PARTNER CONTENT: Industry leaders from across the world gathered in Istanbul for Huawei’s 15th Global Mobile Broadband Forum, with speakers sharing insight under the theme Embrace New Opportunities in the Mobile AI Era and Continuously Realise the Business Value of 5G-Advanced (5G-A).
Huawei Rotating Chair Ken Hu kicked off the two-day event by stating AI has the power to change everything: “Everyone will be able to use it anytime and anywhere, creating new opportunities for the mobile industry.”
To drive this, he said operators need to make their networks stronger by upgrading capabilities, as different applications have different demands for connectivity.
However, he insisted “stronger networks are not enough”, calling for improved synergy with devices and applications. In addition to preparing networks to support AI, the industry can use AI to support networks, he said.
Turkiye’s Deputy Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure Omer Fatih Sayan underscored the vital importance of mobile infrastructure, noting to keep up with change and adapt in the future, the country needs to integrate knowledge, innovation and transformation as the ICT transformation continues.
“Technology provides us with the facilities to extend the boundaries of the natural world.”
5G-A takes mindshare
GSMA CTO Alex Sinclair stated that with 3GPP Release 18 unveiled earlier this year, 5G-A is coming into play and capturing the attention of operators as they search for new revenue streams and greater customer engagement.
He pointed to three areas where 5G-A will push tech boundaries: performance improvements of existing platforms, better management and efficiency, and support for specific use cases, such as edge computing.
Around 300 mobile operators globally have launched 5G services in more than 100 markets, Sinclair added. China accounts for nearly half of worldwide 5G subscribers, or almost 1 billion.
Turning to spectrum, the CTO said everyone in the industry knows to achieve the full potential of 5G and 5G-A will require more spectrum. “On average, countries will need a total of 2GHz of mid-band per market.”
He argued “if we can get this right, we will set the stage for the transition to Industry 4.0 and for our digital economies to really take off”.
CEO of Vodafone Turkiye CEO Engin Aksoy believes it’s time to move forward with 5G in the country, targeting a launch next year.
He said ubiquitous and high-capacity infrastructure is critical to moving to the mobile AI era which has the potential to trigger a new wave of innovation. “5G is really mind-blowing and will change our lives,” he stated.
Aksoy called on the government for a 5G spectrum assignment designed to promote investment.
He cited data from Deloitte predicting productivity gains and investment from 5G will provide a $35 billion boost to the Turkish economy over a 20-year period.
From people to things
Turkcell CEO Ali Taha Koc argued 5G is not merely an upgrade because it takes the industry from a focus on subscribers, or people, to things and brings in intelligence.
He suggested all networks are undergoing a significant transformation in terms of the services they provide and how they define their role; “operators need to be ready for that change”.
The industry is working to unite 5G and AI, with the aim to determine how best to use AI to improve network energy efficiency, Dr Koc said.
Zain Group access director Nassir Jama explained how its work on an intelligent network enabled it to simplify its infrastructure and at the same time reduce latency to offer real-time capabilities.
He said the group is not just building a network, it is creating an intelligence ecosystem. “Our AI resources help us manage energy efficiency and analyse performance data.”
Jama noted Zain’s mission is to develop and run the most simplified and intelligent 5G networks in the world.
Changing manufacturing
Marco Zangani, chief network officer at Vodafone Italia and head of group mobile access engineering, noted AI is a top priority for driving next-gen networks and working to take its AI vision to reality.
The company uses AI to predict traffic and switch off certain sites. “We implemented this because it had an immediate impact on reducing costs, by optimising operations. We are making huge progress in moving to zero-touch operation.”
He added with a soaring number of parameters, complexity in networks is rising. It is working to simplify and keep the complexity under control.
Unitree Robotics co-founder Chen Li wowed the audience with its range of sturdy humanoid and four-legged robots designed for industrial applications.
He said as AI-powered robots become another disruptive product category they will bring huge demand for upstream data traffic. They are proving highly effective in care for the elderly and inspection in hazardous areas.
Humanoid robots, which integrate AI, communications technology, high-end manufacturing and new materials, will change production methods and reshape global industrial development, Chen stated.
ESG goals
CCS Insight’s executive chairman Shaun Collins expects 5G, particularly the new capabilities introduced with 5G-A, to play a big part in helping operators meet their sustainability targets, which have become a high priority. “AI will give that effort some superpowers to be able to deliver their green goals.”
He said operators are starting to move to more interactive, generative-AI type environments.
Collins added whatever comes out of the 5G-AI emergent revolution is going to play a big part in how the industry determines what standards beyond 5G look like.
Li Peng, Corporate Senior Vice President and President of ICT Sales & Service at Huawei, pointed to new forms of interaction supporting a wave of intelligence services which enhance the user experience, driven by the launch of touch-based advancements, such AI glasses and intelligent cockpits.
Huawei also forecasts a major shift in traffic models, with free-flowing transmission of data between cloud, edge and devices, Li said.
Moving forward, to capitalise on mobile AI opportunities, he said operators must boost network capabilities, lowering latency and increasing capacity to support AI workloads, and as networks become more complex, they can use AI to automate and optimise efficiency.