Ericsson study finds 70% of telecom executives lack key 5G and AI rollouts

Ericsson said its new research found that mobile operators risk missing revenue opportunities in AI and advanced 5G because execution is lagging behind stated plans. The study was based on interviews with 455 senior executives in the telecom sector, and 90% said they were confident their organization could capture new revenue sources.

Ericsson said around 70% of respondents had not yet started applying the technologies they see as necessary to capture that revenue. The study found that private and enterprise 5G connectivity ranked first among growth priorities at 49%, followed by personalized digital services for consumers and enterprises at 44%, and wide-area Internet of Things, or IoT, connectivity at 40%.

Ericsson said deployment of the underlying technologies remains limited despite that consensus. Two thirds of executives had not started AI-based network operations; 61% had not taken steps to implement advanced 5G capabilities including standalone architecture and network slicing; and 68% had not adopted software-as-a-service, or SaaS, IT platforms. More than 80% said future growth depends on expanding services quickly and that ease of experimentation will be a key advantage.