The keynote address was delivered by Ken Hu, rotating chairman of Huawei, who highlighted the need for a seamless integration of AI and advanced 5G technologies to drive innovation across sectors.
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Hu began by emphasising the significance of the event and its role in fostering collaboration among key players in mobile broadband.
He underscored how 2024 marks a transformative year for AI adoption across industries, noting that "AI is not only safer but more useful for both consumers and businesses."
This sentiment aligns with the rapid integration of AI by companies, particularly in the financial sector.
“Banks are using AI to support risk control and decision-making, making financial services more efficient,” he said. For Hu, AI's growing presence underscores its capacity to improve daily operations for businesses while enhancing customer experiences.
The role of AI within mobile networks was central to Hu’s address, as he outlined a vision where mobile technology allows AI to be accessible “anytime and anywhere.” According to Hu, this goal will require extensive upgrades to network infrastructure.
"If we want to make AI available anytime, anywhere, and make it a viable business model, we need to upgrade network capabilities," he explained, citing AI-powered smartphones, autonomous vehicles, and industrial applications as areas that would place unprecedented demands on network connectivity.
Hu also advocated for using AI to enhance network management, emphasising technologies such as AI-navigation models, which could optimise network performance while improving operations and maintenance.
“Our networks will become more complex, and all the AI will be challenged. So, in addition to preparing our network to support AI, we can use AI to support our networks,” he remarked.
In line with fostering technological advancements, Hu announced the establishment of the 4.5G and AI Open App, a collaborative platform launched by GDI and Huawei.
The platform, he said, would “allow operators, equipment vendors, and industrial partners to innovate together, explore new services, and create new business models,” underscoring the importance of synergy across networks, devices, and applications.
Moving toward 5.5G
Following Hu’s speech, a number of speakers took to the stage to deliver their own addresses. Among them was Alex Sinclair, CTO of the GSMA. He discussed industry convergence and the progression toward 5.5G.
Sinclair highlighted that 5.5G promises substantial performance improvements, better network management, and support for a range of specific use cases. According to Sinclair, partnerships are crucial in realising 5.5G’s potential, and initiatives such as GSMA’s responsible AI roadmap and the partnership with GTI Foundry play a pivotal role.
That partnership was unveiled during the 40th GTI summit in Hong Kong on September 11. The two companies introduced a series of “challenges” aimed at tackling industry issues by combining 5G-A and AI capabilities. Two primary areas of focus emerged:
New Calling (IMS Data Channel) Services – Aimed at leveraging AI to innovate within IMS Data Channel services and generate impactful new use cases.
Wireless Network Intelligence – This challenge seeks solutions that incorporate AI to improve wireless network intelligence testing and evaluation.
Sinclair also discussed the diverse monetisation strategies that mobile operators are exploring, such as speed-based pricing, Network APIs, service bundling, zero-rating, and the growing potential of 5G Fixed Wireless Access (FWA).
“Operators are continually adapting to optimise revenues and provide enhanced services, especially with the capabilities brought by 5.5G,” Sinclair stated.
AI and 5G
The forum continued with a presentation from Shaun Collins, executive chairman at CCS Insight, who delved into how AI would influence the core functions of the 5G network.
Collins highlighted that AI could play a vital role in making the 5G core more resilient to potential issues, including signalling storms. He pointed out that "AI security tools will be essential for identifying generative AI-powered threats," noting that AI has an inherent advantage in countering sophisticated cyber risks that can emerge in high-tech environments.
Collins also introduced the concept of digital twins and their utility in network reliability. Digital twins, virtual replicas of network environments, enable operators to anticipate and address issues before they occur.
Furthermore, he discussed the democratisation of network information, noting that large language models (LLMs) powered by generative AI will provide network insights previously inaccessible to many users.
As Hu stated, “In this city where East meets West, we are at a critical point where more meets future.” His words echoed a broader sentiment that cooperation between tech giants, operators, and industry bodies is essential in charting a progressive and interconnected path forward.
Throughout the event, the focus is expected to remain on the evolving demands placed on mobile networks as they transition from supporting consumer devices to powering AI-driven applications, industrial automation, and next-generation digital services.
The challenge, as outlined by the forum's speakers, lies in building robust and agile networks, fostering innovation through strategic partnerships, and ensuring that advances in AI align with the infrastructure capabilities that 5G and 5.5G promise.
Maximising growth
Li Peng, SVP and president of ICT sales and service at Huawei also delivered a keynote on how to maximise new growth opportunities in the mobile AI era.
"We will see new forms of interaction with devices, new intelligent services, and structural changes in traffic models. This will bring huge new opportunities for the mobile industry," he said.
Li then detailed how carriers can make the most out of these new opportunities and drive new growth by reshaping services, network infrastructure, O&M and business models.
He shared how leading carriers around the world have already verified AI service capabilities on live 5.5G networks across a wide range of scenarios for individuals, homes, travel and business.
"Moving forward, there are two things we can do to capitalize on new opportunities in the mobile AI era," said Li. "First, we should prepare our networks to support AI.
"That means boosting network capabilities, especially uplink, latency, and capacity. Second, we can use AI to support our networks.
"With more complex networks, we can use AI to help automate O&M, optimise network efficiency, and guarantee a solid user experience."
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