AI IN TELCO
To succeed in the rapidly approaching future, telecom leaders must act now. The first step is a crucial change in perspective.“ It is time to stop thinking of 5G as just a faster pipe and start thinking of it as a business platform,” says Shashank.“ Success will depend on how well telcos can integrate across network, industry and data layers.”
Increasingly autonomous systems will power the future. We are moving beyond AI that provides analysis to agentic AI, intelligent agents that can make decisions and act upon insights without direct human intervention. Imagine network optimisation agents that autonomously re-route traffic to maintain service quality during a major outage, or customer service agents that proactively identify potential network issues for specific users, diagnose the problems and provide personalised resolutions.
Building the new value equation Ultimately, machine learning provides telecommunications operators with tools to move beyond their traditional roles. It enables them to optimise core operations, mitigate risks like fraud and customer churn and, most importantly, create new revenue streams through intelligent, vertical-specific services.
The new approach is captured perfectly by Geoffrey Hinton, one the“ godfathers” of deep learning, who explains:“ The idea is to use lots and lots of data to program computers, rather than programmers.” For operators, it means their vast reserves of network and customer data are now their most valuable assets for innovation.
Realising the potential often involves strategic partnerships with experts who possess both deep industry knowledge and a proven ability to deploy enterprise-grade AI at scale. As the new chapter unfolds, the goal is not merely to implement technology but, as Hitachi Digital’ s Shashank Volety concludes, to“ co-create new business models that unlock real, sustainable value.”
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