5.5G key to making mobile AI, virtual assistants a reality

Yang Chaobin delivers a keynote speech at the Global Mobile Broadband Forum in Istanbul, Türkiye, Oct. 31, 2024. [Photo Courtesy of Huawei]

Virtual assistants are on the verge of becoming a reality, but for their full potential to be realized, mobile networks must improve, according to telecom leaders speaking at a conference in Istanbul.

At the Global Mobile Broadband Forum, industry leaders pointed out that 5.5G networks are essential for the mass rollout of mobile AI agents capable of understanding and responding to text, speech, video, or any other forms of sensory input in real time as users move about.

Most current AI applications are fairly fixed and depend on stable internet connections. However, mobile AI — such as the AI that runs on smartphones or autonomous vehicles — requires fast connections and minimal delays to function effectively.

"The upcoming mobile AI era will create huge opportunities for the mobile industry and profoundly shape the decade to come," said Yang Chaobin, Huawei's Board Member and president of ICT Products and Solutions.

This sentiment resonated throughout the forum, where industry analysts projected that 43% of all smartphone shipments by 2027, reaching over 550 million units annually. This, in combination with autonomous vehicles and various other types of AI agents, will place unprecedented demands on existing networks, many of which will struggle to keep pace.

It is expected that by year 2030, there will be more than 5 billion AI agents, which require a connection provided by the mobile network with extreme low latency.

Huawei is addressing these challenges head-on with its latest 5.5G solutions. This new standard — representing the next generation of mobile network technology — will enable operators to handle the demands of mobile AI. Yet, its benefits go far beyond this. The integration of AI also promises significant operational efficiency gains and enables operators to provide innovative services and personalized experiences that were not previously possible.

In other words, the combination of 5.5G and AI creates a perfect blend of technology that has the potential to improve mobile services, making them faster, more reliable, and tailored to what users really want.

Cao Ming, Huawei’s vice president and president of wireless solutions, reinforced this message, saying, "With the development of AI and 5.5G, the mobile AI era is on the horizon. This creates new opportunities for the mobile industry."

Operators are already seeing benefits from adopting AI. Currently, 62% of telecoms providers are using generative AI to enhance customer experience, with that figure expected to climb to 90% by 2027. This integration has led to increased profits and customer loyalty, with some carriers reporting revenue gains of up to 7% per customer.

At the forum, Huawei and several operators demonstrated the integration of AI with 5.5G, giving attendees a clear view of the future possibilities.

Cao showcased Huawei’s new agent-based digital-engineers team that help mobile operators run their 5.5G networks more effectively. These smart tools include virtual assistants designed for specific roles and agents that can handle complex tasks on their own, cutting troubleshooting times by half and enable 24/7 energy saving.

The AI-powered system even streamlines service planning and deployment, reducing the time to launch new services from months to just days.

Huawei's new tools are designed to make telecom operations more efficient, improve customer experiences, and reduce costs, paving the way for smarter network management.

As an example of these advancements in action, Dr. Keith Huang from Hong Kong Telecom shared how their AI system now detects network issues in just 15 minutes — down from an hour. This rapid detection means problems can be fixed much faster, helping to keep customers connected and minimizing service interruptions.

But AI's impact extends far beyond operational efficiency. During devastating flooding in Chiang Mai, Thailand's largest mobile operator faced a crisis as power failures left cell towers stranded and engineers unable to reach them. With lives at stake and power outages cutting off communication during the flooding, the AI system sprang into action, quietly working behind the scenes to maintain essential network coverage.

"People needed coverage to call for help," said Wasit Wattanasap, AIS executive vice president of operations. "The AI calculated which frequencies to shut down to maintain essential coverage until our teams could replace batteries."

Just as AI can maintain critical communication during emergencies, it also provides energy savings throughout the year. During the forum, executives from Du, one of the UAE’s two primary telecom providers, shared their experiences with Huawei's "0 Bit 0 Watt" technology, which incorporates AI to help telecom networks reduce energy consumption.

This technology achieves a remarkable 99% shutdown depth, meaning the network uses almost no energy when idle. It can quickly wake up when demand arises, ensuring the user experience remains unaffected. For Du, this implementation has led to a daily reduction in power consumption by 4%, resulting in an annual decrease of nearly 87 tons in CO2 emissions.

The forum also saw the launch of GTI’s Intelligent RAN, Ubiquitous AI Project of 5G-A×AI Development Program, which aims to encourage collaboration among mobile operators in developing highly automated networks. The organizers expressed hope that the initiative will create applications using cutting-edge technologies to enhance the integration of 5G-A and AI.

The two-day forum brought together more than 1,000 telecommunications executives and industry leaders to discuss the future of mobile networks.

By the end of the event, one thing was abundantly clear: adopting 5.5G is essential for fully harnessing the capabilities of mobile AI.