电信AI市场现状2024年第四季度 Telco AI State of the Market,Q4 2024 Progress and the return-on-investment question

G与A

TelcoAI:

StateoftheMarket,Q42024

Progressandthereturn-on-investmentquestion

January2025@GSMAi

©2025GSMAIntelligence

GSMA

TheGSMAisaglobalorganisationunifyingthemobileecosystemto

discover,developanddeliverinnovationfoundationaltopositivebusinessenvironmentsandsocietalchange.Ourvisionistounlockthefullpowerofconnectivitysothatpeople,industry,andsocietythrive.Representingmobileoperatorsandorganisationsacrossthemobileecosystemand

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broadpillars:ConnectivityforGood,IndustryServicesandSolutions,andOutreach.Thisactivityincludesadvancingpolicy,tacklingtoday’sbiggestsocietalchallenges,underpinningthetechnologyandinteroperabilitythatmakemobilework,andprovidingtheworld’slargestplatformtoconvenethemobileecosystemattheMWCandM360seriesofevents.

Weinviteyoutofindoutmoreat

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Authors

PeterJarich

HeadofResearchandConsulting

HeadofGSMAIntelligence

SayaliBorole

SeniorAnalyst

TimHatt

GSMAIntelligenceisthedefinitivesourceofglobalmobileoperatordata,analysisandforecasts,andpublisherofauthoritativeindustryreportsandresearch.Ourdatacoverseveryoperatorgroup,networkandMVNOin

everycountryworldwide–fromAfghanistantoZimbabwe.Itisthemostaccurateandcompletesetofindustrymetricsavailable,comprisingtensofmillionsofindividualdatapoints,updateddaily.

GSMAIntelligenceisreliedonbyleadingoperators,vendors,regulators,financialinstitutionsandthird-partyindustryplayers,tosupportstrategicdecision-makingandlong-terminvestmentplanning.Thedataisusedasanindustryreferencepointandisfrequentlycitedbythemediaandbytheindustryitself.

Ourteamofanalystsandexpertsproduceregularthought-leadingresearchreportsacrossarangeofindustrytopics.

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©2025GSMAIntelligence2

Capturing

AI’struevalue

JeanineVos

HeadofSDGAcceleratorG&RA,GSMA

Artificialintelligenceisreshapingtelecomsoperationsworldwide,offeringamixofopportunitiesandcomplexchallenges.This

reportassessesoperatorprogresswithharnessingAI’scapabilities,incorporatesinsightsfromtheGlobalAIBenchmarkSurvey,and

exploresAI’stransformativeimpact.

ConsideringthesignificantinvestmentsinAI,understandinghowto

effectivelymeasurereturnsisparamounttoensuresustainablevaluecreation.Whilefinancialreturnsremainacriticalmetric,theyprovideaone-sidedview.ItisessentialtoincludeotherfactorstoevaluateandcaptureAI’struevalue.

Thisreportthereforehighlightstheimportanceofmeasuringthereturnon

AIinvestmentsthroughabroaderapproach.Thisincludesfactorssuchas

businessoperations,workforceskillsandethics(includingenvironmental

impacts).MeasuringAI’simpactoverthelongtermrequiresadynamic

perspective,consideringthesystem-widechangesAIfosterswithintelecomsorganisationsandbeyond.

ForGSMAmembersandindustryleaders,wehopethisreportoffers

valuableinsightsintohowtointegrateAIwithstrategicprecision,buildacultureofinnovationandgraspthetransformativeimpactAIholdsforthefutureoftelecoms.

©2025GSMAIntelligence3

GSMA

Intelligence

Abouttheseries

Abouttheseries

Thisisthethirdinafour-partseriesonAIstrategyintelecoms.ThiseditionexaminesthecurrentAItransformationintheindustry,highlightingprogressandkeyareasforimprovement,withstrategic

TelcoAI:StateoftheMarketquarterlyseries:researchapproach

insightsandactionabletakeaways.ItalsodiscussesmethodstomeasuretheimpactofAItransformation.

Intandemwiththereportseries,

GSMAIntelligencehasdevelopedan

AIbenchmarktotrackAIuseand

implementationinthetelecomssector.

Leaderprofiles

•CasestudiesoftelcoAIinaction

•Understandingbest

practiceforthesector

Marketcontext

•Arecapofcritical

industrydevelopmentsandimplications

•Puttingindustryprogressincontext,alongwithAIandsecuritysynergies

Deepdives

•Deepdivesintokeytopics

•AIdataandsystems

•energyefficiency

•strategyandculture

•networkstrategy

©2025GSMAIntelligence4

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Executivesummary

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02Marketcontext

Executivesummary

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Leaderprofiles:

telcoAIinaction

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Deepdive:

AIbenchmark

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howtothinkaboutRoI?

