Making the Most out of 5G and AI

An exclusive interview with Gartner Senior Analyst Pulkit Pandey

TECHx: How do CSPs work in our region? Could you provide some examples?

Pulkit: CSPs refer to Communications Service Providers. This includes telecom services providing companies that offer communication and related services to consumers and enterprises. 

Example: Etisalat, du, etc.

TECHx: Your recent research focused on AI solutions for CSP Network Operations – what were the most popular and effective features?

Pulkit: When it comes to AI Solutions in CSP Network Operations, there are some specific use cases that the CSPs are introducing to the networks: 

• Network Monitoring: Software and hardware tools that can track various aspects of a network and its operation, such as traffic, bandwidth utilization, and uptime through real time analysis of various data sources such as logs, alarm etc.
• Root Cause Analytics: To study the pattern of network data to identify anomaly and what may have caused that.
• Predictive Maintenance: Analysis of historic pattern to predict possible network outages / errors and work out preemptive actions.
• Network Security, etc.

TECHx: The recent research you conducted also covers 5G approaches in the US. Which approaches have you observed in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA)?

Pulkit: US-based CSPs are focusing on a lot of verticals, with their primary focus being on Fixed Wireless Access (FWA). Apart from FWA, their focus is on connected cars, smart cities, smart/remote healthcare, large venue 5G deployment, etc. For them to monetize their 5G investments, they are also trying to get a share of enterprise business, as it can lead to faster commercialization.

MENA region has both similarities and dissimilarities with the US 5G adoption. We notice the MENA region is focusing on similar use cases, such as connected cars, smart cities and remote healthcare. One additional focus that we expect to see in MENA region is channeled by the upcoming FIFA football world cup in Qatar. This would be a good opportunity for the AR/VR and 8K broadcasts to the public, similar to what we witnessed in Tokyo Olympics last year.

TECHx: When it comes to 5G, what are CSPs demanding from AI vendors?

Pulkit: The top areas that CSPs are focusing on in the next one to two years include:

• Return on Investment (ROI) opportunities from their current AI investments
• Scale the current AI adoption to wider strategy
• Increasing network capacity and network security