AI Inference Calculator
The industry's first plug-and-play calculator for understanding the true cost and business impact of running AI inference — using your own numbers..
Built on GSMA Intelligence data, modelling and industry expertise, and developed in collaboration with Dell and NVIDIA.
Apply your own inputs, compare deployment environments, and see the cost and business impact of running AI inference
The calculator is free to use and covers nine real-world use cases across enterprise edge, telco network edge and device edge environments. It is designed for operators evaluating whether edge or centralised inference makes financial sense for their network, enterprise organisations building a business case for AI deployment, vendors looking to demonstrate ROI to customers using independently grounded analysis, and strategy teams who need to run the numbers immediately.
Developed in collaboration with Dell and NVIDIA, the tool is built on the same modelling and analytical framework that underpins GSMA Intelligence research for operators and policymakers worldwide.
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How the calculator works
Each use case has two input panels and one output screen. The outputs update immediately — and every use case shows the same two things: what it costs to run AI inference at the edge versus in the cloud, and what the business impact looks like.
Use case inputs
Set the operational parameters for your deployment — number of cameras, devices or engineers, hours of operation, data volumes, staff salaries and hardware costs. Every input has a default value you can adjust.
Price inputs
Set the cost assumptions for edge and cloud — GPU prices, server costs, storage, electricity, cloud GPU hourly rates and data transfer. Adjust to reflect your own market or procurement terms.
Cost and impact
See inference cost on-premise edge versus cloud for year one and years one to five, a full cost breakdown by category, and a business impact figure, whether that's labour cost saved, downtime avoided or patient hours freed.
Use cases covered
Each use case allows comparison of edge, cloud and on-premise inference models, and generates outputs to support business case development and investment decisions.
Network troubleshooting
AI-assisted fault detection, diagnosis and resolution across telecoms network infrastructure. (Telecoms)
Security cameras
Uses computer vision on CCTV feeds to detect suspicious behaviour, generating real-time alerts to improve loss prevention and reduce the manual burden of monitoring.
Robotics object detection
On-premise AI inference for autonomous warehouse robotics and fulfilment operations. (Warehouse)
Public safety cameras
Real-time AI video analysis at the network edge for emergency services and public safety operations. (Emergency Services)
Inventory management
On-device AI for real-time stock tracking, expiry monitoring and supply chain optimisation. (Hospital)
Predictive maintenance
Device-level AI inference for early fault detection and maintenance scheduling in vehicle fleets. (Automotive)
Crop disease detection
On-device image classification to identify plant disease and support smallholder farmers. (Agriculture)
Pronunciation feedback
AI-powered speech analysis for language learning in low-connectivity environments. (Education)
Symptom checker
On-device AI that guides users through a structured diagnostic process (Healthcare)
About GSMA Intelligence
GSMA Intelligence is the definitive source of global mobile operator data, analysis and forecasts. Its datasets cover every operator group, network and MVNO worldwide, delivering one of the industry's most comprehensive and trusted data foundations.
The AI Inference Calculator reflects GSMA Intelligence's independent analytical expertise in supporting the telecoms industry's understanding of emerging technology deployment at scale.