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Deepdive:

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summary

Executive

Summary

Measuringreturns

Withmostoperatorsdedicating5–15%oftheirdigitalbudgettoAI,investmentsinAIspanarangeofcategories–LLMs

anddatasystemsthroughtoinfrastructureupgrades.Thisreflectsthesystem-widerequirementstoeffectbusiness

transformation,whichmeansthewayofmeasuringsuccesscanbecomplicated.Traditionalfinancialreturnmeasures

arevalidbutthesecannotbetheonlycomponentofRoI.Otherwise,muchoftheimpactwouldnotbecaptured.

01

02

03

04

05

Commit,alignandact

Astrategy-drivenapproachtoAIiscentralforoperators,with65%establishingAIstrategieseitherasstandaloneinitiativesorintegratedintooverallobjectives.Thereisgeographicvariationinstrategiesandapproaches,butresponsibleAIpractices

arewidelyprioritised.Nearlyaquarterofoperatorsarealso

developingnewgovernanceframeworks,whileothersleverageexistingstructurestoguideethical/responsibleAIuse.

MaturingAIadoption

LeadingoperatorsinAIhaveonaverageadoptedAIacross

Holisticmeasure

AmorehelpfulwaytothinkaboutRoIwithAIisto

breakitdownintoindividualpillars–financial,businesstransformation,people&skillsandethics&compliance.ThesereflectwheremeasurablechangeisexpectedinbusinessperformanceandoutcomesasaresultofAI

investmentsandimplementation.UnlikestaticquarterlyKPIs,AI’sbenefitsunfolddynamically,potentiallyovera5–10-yeartimeframe.Tohelpaccountforthis,theweightofdifferent

pillarsmaychangeovertimedependingonanoperator’s

9outof13criticaldomains(networkoperations,customer

service,generatingnewrevenuestreamsetc).However,the

scopeofAIdeploymentisbroad.Nearlyhalfofoperatorsarestillintheearlystages,exploringusecasesorrunningpilots.AIdeploymentapproachesalsovarybymaturity;whilesomeoperatorsuseoff-the-shelfsolutions,morethanaquarteroptforco-developingAIwithpartnerstobetteralignAIsolutionswithuniquebusinessneeds.

Growingpains

corporatestrategyandstageofmaturity.RoIbecomesa

holisticmeasuretoreflectthewidespreadimpactitwillhaveontheoperatorbusiness.

Operatorsareinvestingininfrastructurereadiness,buildingskilledworkforcesandfosteringdata-drivenculturesto

supportAIinitiatives.However,cybersecurityrisks,data

privacy,infrastructurelimitationsandtalentshortagesremainconcerns.Whilenearly40%ofoperatorsreportstrongAI

talentresources,manystillstrugglewithhiringandretainingskilledprofessionals,underscoringtheneedforcontinuoustalentdevelopmentprogrammes.

©2025GSMAIntelligence6

summary

Executive

AIinnumbers

65%

Percentageof

surveyedoperators

thathaveimplementedanAIstrategy–asa

standaloneinitiativeorintegratedinto

broaderobjectives.

Whileoperatorsglobally

havedifferentapproaches

andstrategiesforleveraging

AI,implementingit

responsiblyremainsthepriorityformost.

85%

Percentageof

operatorssurveyed

thatbelievedistributeddenial-of-service

(DDoS)attacksaresettobecomemorecommon.

Withtherapidtechnologicaltransformationanduse

ofAIcomesanincreased

threatofcyberattacks,

especiallyphishing/smishing,ransomwareandsupply-

chainattacks.

68%

Percentageof

operatorsthatconsider‘productivitygain’as

aprimarymetrictoassesssuccessofAIinitiatives.

Productivitygainismeasuredasapercentageofthetimesavedcomparedtothetimepreviouslyspent.Closely

followedbycostsavings,

thesemetricshighlight

operators’focusonefficiencyandcost-effectivenessas

theyassessAI’stangibleimpactonoperations.

40%

Percentageof

operatorsthatrated

a‘securebydesign’

approachasoneofthethreeareasthathad

thegreatestimpactinsecurityandtelecomsnetworksoverthelastthreeyears.

