At the recent Mobile World Congress (MWC) held in Las Vegas, industry leaders from the telecommunications sector gathered to discuss the significant impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on their operations. Prominent figures, including Ronnie Vasishta from Nvidia and Shankar Arumugavelu from Verizon, shared insights during a keynote session highlighting how AI is reshaping the telecommunications landscape.
Ronnie Vasishta, Nvidia’s senior vice president of telecom, enthused about the transformational role AI is playing within the telecommunications industry, stating, "AI will revolutionise telecommunications, and telecommunications will revolutionise AI." Vasishta outlined AI's diverse applications such as improving customer care, streamlining network operations management, and enhancing digital assistants.
One of the innovative strategies some telecommunications firms are employing is re-purposing data centres into "AI factories." These facilities provide the essential infrastructure needed to support AI models. Shankar Arumugavelu of Verizon elaborated on this concept by explaining Verizon’s massive data intake, which includes over 70 billion daily data points sourced from more than 30,000 different origins within its ecosystem.
Arumugavelu articulated how Verizon leverages AI across various practices, including network planning and building, delivering unique customer and employee experiences, optimising internal processes, and enhancing operational efficiencies. A notable AI application that Verizon is exploring involves the use of AI computer vision. This technology enables the detailed analysis of images and videos for geospatial intelligence, aiding in the intelligent planning of cell site locations. This approach helps Verizon achieve energy optimisation and allows for predictive maintenance.
Verizon is also innovating in the realm of supply chain management by creating a fully automated digital twin of its supply chain, which enhances inventory monitoring capabilities. Additionally, the company is using AI in workforce planning to adapt proactively to predictive market demands. This involves adjusting staffing levels across distribution channels, managing retail stores, call centres, and determining the optimal locations to deploy field technicians.
In terms of customer service, AI is being integrated to improve the digital customer experience. Verizon employs predictive analytics to identify potential customer needs even before contact is made, allowing for more targeted offers or actions. For more complex support scenarios, Verizon utilises “AI-enabled intelligent agent pairing,” which processes over 300 data points per call to connect customers to the appropriate service representative.
Arumugavelu reported positive outcomes from these AI implementations, noting that approximately 28,000 Verizon representatives have adopted AI tools, resulting in a significant increase in call answerability to 95% and a call answer accuracy rate of 96%.
Concluding the discussion, Vasishta commented on the transformative phase the telecommunications industry has entered regarding AI, highlighting that the focus has shifted from questioning the benefits of AI to exploring how best to leverage its capabilities for continued industry advancement.
Source: Noah Wire Services