Mats Granryd
GSMA
Director General

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Park Yun Kyu
Ministry of Science and ICT
Vice Minister

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Young Shub Kim
KT Corporation
President & CEO

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Woojune Kim
Samsung
Corporate President & Head of Networks Business

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Abel Deng
Huawei Asia Pacific
President, Carrier Business Group

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Sameer Vuyyuru
AWS
Head of WW Business Development, Communication Service Providers

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Supun Weerasinghe
Dialog Axiata PLC
Group CEO

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Kaul said the range of use cases coming on the market indicates AI is not another nice thing to have.

“It will have a direct relationship on financial indicators, whether that’s your revenue or your costs.”

He cited figures projecting AI for operators to be a $38.8 billion market by 2030, growing at 42.4 per cent annually.

Thomas Sennhauser, CTO for networking and communications for Asia Pacific and Japan at Intel, agreed about the revenue potential of AI.

But he noted different levels of AI will be needed, depending on the application and use case.

“The take away is it’s a huge market, but it’s not a one-box solution.”

Sennhauser highlighted the importance of making AI open for everyone. “We need to have an open software stack that allows others on join. It’s not a good thing if one company dominates everything, it’s not helping drive innovation.”

He said more than 80 per cent of AI workloads are currently driven on non-GPU systems and downplayed the hype of how important these processors are to run compatible services.

Turning to operators’ changing role,

Kaul noted operators roles have changed from selling connectivity to experiences.

“As an industry, we have been warned about being a CSP,” he said, arguing operators must provide “the digital value play” to everything that benefits from intelligent and secure connectivity.

He added operators must go beyond evolving from service providers to tech companies, becoming digital value players.

“That’s where the rubber hits the road and true monetisation happens.”

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In a panel session, Reigle highlighted a trade-in deal with Australian operator Telstra which provides customers the option to swap their device at any time, with a monthly charge of AUD15 ($9.60).

Devices can be traded even if users have financing, by taking out a new contract.

Reigle said the return rate of devices in the programme increased from 10 per cent to 40 per cent, without specifying a timeframe.

“That’s without the operator subsidising.”

She said the global average return rate is between 10 per cent and 20 per cent.

Kingfisher ups the lifespan of devices, Reigle said, with units recycled once they reach the end of their usable life.

Reigle argued the industry is not currently set up to promote the approach, with the company facing challenges of financial risk and inertia.

She noted companies like Kingfisher are set up to take on the risk themselves, helping operators by eliminating the downside.

Inertia is typically addressed by collaborating with various departments in an operator to get programmes off the ground.

Life interest
Reigle stressed the importance of increasing the life of mobile devices, stating manufacturing accounts for 83 per cent of the total carbon impact in the overall value chain.

Vendors are investing to ensure handsets last longer, with a usable life of up to eight years.

Consumers also are holding on to their handsets longer, but Reigle explained many do not want to keep them for eight years, while operators are keen on more frequent upgrades.

Operators are investing in 5G networks and want subscribers to be able to have the right features to take advance of the upgraded infrastructure, she said.

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The executive said KT believes 6G will be built around digital-services which maximise customer experience rather than an approach which readies the networks first.

Ahead of the event, he told Mobile World Live 9.2 million customers use 5G, consuming 3.4-times more data than in 2018.

He said KT plans to significantly expand investment to create “the world’s leading ICT initiatives to enhance our value to customers”.

In 2022, the operator earmarked $9.5 billion for digital initiatives over a five year period.

During the M360 event, Kim explained AI will form a key part of KT’s strategy, with the operator seeking collaborations with start-ups as part of a plan to shift its core business away from telecoms.

He explained operators must become digital pioneers, noting if “we fail to innovate on our own, we will be forced to change from outside”.

“Telcos globally must join hands across various sectors”.

They also require the right staff, Kim added, noting finding talented individuals who can understand and forecast future technology trends is critical to developing future services.

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The minister detailed work as part of the nation’s K-Network 2030 programme, an initiative launched earlier in the year to promote cooperation between the public and private sector in R&D of next-generation networks, satellite communications and quantum communications.

“Our vision is to create the digital co-prosperous society that reflect the characteristic of digital technology.”

K-Network 2030 also targets innovation in software-based networks and strengthening supply chains.

It targets pre-6G demonstrations in 2026 and pilots of satellite networks the following year, Park said.

The nation plans to double the data rates offered on backbone networks by 2026 and quadruple it by 2030, citing predictions data traffic in 2027 will be six-times greater than in 2021.

It also plans to increase the capacity of undersea cables.

Virtual
Park argued AI is a primary force in transforming society, explaining it supplements human intellectual abilities.

“Realising this super intelligence is not limited to a specific location.”

He added the release of ChatGPT earlier this year took some by surprise, as it effectively marked the beginning of the commercialisation of AI.

The politician also asserted the metaverse is a key development, saying if AI “extends the intellectual abilities of humans, the metaverse expands the activity space of humans into the virtual level”.

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Speaking in a session dedicated to 6G, Ewerbring highlighted it is still early days in the deployment of 5G technology, despite uptake of the technology being the fastest in the mobile industry to-date.

Total 5G penetration is below 15 per cent and coverage less than 35 per cent, with two-thirds of the world still to be covered, he added.

Ewerbring noted most operators have not deployed standalone 5G commercially, which means network slicing is not available.

Carrier aggregation still needs to be introduced in most markets, he said, citing early 5G adopter South Korea as an example because it is only using 3.5GHz.

“There’s a lot to do and as we do that we will monetise 5G.”

Ewerbring added the experience the industry picks up in the coming years will help it “excel in to 6G”, as it derives insight into how to design and build networks.

The post Ericsson CTO highlights 5G insight as vital for 6G appeared first on Mobile World Live.

