How Cellular Networks are Embracing AI

Mobile phones are becoming smarter and smarter, but what about the communications networks they run on?

The technology, called Apple Intelligence, will also be integrated into the Siri chatbot on the phone, aiming to make using the phone easier and quicker — and turn Siri into more of a personal assistant.

This follows Samsung's Galaxy AI and Google's Gemini AI for Pixel devices.

Increased use of AI means phones do more computing, which means they generate and use more data, putting further strain on mobile phone networks such as O2, EE, Vodafone and Three in the UK.

To combat this, telcos are increasingly adopting AI, says Ian Fogg, director of network innovation at research consultancy CCS Insight.

“Network operators can use AI to dynamically manage radio frequencies to provide optimal levels of service. They can also manage cell towers, for example, to reduce energy consumption during times of low demand.”

The use of AI to monitor mobile phone networks is now spreading around the world: In South Korea, Korea Telecom is using AI to monitor its network, helping it identify and fix faults within a minute, says Alex Sinclair, chief technology officer at GSMA, the trade group that represents the world's mobile phone operators.

Meanwhile, AT&T in the US is using predictive AI algorithms that have been trained on trillions of past network alerts to warn of problems before they occur.

Other operators, such as Vodafone, are using AI digital twins – virtual digital replicas of real-world equipment such as antennas and masts – to constantly monitor the performance of their networks.

AI is also being used to manage the energy that increasingly large data centers use to cool servers and optimize storage capacity.

The explosion of data generated by the increased use of AI is another reason why telecommunications companies around the world continue to invest in so-called 5G standalone mobile networks, which use new, dedicated 5G infrastructure rather than relying in part on upgrading older, less efficient 4G systems.

5G standalone offers much higher speeds and capacity, but some experts believe that even this high-spec technology will not be enough to keep up with the demands of the AI ​​era.

For example, at this year's Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, ​​some experts argued that AI's full potential won't be realized until the introduction of 6G in 2028.

Mobile customers tend to only notice when there are network issues, but they will be more aware of poor customer service as it can cause huge damage to your brand’s reputation.

Therefore, the industry is hopeful that AI will dramatically improve the way they interact with and serve customers.

For example, the Global Telco AI Alliance, a joint venture between Deutsche Telekom, e&S, SingTel, SoftBank and SK Telecom with 1.3 billion customers across 50 countries, aims to develop AI chatbots tailored to the telecommunications industry and the types of questions customers typically ask.

The alliance's founders hope that the specially trained chatbots will be able to handle the most basic customer inquiries, freeing up call center staff to focus on more complex cases.

Meanwhile, Vodafone is working to improve customer service, led by its digital assistant Tobi, which interacts with more than 40 million customers every month in 13 countries and 15 languages.

When Tobi can answer customer questions without the need for human intervention, complaints will be fewer, improving profits and the company’s reputation.

“We see AI primarily as a 'virtual assistant' for humans,” says Scott Petty, Vodafone's chief technology officer, “and we're already seeing how AI is freeing up Vodafone employees' time from tedious, repetitive, manual tasks, allowing them to focus on more creative activities that benefit our customers and the environment.”

AI also frees up customer agents to take on more complex cases, he argues. Vodafone also says Azure OpenAI is making it easier for customers to find what they're looking for on its website, with early results showing a doubling of online customer journey completions and a 10% reduction in follow-up calls.

While many commentators fear AI could lead to mass job losses in the telecoms industry as repetitive tasks are automated by software, the GSMA's Sinclair believes AI could actually be empowering, especially in lower-income countries.

“AI will give emerging markets the specialized tools to catch up,” he argues. “We're in favor of democratizing AI, instead of it being just available to the wealthy.”

He believes the pessimism about AI has gone too far and takes a more optimistic tone.

Ian Fogg of CCS Insight agrees that AI has been around for a few years and has been used for specific purposes. [telecoms] But now it's being applied to so many more areas – networks, devices, software – and it has the potential to make all the tools we use today even better.

“AI has the potential to make networks greener and the world a more efficient place.”