Generative AI in operator networks: is there life at the edge?

This edition of the Telco AI: State of the Market series highlights AI commercialisation continuing to accelerate, with two thirds of AI deployments tracked across the telecoms sector now live. As well as recent developments from the telco AI space and the Telco AI tracker, this edition provides a deep dive on AI investment, highlighting how operators can target infrastructure investments where they have an advantage but partner where hyperscaler scale economics dominate.

Asia Pacific is entering a new phase of digital development. As digital platforms become integral to economic activity, public services, finance, communications and emerging technologies such as AI, trust becomes a critical enabler of digital transformation. This report examines the trust imperative across Asia Pacific, examines the results of the Digital Nations Index in the context of trust, outlines the role of mobile operators as guardians of digital trust, and presents priorities for strengthening the foundations of digital trust for governments, regulators, operators and international cooperation institutions.

Developing Asia Pacific is home to 4.3 billion people – more than half the world’s population. However, 1.2 billion people are not online. Achieving universal connectivity by 2030 will require additional investment of around $184 billion. The economic case for closing this gap is significant. Closing the 4G connectivity gap by 2030 is estimated to deliver a GDP uplift of around $230 billion across Developing Asia Pacific. Universal connectivity would also have several wider socioeconomic benefits such as poverty reduction, improved education and health access, humanitarian assistance and lower carbon emissions. This report presents the findings from a study by GSMA Intelligence on closing the mobile connectivity gap in Developing Asia Pacific, commissioned by the Asian Development Bank.