Threatintelligencesharingisviewedasmostimportantnowandinthefuture,

followedbyimprovingsecurityculture.

©2025GSMAIntelligence7

Executivesummary

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Marketcontext

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02

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02Marketcontext

Leaderprofiles:

telcoAIinaction

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Deepdive:

AIbenchmark

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Deepdive:

howtothinkaboutRoI?

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©2025GSMAIntelligence8

GSMA

IntelligenceMarketcontext

Recentdevelopments:newsflow

Softbank

and

T-Mobile

pushintoAIRAN

innovation

Inseparateannouncements,theoperatorsannounced

newresearcheffortsfocusedonRAN-AIconvergenceandtheimpactofAIonRAN

architectures.BothincludedworkwithEricsson,while

T-MobilealsoengagedNokiaandNvidia.

e&doublesdownon

autonomousnetworks

andresponsibleAI

Inabroadsetofnewsfrom

Gitexcovering5G,drones,and

nationalsecurity,e&signedan

MoUwithEricssontoexploreAI’ssupportfornetworkinnovationandautomation,withanodto

responsibleAIdeployment.

SKTintroduces

company-wideAIcode

ofconduct

Providingguidancetoits

staff,theoperatorreleased

acodeofconductdetailing

AIgovernanceprinciples

centeredonprovidingsafeandtrustworthyservices,ensuringnon-biasedAIoperationand

applicationofethicalvalues.

Vodafonegoesbigwith

GoogleoncloudandAI

KTplansfortakingAI

totheenterprisewith

Microsoft

Operator-led

Ina10-yeardealworthmore

than$1billion,Vodafone

extendedexistingworkwith

GoogletooffersubscriptionstoGoogleAIserviceswhile

usingGoogleCloud’sVertexAItobuildAI/MLapplicationstosupportproductdevelopment.

MicrosoftandKTsigneda

partnershipfocusedonLLM

andSLMdevelopmentfortheSouthKoreanmarket,alongsideasecurepubliccloudlaunch

andbusinesslaunchthatwilltakecloudandAIsolutionstotheenterprisemarket.

Oct2024Oct2024

Oct2024

Sep2024Sep/Oct2024

OraclepushesMalaysia

asAIandcloudhub

OpenAIlands$6.6

billioninvestment

TheUSAIresearchorganisation–andChatGPTdeveloper–

closeda$6.6billionfunding

round,daysafterreportsofa

plantorestructureintoafor-

profitcompany,whichwould

removelimitsonreturnspaidtoinvestorsandemployees.

QualcommpushesAIinnew

device

and

network

chips

Inseparateannouncements,

thechipfirmlaunchedthe

Snapdragon8Elite(“the

world’sfastestmobilesystemonachip”)andNetworkingProA7Elite(aWi-Fi7platform).

On-deviceandedgeAI

supportfeatureheavilyinbothsolutions.

GoogleAIOpportunities

fundtargetsgovernment

training

Google’sphilanthropicarm

announcedplanstoprovide$10milliontotheUSCenterforFederalAIand$5milliontoInnovateUSaspartofits

$75AIOpportunitiesFund.

Bothgroupsprovidetrainingandeducationtogovernmentworkers.

Dellmakesecosystem

playtosupport

distributedAI

Ecosystem-led

Representingthe12thAPAC

“cloudregion”forOracle,theplanned$6.5billionmove

willbringaccessto150+

Oracleinfrastructureand

softwareproducts,including

genAIagentsandtheOCI

superclusterbilledbyOracleasanAIsupercomputer.

Dell’sAIforTelecom

programnmewaslaunched

–a“curatedecosystem”of

partnersandDellassetsaimedathelpingoperatorsdeployAIapplicationseffectivelyacrosstheirnetworkswithservers

scalingfromcoretoedge.

Sep2024Oct2024Oct2024Oct2024Oct2024

Source:GSMAIntelligenceandMobileWorldLive,basedoncompanyannouncements

©2025GSMAIntelligence9

GSMA

Intelligence

Marketcontext

AIinthenews:messagesfromMWCLasVegas

GSMAeventsinOctober2024–M360APACheldinSeoulandMWCLasVegaswereopportunitiesforoperatorsandthemobileecosystemtoconvene,connectandshareindustryviews.AIfactoredstronglyinthemessagesfromeach,addingcontextandemphasistotheAInewsfromtheindustry.

AIfornetworks;networksforAI

ThedynamicofAIinsupportofnetworkoperationsversusnetworksneedingtosupportAIworkloadscontinuestobetopofmind.

