Many Carriers Are Slowly Embracing AI: Survey

Carrier executives are managing their networks using AI, but progress is slow, with nearly 60% saying that only 20% or less is now managed by AI, according to a new Mobile World Live survey. Just 10% said AI systems are already managing more than 50% percent of their networks. Traffic prediction and anomaly detection were the top uses for AI, at 47% each, the survey found, followed by predictive maintenance (33%) and energy consumption (25%). Slice management came in at 16%, digital twinning 13%. Among the reasons for slow deployment, 50% cited skill gaps, 49% said data and model security concerns, and 39% said cost. Asked which AI tools they would deploy first, the largest portion of respondents, 49%, said network troubleshooting. Customer engagement pilots came in second at 42%.