MWC 2024: The Latest Insights Firsthand
The Mobile World Congress (MWC) is the zenith of technological exhibitions, bringing together 101K attendees and over 2,700 exhibitors, sponsors, and partners. The brightest minds and the latest innovations in the mobile industry are in one place to let business leaders share, learn, and inspire. Among the distinguished attendees and speakers at MWC 2024 were XME.digital's CEO Victor Kmita and CSMO Iryna Manukovska, marking a proud moment for our company.
With three full days of immersive experiences, we've garnered countless insights to prepare companies for 2024 and beyond. Read on to find invaluable lessons learned and the latest telecom business trends discovered.
Sustainability: The Core of Tomorrow's Telecom
Sustainability has emerged as a central theme at this year's MWC, with telcos actively seeking collaborations to embrace green practices. The telecom sector recognizes its crucial role in advancing sustainability, aiming for a zero carbon footprint by 2027. This ambitious goal has accelerated efforts across the industry, pushing boundaries beyond traditional services.
A standout example is the stc Group, which has expanded its services into fintech, banking, media, and entertainment, all while weaving sustainability into its business model. Their innovative 5G-based virtual museum allows visitors to explore any museum worldwide through VR glasses, offering a 10 Gbps downlink and a 1 Gbps uplink.
STC Group's vision extends to creating safer, more sustainable cities and introducing eco-friendly initiatives like a bicycle that promotes physical activity and features chargeable ports and WiFi, marrying technology with sustainability.
Sustainability is A Driver of Collaboration
The pursuit of sustainability has fostered new partnerships, highlighting the collective effort required to achieve significant environmental impact reductions. For example, the GSMA and Shields Environmental Group collaboration introduces a recycled network equipment commerce platform, aiding telecom providers in reducing carbon emissions and minimizing raw material usage.
Similarly, the partnership between Orange Business and Cisco, solidified through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at MWC, aims to slash greenhouse gas emissions. This collaboration underscores the necessity of an ecosystem approach, recognizing that meaningful reductions in Scope 3 emissions require working along the entire supply chain.
Artificial Intelligence is a New Internet
Artificial Intelligence has stolen the spotlight at MWC 2024, with industry leaders convinced of its transformative potential. The establishment of The AI-RAN Alliance signifies a monumental step toward integrating AI with cellular technologies, promising enhanced network efficiency, reduced power consumption, and a platform for innovative economic opportunities in the telecom sector. Founding members, including tech giants like AWS, Ericsson, and Microsoft, are set on using AI to enhance RAN technology.
Gen AI Products Successful Development Way is Found
Despite business leaders' excitement about AI, its successful integration into processes requires more than just technological prowess. Most companies are still working on artificial intelligence (AI) implementation strategies. However, some businesses, like PWC, have already done that job and shared the results. The giant highlighted five critical success factors organizations must consider to develop and deploy Gen AI products effectively.
1.Prioritization of value-focused use cases
The journey towards AI-driven transformation begins with identifying and prioritizing use cases that offer tangible value. Companies should adopt a strategic approach, focusing on areas where AI can significantly improve efficiency, customer experience, or revenue growth. By defining clear objectives and expected outcomes, businesses can ensure that their AI initiatives are aligned with broader organizational goals.
2. Cultivation of a culture of agility
Businesses must foster an environment where experimentation is encouraged and failure is seen as a stepping stone to innovation. This involves educating users on effective AI prompting and response evaluation, allowing for rapid prototyping and iterative development. An agile culture also emphasizes continuous learning and adaptation, enabling teams to stay ahead of technological advancements and rapidly evolving market demands.
3. Ensuring data quality The accuracy, relevance, and quality of the data used to train AI models directly impact the performance and reliability of the resulting solutions. Organizations should implement structured and centralized data collection and acquisition processes to gather diverse, high-quality datasets. It includes establishing rigorous data validation and cleaning practices to ensure the integrity of the data fed into AI systems.
4. Engineering of cost-efficient solutions
Developing AI solutions can be resource-intensive, but strategic model selection and deployment choices can significantly reduce long-term costs. Businesses should consider the computational requirements of different AI models and opt for solutions that balance performance with efficiency. By leveraging existing assets, building systems that store reusable generated content can drive future cost savings.
5. Embedding data security
Gen AI products often process sensitive information, making them targets for cyber threats. Companies must craft AI-specific data security measures and policies to protect internal and client information. It means implementing advanced encryption, access controls, and continuous monitoring systems to detect and mitigate potential breaches.
Is AI Bias Easier to Eliminate than Human Bias? Deep Dive from Iryna Manukovska
AI and human biases present significant challenges, yet distinct nuances offer insights into mitigation strategies. At a panel discussion, “Is AI Bias Easier to Eliminate than Human Bias?” insights from XME.digital’s CSMO, Iryna Manukovska, highlighted the complexity of addressing biases within AI systems.
The company's focus on using AI to enhance customer experience in telecom underscores the potential and pitfalls of AI deployment. Case studies, such as Amazon's hiring algorithm favoring male-associated resumes and biased healthcare algorithms, underline the ingrained nature of bias in AI, often reflecting the data and human prejudices they're built upon.
Contrastingly, AI bias, deemed more systematically identifiable and correctable than human bias, suggests a pathway towards more equitable technological solutions. Effective mitigation involves comprehensive strategies encompassing data diversity, transparency, and continuous monitoring, akin to measures to address human biases.
Nonetheless, the consensus leans towards AI bias being easier to mitigate, given the structured nature of AI systems and the ability to algorithmically adjust for fairness, unlike human biases' complex and often subconscious nature.
Satellite Connectivity Matters
Satellite connectivity emerges as a core driver in bridging the digital divide, offering an additional $30 billion in addressable revenue and targeting the 523 million people globally who lack access to basic internet coverage.
With 12 million North Americans still in a coverage gap, satellite technology promises extended roaming tariffs potentially generating $20-25 billion annually by 2035, as highlighted by GSMA intelligence and Tim Hatt.
Satellite connectivity boosts device linkage, adding an estimated $10 billion to operators' revenues annually, and supports crucial sectors like utilities, connected cars, and industries ranging from mining to healthcare, comprising nearly half of IoT connectivity by 2035.
Integrating 5G NR, LTE, and NB-IoT with satellite networks is now feasible, offering seamless roaming capabilities, including emergency connections in devices like the iPhone 14 and 15.
With the expansion of low earth orbit (LEO) satellites by entities like China Satellite network, Starlink, and Amazon's Kuiper, alongside Deutsche Telekom's satellite IT plans offering 1 GB of data for specific industries, the infrastructure for global, continuous connectivity is rapidly evolving.
Fran Bogle of ORBCOMM emphasizes that the future of connectivity, where network type is irrelevant to customers, is on the horizon, promising unprecedented connectivity across devices, vehicles, and wearables.
Wrap Up
Telecom intertwining with various industries marks a new era in technological advancement. GSMA's director emphasized the significance of this diversity within the mobile ecosystem, highlighting that over half of MWC attendees this year "came from outside the mobile sector."
Events like the Mobile World Congress are hubs for this fusion. This synergy is not just about sharing space; it's about weaving a tapestry of expertise and vision, creating unprecedented opportunities for innovation. Our team at XME.digital is proud to actively contribute to this process, standing at the forefront of fostering essential connections that fuel the engine of tech evolution.