It’s fair to say AI has set the world alight with excitement as imagination’s run wild with endless possibilities of uses and products.
No longer a technology that is just over the horizon, it’s here now and developing every day at an exponential rate. Ironically, with so much possibility, it can be difficult to know where to begin when describing just what its place will be in the telco of the future. So where do you start?
This report, sponsored by GMS and written by leading telecoms analyst, Chris Lewis, provides a real framework for understanding AI’s practical use and outlets in the world of telecoms.
It is a culmination of many diverse views gathered during discussions with telco CTOs, CIOs, Chief AI Officers, Chief Digital Officers, Academics and the people driving AI from the supply side both in traditional suppliers to the telecoms industry but also from the swathe of new, innovative companies bringing AI expertise to life.
AI will impact every aspect of the industry, so it is critical to understand the lens through which people are talking about it. If you want to not be left behind and start begin implementing AI to improve your businesses here and now, then this report is a must read.
Key Takeaways
Checks and Balances
Checks and balances provided by people will be necessary in all AI implementations to avoid the pitfalls of AI systems ‘making answers up’ when no relative data is available (hallucination)
Looking Outwards
One thing is for certain, focusing inwardly on the workings of the network is not enough. Focusing on what customers are trying to do with connectivity and how AI can enhance that should be the start point.
The Data Issue
The value of the AI and GenAI output is only as good as the quality and integrity of the data set upon which it is acting. Telecoms has been notoriously poor at breaking down silos between different areas of the business and building the ‘one truth’ about operational and customer activity. So, before venturing into the wild world of AI, telcos have got to sort out their data issues.
Reducing Operational Costs
At the operational level, AI builds on machine learning and delivers services into the telco at scale, reducing trouble ticketing, improving processes and workflows and gradually building more closed loop automation.
Short Term Gains
Cost savings and driving efficiency into the operational side of the business, is going to be the short term return for the investment in AI. Long term revenue uplift and profitability is only going to be evident as the models get better and the organisation deploys its AI components to contribute to the good of the whole.
Long Term Potential
As a stretch goal, the potential of AI is to build a form of Metaverse with both network and operational abstractions to have a clear vision of the massively complex moving parts but also to match more closely to the demands of the consumers, businesses and society and what is required to support the economy.
“The concept of digital transformation from previous years encompasses improving customer experiences through technology. What AI brings to the table—and particularly Generative AI and Conversational AI—is hyper-customization and a leap beyond the foundational goals of digital transformation.”
Marina PetrovaHead of GenAI at GMS
