Industries are rapidly adopting artificial intelligence (AI) as a cornerstone for operations and strategy, creating massive real-time data streams and setting high standards for mobile network performance.
At the recent Mobile AI Foundation Network Summit during Huawei’s Global Mobile Broadband Forum 2024 in Istanbul, industry leaders discussed the evolution of mobile networks to support the complex demands of AI-powered applications across service domains like Internet of People (IoP), AI Internet of Vehicles (IoV) and Internet of Things (IoT).
In his opening speech, Huawei’s Chief Strategy Architect, Dang Wenshuan, introduced the “six A's” framework as an essential capability that enterprises need in any industry to achieve intelligent transformation to fully harness AI’s potential.
Huawei encourages mobile network operators to adopt the “6A Intelligent Mobile Network Operator” model, targeting an upgrade to 5.5G to handle the requirements of AI-driven applications in improved network performance, particularly in latency reduction, spectral efficiency, and coverage.
Insights from industry leaders like GSMA, ITU, UISEE Technology, Zain KSA, Telefonica Group, Vodafone Türkiye, and Banglalink (VEON Group) framed the summit's discussion on how mobile networks must evolve for sophisticated AI applications, outlining a roadmap for the “Networks for AI” approach. This article explores the technological innovations and infrastructure evolution essential for building AI-ready networks, including Huawei’s two key innovation directions for establishing mobile AI foundations.
Meeting High-Quality Standards for AI-Driven Mobility
Dang explained that for enterprises, the “six A’s” capabilities are essential for embedding AI into the fabric of their business operations. The six key features for AI-driven enterprises start with four primary outcomes:
- Adaptive User Experience: AI enables dynamic service adjustment, matching the user's real-time needs and context.
- Auto-Evolving Products: AI-powered products, like autonomous vehicles, continually improve by learning from usage data.
- Autonomous Operations: Systems become more efficient by using AI for self-management and goal-based planning.
- Augmented Workforce: AI tools enhance productivity by supporting task-specific performance across roles.
These four outcomes are supported by two essential enablers:
- All-Connected Resources: All enterprise resources, from physical assets to management processes are linked digitally.
- AI-Native Infrastructure: Purpose-built systems enable enterprises to fully harness AI for future operations
Huawei’s “6A Mobile Network Operator” framework aims to address these needs in AI-ready enterprises, providing infrastructure for AI-driven consumer and industrial applications. This “Networks for AI” approach shifts the role of network operators to serve not only consumers but also a wide range of AI applications and connected objects – such as AI assistants, 3D e-commerce models, high quality AI generated content, autonomous vehicles and multimodal sensors, representing a significant growth opportunity.
With enhanced network capabilities, this framework equips network operators to meet the real-time, high-capacity needs of AI applications in IoT, IoV, and IoP service domains. This model also aligns with the “double 20” network requirement—20 Mbps uplink and 20ms latency—necessary for delivering seamless experiences in AI-driven interactions, from autonomous vehicles to immersive user experiences.
To meet the evolving demands, operators are encouraged to transition to 5.5G, allowing a tenfold increase in uplink speeds and spectral efficiency with significantly broader 10dB coverage. By providing these capabilities, networks become adaptive, autonomous, and fully AI-native.
Telefónica’s Carlos Lopez Calvo reinforced this approach and emphasized the importance of API openness and real-time network functionality for building a responsive, intelligent infrastructure. Such a framework ensures that networks can handle high-demand AI applications, from autonomous driving to immersive 3D content.
AI + Terminal: Unlocking New Experiences and Monetization Paths
AI integration in terminal devices like smartphones and IoT sensors, opens up novel opportunities for communication service providers (CSPs) for revenue generation by creating adaptive, personalized experiences that enhance user engagement through unique service packages and multi-dimensional experience.
GSMA’s Senior Technical Director, Barbara Pareglio highlighted that 81% of CSPs are experimenting with generative AI to enhancing user experience. The AI-enabled terminals, supported by 5G and 5.5G’s capabilities, provide operators with the capability to deliver adaptive content and high-performance applications, further enabled by Huawei’s Intelligent AIR and Intelligent Gear solutions, which optimize terminal adaptability to match specific service demands.
Zain KSA’s “5.5G City” initiative, as described by Director Chadi Rashed Eljeblawi, demonstrates how CSPs are monetizing AI-driven user experiences with high-performance gaming packages and AI-enhanced customer experiences—illustrating the diverse revenue opportunities created by intelligent networks.
