Telecom Providers See AI as the Secret Sauce for CX

AI Can Help Companies Detect Customer Upsell Potential, Which, in Turn, Can Help Justify the Technology Investment

[the_ad_placement id="news-telecom-top"]

Telecom operators around the world are laser-focused on upgrading their wireless networks from 4G to 5G so they can deliver faster network speeds with less delay and accommodate all types of new applications, from cloud gaming to streaming video. However, the move from 4G to 5G creates more demands on the network and adds many more layers of complexity. For example, telecom operators now are not just providing wireless connectivity, they also offer TV and home networking services, and even assist customers with device setup.  All of this means that customer care programs must be more sophisticated so customer issues can be diagnosed and solved.  And the only way to handle that additional complexity is through automation and artificial intelligence (AI).

Dash Research’s recent report on CX in the Telecommunications Industry found that many telecom providers are using automation (driven by machine learning [ML] or other AI technologies) to handle more complex tasks so that network engineers can focus on network issues. For example, AI-driven automated network management tools can be used to handle administrative tasks, such as order processing and invoicing, and can also be used for more complex processes, such as customer onboarding and offboarding.

“The complexity of networks is growing,” said Thomas Kinnman, head of AI & automation development with Ericsson’s managed services business area, adding that this also means that the network is producing a lot more data about subscribers and all that data needs to be managed.  That is why AI becomes such an important part of CX. “Everything in AI is about data. You have to have a good data management strategy as a telco,” Kinnman said.

But some telcos are better at handling AI than others. For example, Ericsson emphasizes the importance of having a data management strategy throughout all parts of the network, as opposed to siloed solutions that do not communicate across the network. “You see a lot of niche players,” Kinnman said, referring to companies that offer AI-based solutions, but only for one area, such as in the radio access network (RAN) or customer care department. But those niche solutions do not usually communicate with the rest of the network. “You really need an end-to-end solution to leverage the data and understand how this is working,” he said.

One example of how important it is for AI-based solutions to communicate across the entire organization is that for many operators the only way they learn about problems within their network is when a customer notifies them that something is happening. Kinnman said that if an operator had different AI systems that communicated throughout the network, predictive analytics would alert them to problems in the network before it impacts customers. “It’s very important to have automated processes to detect even the small things,” he said.

In the Ericsson Mobility Report June 2021, the company pinpoints one technology that is helping telecom providers optimize CX as they incorporate 5G into their networks.

Reinforcement learning (RL) is a branch of ML and AI that enables the network to learn from experiences and constantly improve CX. For example, rather than only responding to manually programmed behaviors, the AI agents are able to learn and even optimize complex processes autonomously without intervention from a human agent. RL is becoming more important with 5G because 5G networks are so complex that it is almost impossible to manually create rules for every use case. However, by using RL, the AI agents are constantly adding to their experience so they can determine the optimal policy for any scenario they encounter.

But the move from 4G to 5G is not the only reason telcos are becoming more interested in using AI (and more advanced technologies like RL) to handle customer care. In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, telcos are finding that customers are increasingly turning to online customer care, as opposed to using operator brick-and-mortar stores to take care of their customer service complaints. Kinnman said that this trend is making operators place more emphasis on their digital channels and on AI. “Some operators are better at handling this and we know that a lot of our AI-products got a boost from this,” he said. But perhaps the biggest reason for telcos to invest in AI for their customer care is that this technology can help them provide better service to their customers, which often leads to upsell potential. “Telcos are starting to look at how AI and automation can get them more revenues,” Kinnman said. “Customers that are very satisfied are easy to upsell. And that’s making AI more interesting.”

Author Information

Avatar photo

Sue is a Denver-based freelance technology journalist, editor and analyst with expertise writing about topics like 5G communications, cloud-native networking, edge computing, and more. She can cut through industry jargon and explain complex technology concepts to both non-engineers and business decision makers.

Previously she had served as the editor-in-chief at SDxCentral, covering news and information related to the software defined networking market. Before that, she served as the editor-in-chief of FierceWireless, which covers cellular, satellite and other telecommunications technologies and markets.

As an expert in her covered areas, Sue is a frequent speaker at technology industry events and has moderated panels for the Consumer Electronics Show, the Competitive Carriers’ Show, The Wireless Infrastructure Show, 5G North America, DC 5G, Interop, and more.

Sue Holds a Bachelor of Science in Journalism from University of Colorado, Boulder.

SHARE:

Latest Insights:

Dan Waibel, Global Chief Data Officer at HPE, joins hosts to share insights on scaling AI in the enterprise, focusing on key areas including enterprise AI program design, agentic AI, and the critical role of EKM.
Hammerspace Tier 0 Now Available on Oracle Cloud Marketplace for High-Performance Computing (HPC) and AI Workloads
Brad Shimmin, VP and Practice Lead at Futurum, shares his insights on how the availability of Hammerspace Tier 0 on Oracle Cloud Marketplace boosts OCI’s value for AI and HPC workloads by delivering low-latency, high-throughput data access.
Coherent Launches COMPACT EVOLUTION AC, a 500 W Air-Cooled Diode Laser for Industrial Applications
Ray Wang, Research Director at Futurum, shares his insights on Coherent’s launch of the COMPACT EVOLUTION AC laser system and its implications for polymer welding, industrial integration, and production line efficiency.

Latest Research:

In our latest market brief, Unlocking the Future of Hybrid Cloud with Red Hat OpenShift Virtualization, developed in partnership with Red Hat, The Futurum Group outlines the evolving virtualization landscape, the economic and operational drivers behind infrastructure modernization, and the technical innovations powering OpenShift’s hybrid cloud strategy.
In our latest Market Brief, The AI-Powered Content Revolution, created in partnership with Egnyte, Futurum explores how AI is transforming cloud content management from static storage into a dynamic system of insight, automation, and compliance. The report offers guidance on how enterprises can deploy AI agents, streamline knowledge discovery, and future-proof their content operations.
In our latest market brief, Modern Data Protection for Modern Threats: A Strategic Blueprint for Cyber Resilience, written in collaboration with Quantum, Futurum outlines how IT leaders can move beyond reactive data protection toward proactive recovery-readiness by implementing a multi-tiered and performance-optimized cyber resilience architecture.

Book a Demo

Thank you, we received your request, a member of our team will be in contact with you.