layer architecture—Service, Management, and Infrastructure—and systematically defines the roles and functions of each layer, as well as the signalling requirements for interconnection between them.
The Service Layer is responsible for functions such as service-level authentication and authorization, service status monitoring, and overall service management. The Management Layer handles data center-level authentication and authorization, operational management, resource allocation, and cybersecurity. The Infrastructure Layer encompasses the core AI infrastructure, energy systems, and cooling systems that support operations of the data center.
Together, these layers serve as higher-level concepts that organize various components and function blocks, ensuring that the AIDC operates efficiently and securely through clearly defined roles and systematic interconnection.
This can be likened to an airport, where airlines, air traffic control, and runway infrastructure coordinate operations by exchanging signals—similarly, the standard defines how internal systems within an AIDC interoperate organically through signalling.
SKT expects that the approval of this standard will serve as a catalyst for the global adoption of AIDCs by enterprises and organizations.
The company also explained that this achievement was made possible through collaboration with various SK Group affiliates and years of accumulated expertise and technology development in the AI and ICT fields.
“The approval of this standard is significant as it recognizes SKT’s accumulated expertise and operational know-how in AI Data Centers,” said Choi Dong-hee, Head of AI Strategy Planning Office at SK Telecom. “Moving forward, SKT will continue to strengthen its technological competitiveness across AI infrastructure, operations, and services through SK Group’s capabilities and global collaboration, contributing to international standardization and the expansion of the global AI ecosystem.”