MWCLasVegasannouncements

includingAI-poweredcriticalcommunicationsandsolutionsforedgeAIinferencingreflectthis.

MWCLasVegasandtheM360APACaddednuanceontwofronts:

•APIs.Withincreasedfocusonexposingnetworkcapabilities,thereisaroleforAIinsupportingdevelopers.

•AI-readynetworks.PriortosupportingAIforend-users,operatornetworksneedtobereadytohandletheseworkloads,buttheinvestmentrequiredisunclearsincenonetworkshavebeenbuilttosupportAInatively.

InternalversusexternalAI

AIdeploymentRoIcouldderivefromnewbusinessefficienciesornewservicecreation.Thelatter,drivingtop-linegrowth,isakeygoalformostoperators’AIstrategies.

Beyondalackoftelco-ledB2BAIusecases,MWCLasVegashaslargelyfallenshortintoprovideaconcreteimageofexternallyfocusedtelcoAIbeyondcustomercare,despitereferencesto“differentiatedcustomerexperiences”.

Probedontheseemingpaucityofcustomer-facingAIusecasesthatwerenotfocusedoncareandchatbots,severalexecutiveshighlightedconcernsaboutAImaturityandtelcorisktolerance;issueswithinternallydeployedusecaseswouldbelesspublicandposelessrisk.

VerticalsandthehuntforAIRoI

Whilecompanies(includingoperators)grapplewiththepaceofAIinnovation,turningthatinnovationintoRoIiskeytodrivingdeployment.RepeatedoftenwastherealitythatoperatorsneedtobegintheirAIjourneysifonlytobuildabasicunderstandingofpotentialusecasesandrequirements.

MWCLasVegaskeynotesandsessions(includingthe

GSMAIntelligenceTelcoAISummit

)highlighteddiverseusecasesforimprovingoperatorandenterpriseverticaloperationsandagility.

AviewintohowoperatorscouldleverageAIinsupportoftheirB2Brevenueaspirationswaslargelylacking,beyondsupplyingAI-readyconnectivity.

©2025GSMAIntelligence10

GSMA

Intelligence

Marketcontext

AIinthenews:implications

AstheAIlandscapecontinuestoevolve,thesheervolumeofnewdevelopmentsandinnovationsinevitablyleadstoadiverse(potentiallyconfusing)setofmarketmessages.ThelandscapeforAIintelecomsisnodifferent,butseveralkeythemesarisefromrecentevents.

NetworksforAI:workinprogress

WhiletheuseofAIfornetworkoptimisationhassolidmomentum(recentlywithnewAIRANR&Defforts),developingnetworksdesignedtosupportAIworkloadsisarelativelynewconcept.

IfnetworksaretobeanAIasset,operatorswillneedtothinkmoreabouttheircapabilitiesversusAIdemands,asflaggedbybothSamsungandGSMAIntelligenceresearchsuggestinganoverlyoptimisticviewofAI-readiness.

ExternalisedAI:

operatorassell-through?

Theoperatorfocusondeliveringexternal-facingAIusecasesisunderstandable.Soisareticencearoundexposingcustomerstonewtechnologythatcouldleadtoreputationaldamage.

Vodafone’sworkwithGoogleandKT’sworkwithMicrosofthighlightapotentialstrategywhereAImonetisationderivesfrom

sellingtheproductsofAIspecialists–ideallybundledwithconnectivity.Thiswouldmirrorotherservicesell-throughstrategiesbutwouldalsorequiretherightconnectivityassets.

AIinnovation:howwilloperatorsleverageIt?

Fuelledbymassiveinvestments,thepaceofAIinnovationwillnotslowdownsoon.BeyondnewLLMandSLMdevelopment,distributedAI(edgeandon-device)andAIagentsaregainingincreasedattention.

Howwilloperatorsmakeuseoftheseinnovations?GSMAIntelligenceresearchsuggestsathirdofoperatorshavewidely

deployedAI,butthatleavesmanywhoarestillinadiscoveryphaseandcouldmissoutonthebenefitsofAIinnovationunlesstheyrapidlyupskill.

ResponsibleAI:

morethanlipservice?

Theterm“responsibleAI”appearedinmanyrecentAIlaunchesandcommitments,signalinganunderstandingoftheneedtoputAIgovernanceandethicsfrontandcentreofstrategydesign.

