In a key development that underscores the ever-changing nature of the telecommunications industry, Nokia and Taiwan Mobile have made a joint announcement about the furthering of their strategic partnership. It should be noted that this partnership will shift its focus from basic 5G infrastructure deployment toward incorporating Artificial Intelligence (AI) in order to develop even more intelligent, automated, and smarter networks.
The significance of this partnership for the 5G industry goes beyond mere contract renewal. Instead, it signals that the industry is shifting its priorities from expanding 5G coverage to optimizing it.
A Focus on Intelligence
The collaboration of Nokia and Taiwan Mobile is based on exploiting the capabilities of Nokia’s AirScale suite and its AI-powered software applications. Integrating the AI directly into the network will help improve its performance, increase efficiency, and even provide predictive maintenance.
It means that the network will become much more than just a passive element of infrastructure; it will be a system that is able to identify the traffic pattern, adjust the capacity accordingly, and fix any possible problem before the customer notices anything.
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Impact on the 5G Technology Industry
Until recently, the focus of the 5G narrative revolved around hardware deployment – towers, frequency bands, and connectivity of the devices. As 5G networks become more complicated, however, the task of the industry becomes management and sustainability of its infrastructure.
- From Reactive to Proactive: The industry is increasingly shifting towards “Self-Optimizing Networks” (SON). Through artificial intelligence, the industry is able to automate a number of complex processes which were previously executed manually. The importance of such automation is critical for 5G as the number of connected devices (the Internet of Things) is massive.
- Energy Efficiency as a Competitive Advantage: In the context of growing emphasis on sustainability, the industry turns to AI to deliver “green” networking services. Through AI-powered shut-off of some elements of the network infrastructure when there is no traffic, telecom companies can lower their carbon footprint, thus meeting the sustainability requirements of the time.
- Predictive Maintenance: Through AI, the industry gains an ability to detect problems with the hardware before the equipment breaks down. This leads to better network reliability, which has become a major requirement from valuable enterprise customers.
Effects on Businesses in the Telecom Sector
This collaboration lays down the groundwork for how business entities functioning in the world of 5G should progress. There are several implications for operators and service providers that have emerged from this:
- Reduction in Operational Expenditure: With automation being achieved through artificial intelligence, there would be a reduction in costs required for running large and fast networks. Companies implementing these technologies will eventually achieve “zero touch” provisioning of their networks.
- Monetizing Enterprise Services: Due to improved stability and intelligence of the network, telecom companies will have more ability to provide high SLA (service level agreement) services to enterprises. Industries like autonomous manufacturing, telemedicine (remote surgeries), and logistics require absolute reliability. And 5G through AI is the solution.
- The Battle for Talent: Such trends require a new breed of employees. No more will telecom firms look for radio frequency engineers; they are competing hard to attract data scientists, machine learners and software developers.
Conclusion: The Road Ahead
Nokia‘s collaboration with Taiwan Mobile is a strong indicator that there is an essential truth when it comes to the next step in 5G – the cleverest network wins. When 5G will be more mature and widespread, the success won’t be measured only by speed or coverage anymore. It will be judged based on reliability, efficiency, and the capability of a network to think on its own.
As for business in this environment, the message is obvious – the time of dumb pipes is over. To keep up with the competition, you have to embrace AI as a core part of the operating system of the future network.