Building a Multi-Dimensional, AI-Ready Network
Building a network that enables seamless AI-driven experiences requires a shift toward multi-dimensional infrastructure capable of supporting various AI applications with specific bandwidth and latency needs. At the summit, ITU’s TSB Director, Seizo Onoe, underscored the importance of AI-native network standards in ensuring adaptability and efficiency across industries, including healthcare and disaster response.
Seizo Onoe, Director, TSB, ITU
Vodafone Türkiye’s Senior Manager, Ahmet Asici, shared how Vodafone uses Huawei’s analytics tools to monitor customer behavior, which allows for real-time network adjustments that enhance performance and user satisfaction.
This approach aligns with Huawei’s GigaBand solution, which optimizes uplink and downlink user experiences through Intelligent AIR and Intelligent Gear. Huawei’s vertical innovation direction allows for resource-block-level scheduling and multi-dimensional resource management, enabling networks to deliver an adaptive, high-performance experience for users regardless of location or device.
Ahmet Asici, Senior Manager, Vodafone Türkiye
The Role of FDD and 5.5G in Ensuring AI Accessibility
The fusion of Frequency Division Duplexing (FDD) and 5.5G is essential for applications that rely on high uplink capacity and low latency, such as virtual reality and autonomous vehicles. Fang Xiang, Huawei’s VP of Wireless Network Product Line, emphasized the role of FDD in providing robust uplink capabilities, necessary for real-time AI interactions.
From the presentation of Fang Xiang, Vice President of Wireless Network Product Line, Huawei
Huawei’s vision of converged FDD and TDD (Time Division Duplexing) network ensures optimal spectrum utilization. FDD excels in applications demanding strong uplinks and lower latency, while TDD enhances downlink strength. Together they offer a multi-dimensional approach and support Huawei’s “double 20” requirement, delivering low-latency, high-speed connectivity, extensive coverage and rapid responsiveness critical for applications like virtual assistants and IoT sensors.
UISEE Technology’s CMO, Xu Yiwen, highlighted the role of stable, low-latency connections in autonomous vehicles for remote monitoring and crisis management. With AI-powered mobility requiring both uplink capacity and consistent coverage, Huawei’s multi-antenna technology and M-Receiver improvements demonstrate how networks can ensure reliable AI connectivity across various applications.
The Future of AI-Driven Network Innovation
As the mobile AI era unfolds, CSPs will need to innovate to meet the dynamic needs of AI applications. The summit outlined a future where networks must not only support high-performance connectivity but also adapt to multi-modal user interactions.
Huawei’s horizontal innovation direction with GigaGreen RF modules brings enhanced simplicity, efficiency, and scalability, ensuring reliable AI connectivity across a range of applications. Its advanced multi-antenna technology enhances system capacity, making networks capable of supporting large-scale, AI-powered applications that demand high uplink speeds, low latency, and extensive coverage. By pooling 4G and 5G resources, Huawei’s resource scheduling ensures that networks are equipped for high-performance AI use cases.
Banglalink’s CTIO, Huseyin Turker, shared a case study on the adaptability of networks in emerging markets. Banglalink’s “3G Sunset” project reallocated resources to 4G, increasing network throughput by 19% and reducing energy costs. This adaptability is critical as CSPs prepare to meet the growing demands of mobile AI.
Telefónica’s Carlos Lopez Calvo also emphasized the need for collaboration with over-the-top (OTT) providers and video platforms to manage bandwidth-heavy applications, as 70% of Telefónica’s network traffic stems from video. Huawei’s multi-dimensional scheduling and resource pooling help CSPs prepare for such high-bandwidth requirements.
Conclusion
The Mobile AI Foundation Network Summit reinforced a core message: the mobile AI era demands a transformation of network standards, design, and adaptability. Huawei’s proposed “double 20” standard, supported by GigaBand and GigaGreen RF module innovations, provides a clear pathway for building networks that support intelligent transformation. By integrating AI across terminals, applications, and network foundations, CSPs are positioned to deliver adaptive, multi-dimensional experiences that cater to diverse user needs.
As AI continues to influence mobile connectivity, CSPs are setting the stage for an intelligent, interconnected future where mobile networks not only respond to user demands but also anticipate them, delivering seamless, responsive, and immersive AI-driven experiences.
