Generative AI (GenAI) is revolutionising various sectors, including telecommunications, by enhancing internal productivity, natural language processing, and automated customer care. This technology is unlocking new business possibilities for communication service providers (CSPs), offering a path to innovative use cases and revenue streams. However, there is often a disparity between the promised capabilities of AI and the reality, where existing services are merely rebranded or given superficial AI features without addressing fundamental issues.
Telcos face significant challenges when it comes to translating marketing ideas for new products or promotions into the required BSS/OSS configurations. This difficulty is compounded by their legacy systems and processes, which inhibit the swift execution that more agile, digital competitors can achieve. As a result, innovative ideas may never be pursued, leading to a loss of market share and increased friction between marketing and technical teams.
While the hype surrounding AI in telecommunications is palpable, its practical applications are still emerging. Our examination of a potential all-AI telco indicates that a complete transformation by GenAI will take time. Nonetheless, integrating AI-powered solutions into BSS/OSS applications presents a substantial opportunity for improvement right now. This integration provides measurable outcomes and tangible benefits, moving beyond mere compliance with buzzwords.
Incorporating GenAI into the development and launch of new products and services is a pragmatic initial step towards broader AI integration within CSPs. This approach not only delivers clear benefits but also mitigates concerns related to data privacy and security. With the rapid evolution of open-source large language models (LLMs), CSPs will soon be able to run private instances, incorporating customer and internal data while maintaining data sovereignty.
GenAI removes the dependency on IT and technical teams, streamlining the product creation process. By empowering business users to control the product lifecycle, GenAI enables them to build and configure new offerings more efficiently, accelerating time-to-market and enhancing the overall user experience.
Cerillion plc (LON:CER) is a leading provider of billing, charging and customer management systems with more than 20 years’ experience delivering its solutions across a broad range of industries including the telecommunications, finance, utilities and transportation sectors.