He noted Seoul transformed itself into one of the most advanced cities in the world in just a few decades.

Granryd went beyond the standard definition of innovation, emphasising that for him, it is about “believing deeply in something, having the passion to keep going, about solving real problems and finding ways to make the world a better place”.

Innovation is part of mobile industry’s DNA and “the driving force behind everything we do”, he added.

Granryd urged the industry to continue to innovate and “dream together for an open, secure and connected future for us all”.

The industry’s latest major innovation, 5G, racked up 1 billion connections by the end of 2022, with more than 230 mobile operators in some 90 markets launching commercial services.

This year, the GSMA expects launches in 30 new markets.

Gaps
Asia Pacific is one of the fastest growing 5G adopters in the world and is expected to be home to 1.4 billion connections by 2030.

Innovation requires investment, Granryd said, with mobile operators in Asia Pacific forecast to spend almost $260 billion on network upgrade over the next eight years, most of the figure going to 5G.

The industry is exploring innovative financial models to ensure it can achieve this target, Granryd stated.

Despite 96 per cent of people living in Asia Pacific being covered by a mobile broadband network, less than half still do not subscribe to mobile internet.

“The usage gap is one of the biggest challenges we as an industry are committed to overcoming,” Granryd said, highlighting work by governments and operators to address the problem.

Granryd argued the whole ecosystem must work together to eliminate affordability barriers, improve digital literacy and skills, and create relevant content in local languages to ensure everyone can safely access mobile internet.

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Head of APAC at the GSMA Julian Gorman told Mobile World Live the Digital Societies report focuses on what governments in Asia Pacific need to do to integrate technologies and services into every sector of the economy.

It covers five key components of what is needed to build a digital nation: infrastructure; innovation; data governance; security; and people.

It also looks at how emerging technologies including AI, blockchain, drones and quantum computing, can play a role in building digital nations.

Gorman said as digital technologies and services play an increasingly central role in the economies of Asia-Pacific countries, two vital needs are a whole-of-government approach and international collaboration, in view of the cross-sector and -border implications of digital policies and initiatives.

In its report, the trade association noted high-speed connectivity is the bedrock of a digital nation, with mobile broadband networks now accessible to 96 per cent of the population in Asia Pacific.

Mobile operators in the region will spend $259 billion on their networks between 2023 and 2030, it predicted.

The GSMA said there is an opportunity for policymakers to complement this commitment by reducing the fiscal burden on the mobile industry, ensuring access to spectrum under the right conditions and implementing other measures to support the timely and efficient rollout of much-needed advanced network infrastructure.

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Operators introduced 5G services in early 2019, with close collaboration involving the government, academia and industry.

Today Korea is one of the most 5G-connected countries in the world, with mobile connections on the technology accounting for more than half of the nation’s total.

After more than four years of rapid growth, GSMA Intelligence data for Q2 showed 5G connections continue to grow at 28 per cent a year.

The GSMA’s regional event in Seoul features three keynote speakers from Korea on day one: the vice Minister of Science and ICT (MSIT); Samsung’s chief of networks; and the new CEO of operator KT.

The event has a broad theme of “a new future led by digital advancements” and MSIT Vice Minister Park Yun Kyu (pictured, right) told Mobile World Live his presentation will delve into how AI, data platforms and 6G will drive future innovation, as well as touch on various government initiatives including establishing a new digital order to embrace the era of deeper digitisation.

Changing landscape
Kim Woo June, head of Samsung’s Network Business, claimed the early commercialisation of 5G networks allowed local operators to analyse and understand user behaviour and introduce OTT video, AR/VR and live-streaming services.

Kim (pictured, left) argued additional services and applications including the metaverse and generative AI have emerged and changed the country’s cultural landscape. In the case of private networks, 5G is also reshaping the industrial landscape across various verticals, he said.

The executive said his presentation will highlight how software will be a game-changer for the future of networks.

By combining a software-driven approach to mobile infrastructure with innovative technologies including AI, Kim said operators can optimise network performance to meet increasing demands for connectivity.

With growing complexity, the mobile network ecosystem requires close collaboration among stakeholders more than any other industry, Kim added. “I expect this event to be a meaningful opportunity for industry leaders and the government to share their vision and collaborate closely to curate the next generation of digital nations.”

Other keynote speakers include China Mobile chairman Yang Jie, Globe Telecom president and CEO Ernest Cu and Hans Wijayasuriya, CEO of Axiata Group’s telecoms business.

Digital nations
Julian Gorman, head of APAC at the GSMA, teased the organisation’s Digital Societies report, set to be released at M360 APAC.

It focuses on what governments in Asia-Pacific need to do to integrate digital technologies and services into every sector of the economy. He added governments and industry leaders will gather in Seoul to discuss the key components of what is needed to build a digital nation.

As digital technologies and services play an increasingly central role in the economies of Asia-Pacific countries, Gorman stated the two vital components are “a whole-of-government approach and international collaboration, in view of the cross-sector and cross-border implications of digital policies and initiatives”.

In addition to keynotes focused on the digital nation theme, the conference offers a number of industry tracks covering mobility transformation, including Revolution in the Air; the Diversity for Tech Summit; and the Digital Transformation Acceleration Summit.

A Strategies for Building Inclusive Digital Nations session features speakers from Malaysia’s Ministry of Communications and Digital, Korea’s Telecommunication Policy Bureau, Mobitel and CK Hutchison.

Meanwhile, a 6G Vision panel has speakers from KDDI Research, SoftBank Corp, the 6G Forum, Ericsson, Nokia and LG Electronics.

The two-day programme features more than 130 speakers across 30 sessions and is expected to draw around 1,000 attendees from more than 50 countries.

For live news coverage of M360 APAC visit Mobile World Live.

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