An Increased Adoption, Says The ‘State Of AI In Telecommunications’ Report By NVIDIA

NVIDIA’s “State of AI in Telecommunications” survey highlights the increasing adoption of AI in the telecom industry. Over a third of respondents are investing in or planning to invest in AI for Radio Access Networks (AI-RAN). The survey, conducted with 450+ telecom professionals, shows AI’s role in revenue growth, cost reduction, and operational efficiency.

The telecommunications industry is experiencing tangible benefits from the integration of artificial intelligence (AI), particularly in optimising operations and increasing efficiency. A key focus area has been the deployment of AI in radio access networks (RANs), a trend highlighted in NVIDIA’s third annual State of AI in Telecommunications survey. 

The survey, which gathered insights from over 450 telecommunications professionals worldwide, revealed a growing adoption of AI across various areas, including generative AI applications, customer experience enhancement, and network management. 

The findings indicate that the industry is utilising AI to improve operational efficiency, increase revenue, and enhance employee productivity.

AI adoption in telecommunications

The survey reveals that nearly all participating telecommunications professionals reported that their companies are actively deploying or assessing AI projects. 

Key insights include:

• 84% stated that AI contributes to an increase in their company’s annual revenue.
• 77% agreed that AI has helped reduce annual operating costs.
• 60% identified increased employee productivity as the primary benefit of AI adoption.
• 44% indicated investment in AI for customer experience optimisation, making it the most significant area of AI deployment.
• 40% reported that AI is being implemented in network planning and operations, including RAN.

NVIDIA also released its State of AI in Retail report, which you can read here. 

Business impact of AI in telecommunications

The survey results indicate that AI is having a direct impact on business performance. A significant 84% of respondents stated that AI has contributed to revenue growth, with 21% reporting that AI has led to a more than 10% increase in specific business areas. Additionally, 77% confirmed that AI has played a role in reducing annual operating costs.

The confidence in AI’s future role in telecommunications is reflected in spending plans. 80% of respondents believe AI is essential for their company’s future success, and two-thirds intend to increase investments in AI infrastructure this year.

The adoption of AI in telecommunications networks is growing, with 37% of respondents investing in AI-driven network planning and operations. Additionally, 33% have allocated resources to AI for field operations optimisation in the past year.

For companies investing in AI for 5G monetisation and 6G research and development, the following objectives were identified:

• 66% aim to deploy AI services on RAN for operational and user needs.
• 53% seek to enhance spectral efficiency in RAN.
• 50% plan to colocate AI and RAN applications on shared infrastructure.

The rise of generative AI in telecommunications

Generative AI is becoming more prominent in the telecom sector. Over half of the survey respondents who reported using generative AI have already implemented their first use case, while another third plan to do so this year.

Among the organisations adopting generative AI:

• 84% intend to offer generative AI solutions externally to customers.
• 52% plan to provide generative AI as a software-as-a-service (SaaS) solution.
• 35% will make generative AI available as a platform for developers, including computer services.

A broader trend in AI development is also emerging, with companies leveraging multiple approaches, including in-house and open-source capabilities.

About NVIDIA 

NVIDIA Corporation, headquartered in Santa Clara, California, is a leading American multinational technology company specialising in software and fabless semiconductor design. It is renowned for its graphics processing units (GPUs), application programming interfaces (APIs) for high-performance computing, and system-on-a-chip (SoC) solutions for mobile computing and automotive applications. NVIDIA’s GPUs are widely used across industries such as gaming, AI, data science, scientific research, and autonomous vehicles.

Beyond hardware, NVIDIA develops AI-powered software solutions, including CUDA for parallel computing and Nvidia Maxine for audio and video processing. The company has also expanded into cloud gaming with GeForce Now and mobile processing with its Tegra chips. In 2023, NVIDIA surpassed a $1 trillion market valuation, and in June 2024, it briefly became the world’s most valuable public company with a $3.3 trillion valuation.