By Sandeep Arora
Artificial intelligence remains one of the most influential technologies of our time, infusing machines with intelligence and making day-to-day life smarter. Telecom operators, already progressing with AI implementation into their operations, are exploring ways to enable society with machine intelligence through advanced products, platforms, and services.
AI, along with cloud and ML, will be one of the top investment priorities for communication service providers in the next few years. Moreover, the advent of 6G will further accelerate AI innovation. 6G is likely to be an AI-native generation of connectivity with intelligent and self-adaptive capabilities deeply ingrained into its architecture. This is a step up over 5G, which is considered a cloud-native generation having cloud and automation as an intrinsic part of the design. However, telcos aren’t going solo on their AI journey. With mature digital infrastructure and advancements in AI, there now exists a thriving ecosystem of hyperscalers, and technology vendors for telcos to achieve their AI-transformation goals.
AI imperative for telcos
Telcos now use data-driven automation, the core of their digital transformation programmes. While automation ensures efficient operations, AI-enabled operational transformation aims to take employee productivity to the next level. Telcos are finding some of the most compelling use cases of AI in network optimisation and predictive maintenance, analysis of customer usage patterns, and fault detection. Generative AI is making the process of software development simpler and efficient for telcos. Early pilots suggest that gen AI can save time on code generation by performing tasks such as writing test cases and application programming interface (API) documentation.
AI-driven growth
Over the last 10 years, AI has become integral to telco software stacks, with players committing to advanced AI development. In January 2024, Jio Platforms launched ‘Jio Brain’, a 5G-integrated ML platform enabling enterprises to integrate ML into their daily operations. With 500 APIs, it enables the development of ML-enabled services and advanced AI features to process images, speech and documents.
AI powerhouses
Telcos have historically ventured into adjacent fields like data and AI through acquisitions or dedicated subsidiaries, but scaling these strategies has not been easy. Learning from data and AI-driven companies, a comprehensive approach is essential. Telcos of the future need to carve out a renewed approach for AI-enabled everything — supply chains, operations, products and services, and organisational structures. The time is right for them to accelerate their AI transformation and strengthen the ability embrace new business models, ensuring long-term success in this evolving industry.
The author is VP and industry platform leader, telecom, India, Capgemini
