Telecoms operators have a final, compelling chance to maximise the value of their infrastructure assets

The growing use of AI is radically reshaping communications networks and their underlying infrastructure by imposing new demands on connectivity. Telecoms operators can secure a better position in the AI value chain than they did in the internet era if they prioritise their investments in communications infrastructure effectively. Operators’ investment decisions should take the following three key AI-driven factors into account.

• Be location-specific. Operators have traditionally had to add capacity across their entire networks to support traffic growth, but AI creates hotspots of processing and connectivity. Operators should map their network and edge cloud assets to these specific locations.
• Ensure networks are mission-critical. AI intensifies the need for connectivity to be ultra-reliable, responsive, secure and sovereign. Operators must increase the value and monetisation potential of their assets by investing in criticality.
• Harness AI to increase efficiencies and return on investment (ROI). Operators can use AI to predict user requirements, enhance reliability and reduce costs through automation. This will enable them to improve ROI and to integrate their own assets intelligently with those of their partners.

Operators that follow these investment guidelines will be well placed to monetise their infrastructure assets through enterprise, consumer and wholesale services. However, the AI infrastructure ecosystem will be crowded, so this is likely to be the last opportunity for operators to increase the value of their assets significantly.