AI isn’t a new phenomenon in the telecom sector, but the advent of generative AI (GenAI) has added a dimension to the technology and its applications, unlocking new possibilities for telcos to improve their operations, services, customer experience—even social impact.
Exploring this topic in depth, Mobile World Live hosted a panel discussion: “Should Telcos Fully Get on Board the AI Hype Train?” The panel featured four industry experts:
- Chad Dunavant, EVP, chief product & strategy officer, CSG
- Abhishek Sandhir, managing director, telecommunications, Sand Technologies
- Lasha Tabidze, group digital operations & performance officer, VEON
- Peter Jarich, head of research, GSMA Intelligence
The panel was moderated by Kavit Majithia, managing news editor of Mobile World Live.
If you’re trying to determine where GenAI is helpful or overhyped when it comes to the telco business, you didn’t want to miss this discussion. But if you did, here’s a breakdown—focusing on the opportunities and challenges of AI for telcos, along with the use cases and advice provided by the expert panelists.
THE AI OPPORTUNITY FOR TELCOS
The panel kicked off with an industry overview from GSMA Intelligence’s Peter Jarich, who highlighted the hype and the reality of AI for telcos. He showed some data from GSMA Intelligence research that indicated that while AI is a strategic technology priority for many operators, it is not as high as other technologies such as automation, open networks and 5G. Over a third of respondents in a GSMA Intelligence survey said GenAI was either very or extremely important as a strategic priority. But that ranked GenAI at the bottom of other priorities surveyed; for comparison, open networking technologies like Open RAN were seen as very or extremely important by 79% of respondents.
“They’re still not quite on board that hype train,” Peter said, pointing out that the commercial deployment of GenAI is still low, but the testing and trialing is high. That suggests that operators know the technology is important, but they’re still figuring out how to leverage it effectively.
But there are use cases already yielding benefits, according to the panel. Chad Dunavant gave an example of how CSG uses AI to engage with customers and help them understand their bills, which reduces calls to the contact center, speeds up time to payment and fosters a better customer relationship.
“It was important for us to think about the kinds of data that we have in our possession that we’ve worked with our customers on that we can actually train these models with to drive value,” Chad said.
Lasha Tabidze explained VEON’s vision for AI. The Dutch telecom, he said, seeks to augment the skills and competencies of their customers, rather than just delivering data or digital services.
“We ought to offer to our customers a better version of themselves. … Like creating local language copilots for the communities to create better doctors, better teachers, better parents, even better bankers or better farmers,” Lasha said.
Abhishek Sandhir described how Sand Technologies is working with operators in Africa and Asia to optimize their capex and opex, using AI and ML to find markets and match them with the best technology for ICT service provision. By combining fixed wireless access, fiber to the home, and satellite, telecoms can use AI to produce an ideal mix of last-mile access solutions, taking into account cash flows, revenue generation, income levels and other factors.
AI USE CASES TELCOS CAN APPLY NOW
The panel then discussed some of the specific use cases in different domains and markets. Some of these included:
- Improving customer care and billing by providing personalized and proactive outreach, reducing confusion and churn, and offering easy paths to payment or top-up
- Optimizing network planning and performance by using data and analytics to find the best locations, technologies and designs for network deployment
- Creating and delivering personalized services by using data and generative models to understand customer preferences, needs and behaviors, then offering tailored recommendations, offers and content
- Improving sustainability and social impact by using data and models to reduce energy consumption, expand access and support local development and inclusion
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR AI FOR TELCOS
The panel agreed that AI isn’t just a buzzword or hype, but a necessity for operators, and that it has genuine potential to transform the industry in various ways. They also acknowledged some challenges that need to be overcome, such as data quality and security, ethical and regulatory issues, skill gaps and cultural changes, and cost and ROI calculations.
Some of the advice they gave to the telco operators and the wider industry included:
- Don’t be afraid of change, but start the journey of AI adoption and innovation. Identify the pain points and opportunities, and test and trial different solutions.
- Personalization of the customer experience is a no-brainer starting point. “It’s going to be table stakes for every operator that’s trying to win customer mindshare,” Chad said. “If you’re not doing it at a personal level, customers will find it somewhere else.”
- Don’t work in silos or isolation but collaborate and cooperate with other players in the ecosystem. Share insights and resources and align on the goals of using AI.
- Focus on maintaining the cleanliness of the data you’re using. Understand the ethical and security implications of what you’re trying to do with the AI use case.
The panelists acknowledged that just keeping up with the technology can be a challenge, but also an ongoing opportunity.
“The pace of change with generative AI is just massive,” Chad said. “Something that would take a room of data scientists a couple of years to build is taking months now.”
The experts offered plenty more insights on the opportunities for telecom operators to wield AI. If you missed the AI panel discussion, you can watch the full recording here.
