Predictably, the upcoming six generation (6G) networks demand ultra-massive interconnectivity comprising densely congested sustainable small-to-tiny networks. The conventional radio access network (RAN) will be redesigned to provide the necessary intelligence in all areas to meet required network flexibility, full coverage, and massive access. In this respect, this paper focuses on intelligent massive RAN (mRAN) architecture and key technologies fulfilling the requirements. Particularly, we investigate potential artificial intelligence algorithms for network and resource management issues in 6G mRAN. Furthermore, we summarize the research issues in edge technologies and physical layer intelligence on 6G network architecture. & COPY; 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of The Korean Institute of Communications and Information Sciences. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).