What do you see as the key trends and challenges that will shape the telecoms sector in 2025?
GenAI and satellite communications will continue gain momentum through 2025, but 5G will remain a key focal point for the industry. In fact, deploying future-proof 5G networks will also help drive further advances in cloud and network integration and emerging technologies such as network APIs, edge, AI, open RAN and non-terrestrial networks.
We expect to see momentum build in the 5G enterprise segment through ongoing rollouts of 5G Standalone (SA). This started to gain traction last year, but we’re expecting to see new solutions to deliver enhanced network performance, management and efficiency.
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5G-Advanced will also likely be a key area of focus, with operators seeking to bring enterprises improved speeds, maximised coverage and enhanced mobility and power efficiency; a GSMA Intelligence survey noted strong appetite for 5G-Advanced among operators, with three-quarters having planned deployments within the next two years. As with any new technology, identifying clear use cases will be crucial to support these deployments and justify enterprise investments.
We also expect to see an uptick in 5G RedCap (reduced capability) deployments beyond China, where there are already great use cases. 5G RedCap is designed to bridge the gap between 5G and IoT and is well-suited to applications that require low power consumption and cost efficiency. T-Mobile launched the first 5G RedCap device in the US at the end of last year and we expect AT&T to follow suit in the coming months; establishing the technology in the US will be an important indication for the rest of the world and pave the way for new smart utilities, smart city and smart manufacturing use cases.
Will 2025 be the year that 5G finally delivers on its promises?
It’s worth remembering that 5G has been the fastest-growing generation of mobile technology to date, surpassing two billion connections by the end of 2024. The technology is already the most widely used generation of mobile internet for consumers in China, the US, South Korea, Germany and Switzerland; we’re also seeing strong momentum in developing markets, with India adding over 100 million 5G connections in two years.
As we move into 2025, data from GSMA Intelligence suggests operators are doubling down on 5G SA; there are currently 60 5G SA networks live worldwide, with EE (UK), Free Mobile (France) and Vodafone (Germany) all rolling out networks last year, while a further 88 operators plan to launch within the next two years. Capabilities such as network slicing, ultra-reliable low latency communications support and critical communications, that 5G SA provides will unlock new use cases across a range of enterprise sectors; these include enabling automated guided vehicle operations in manufacturing, the use of mixed reality in surgical procedures, as well as drone delivery services.
What emerging technologies do you think will be the most transformative and/or disruptive for telcos over the next five years?
While we’re still in the early stages of AI’s journey, the technology is already demonstrating its transformative potential for every sector of the economy. In the mobile industry, McKinsey has estimated the total impact of AI for mobile network operators could reach $680 billion in the next 15-20 years.
Telcos have long been pioneers in their use of AI, leveraging the technology for purposes including network optimisation, security and customer services. As generative AI (genAI) and large language models (LLMs) continue to develop, we’ll see increased efforts from operators to validate early use cases, experiment with new applications and form strategic partnerships to move from limited to advanced use of the technology.
It’s fair to say 2024 was the year that AI entered the mainstream for the mobile industry. Will it continue to dominate the headlines, what further advances are needed?
In 2025, generative AI will significantly impact network operations, including planning, optimisation, and predictive maintenance, followed by internal software development.
For the telecoms industry, a critical factor is access to the technology. The GSMA supports initiatives to democratise AI, ensuring smaller operators and emerging markets have access to AI tools and training through our partnership with IBM’s watsonx.ai platform. This enables them to benefit alongside larger operators capable of significant investments.
Bridging the AI language gap is also crucial for inclusivity. While a few high-resource languages see significant AI advancements, most of the world’s 7,000 languages lack sufficient digital data, affecting AI system accuracy and digital inclusivity. The GSMA Foundry has partnered with the Barcelona Supercomputing Centre (BSC) to develop new LLM solutions for under-resourced languages. An example is the recent project with VEON, Beeline Kazakhstan, and BSC to launch KazLLM, a 70-billion parameter AI model based on the largest dataset in Kazakh.
MWC 2025 Barcelona is fast approaching. What do you expect to be the key topics of focus this year?
AI will be an inescapable part of the show; exhibitors will showcase the latest solutions and prototypes across the show floor, while thought leaders will explore key issues on stage, including AI governance and where the technology goes from here. 5G, including progress in the global roll-out, its role in transforming enterprises and the emergence of 5G-Advanced, will also be high up on the agenda.
It’ll be two years since the GSMA launched the Open Gateway initiative at MWC. What progress have you made and is it ready for the developer community in its current form? How can the industry ensure better enterprise developer buy-in?
The GSMA Open Gateway has gone from strength to strength since launching at MWC23 Barcelona. 69 operator groups, representing a total of 280 networks and three-quarters of global mobile connections, have now signed up to the initiative; momentum seen over the past year spans the globe including commercial launches from Argentina around to China, France down to South Africa, with leading operators have introduced a number of new APIs to help combat fraud.
This year we’ve been focusing on growing the marketplace and options for enterprise developers to engage with operators and the commercial APIs available. This has included growing the network cloud marketplace by engaging with companies such as AWS, Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure and Vonage. We’ve also built out our strategic technology ecosystem and now have more than 30 channel partners including Bridge Alliance, Ericsson, Infobip and Nokia.
To further strengthen buy-in from enterprise developers, we also established the GSMA Fusion initiative in September, to help identifying unmet needs and functionalities that mobile networks can provide for sectors such as aviation, automotive, manufacturing, media and entertainment, enabled by the GSMA Open Gateway. The new team has already signed formal agreements in the automotive sector with the AECC and others to help the global automotive industry bring new standardised, connected vehicle services to market faster.