TheMWCLasVegaskeynotefromSalesforce’sChiefEthicalandHumaneUseOfficerwasinstructive,centeredonagenticAIratherthanAIethics.Thisservedasareminderthat“responsibleAI”and“AIethics”meandifferentthingsacrossdiverseorganisations.ItalsohighlightsthevalueoftoolssuchastheGSMA’s

ResponsibleAIMaturityRoadmap

.

©2025GSMAIntelligence11

GSMA

Intelligence

Marketcontext

AIamplifiesthreats

ThesecondreportofthisseriesexploredhowAIcanhelpmanageriskbutalsointroducerisk.HerewespecificallyconsiderthewaysAIcanamplifyrisk,posingthreatstonetworkinfrastructure,customerdataandAI-drivenservices.Tomitigatetheserisks,operatorsmuststayvigilantandadoptadvancedstrategiesagainstattacks.

AI-enabledsecuritythreats

TheintegrationofAIbringsuniquechallenges,

creatingopportunitiesforsophisticatedcyber

threatsthatgobeyondtraditionaldefences.

Thisincludesdatapoisoning–promptinjection

attackswhereanattackercreatesaninput

designedtomakethemodelbehaveinan

unintendedway.Additionally,scamsempoweredbygenAI,identificationofnewattacktypesusingAI,andsyntheticidentityfraudsuchasdeepfakesfurthercomplicatethecybersecuritylandscape.

Riskstoinfrastructureandreputation

Thesethreatsposesignificantriskstonetworkinfrastructure,systemsordatawiththe

intenttosteal,damageordisruptoperations.

Cybersecuritythreatsrangefromsimplevirusesandphishingattackstocomplexintrusions

andransomwaretargetingcriticalsystems.Formobileoperators,cybersecuritythreatscan

jeopardisetheintegrityofnetworks,expose

sensitivecustomerdata,andcausesignificantfinancialandreputationaldamage.Giventhe

scaleandimportanceofmobilenetworks,thesethreatshavefar-reachingconsequences.

Mobilenetworksanddevicesfacethehighestthreatlevel

Consideringthecurrentcybersecuritylandscapeof2024inyourprimarycountryofoperation,howwouldyouratetheoverallthreatlevelacrossthefollowingproductsandservices?

Percentageofoperatorsratinghighorveryhigh.

92%

27%

57%

8

87%

5%

Mobilenetworks

Mobiledevices

IoTdevices

Clouddatacentres

Edgecompute

24%

Fixedlinenetworks

0%20%40%60%80%100%

Source:GSMANetworkSecurityStrategySurvey2024

©2025GSMAIntelligence12

GSMA

Intelligence

Marketcontext

Adaptingtothecomplexityofcybersecuritychallenges

Nearly50%ofoperatorssurveyedconsidercybersecurityconcernstobethebiggestbarriertoachievingAIgoals.

Complexcybersecuritythreat

Thelandscapeforcybersecuritythreatstooperatorsiscomplexandevolvingrapidly.Newtechnologiesandtechniquesarecontinuouslybeingemployedbymaliciousactors.Operatorsencounterestablishedvectorssuchasransomware,malwareanddistributeddenial-of-service(DDoS)attacks,alongsidemore

nuancedtacticssuchas‘livingofftheland’and‘lonewolf’attacks.

Thetopthreatstomobilenetworks

Amongthesethreats,phishing/smishingrankshighest,with88%ofoperatorsidentifyingitastheprimaryconcern.

SecurityofAIservicesisstilldeveloping

Ascyberattackscaninflictseveredamage(includingreputationalharmandfinancial/customerloss),itiscrucialforoperatorstounderstand,monitorandcountertheevolvingthreats.ThesecurityofAIandmachinelearning(ML)

servicesisstilldevelopinganddependsonimplementingasetofsecurityactivities:securebydesign,securedevelopment,securedeployment,andsecureoperationandmaintenance.

Topfivemajorthreatsinthecybersecuritylandscape

Consideringthe2024cybersecuritythreatlandscape,rankthetopfivemajorthreatsimpactingmobilenetworksinyourprimarycountryof

operation.Percentageofoperatorsratingastopthree

88%

78%

57%

51%

9%

Phishing/Smishing

RansomwareSignalling&

interconnectattacks

Supplychainattacks

Attackson

virtualised

infrastructure

Source:GSMANetworkSecurityStrategySurvey2024

©2025GSMAIntelligence13

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Executivesummary

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Marketcontext

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Leaderprofiles:telcoAIinaction

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Deepdive:

AIbenchmark

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howtothinkaboutRoI?

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Deepdive:

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Leaderprofiles:telcoAIinaction

©2025GSMAIntelligence