Michal Sewera, an experienced technology leader at Deutsche Telekom Group (generally written as TDG which stands for 'Telekom Deutschland GmbH'), recently offered a rare behind-the-scenes view of how AI is being used to manage and optimise telco cloud operations. As the head of TDG’s cloud-native 5G core DevOps team, he has led the shift to a new operating model built on cloud-native principles, automation and AI.
Presenting at the FutureNet World conference in London on 7–8 May 2025, Michal shared how TDG’s journey to cloud-native began with the realisation that cloud is not simply about virtualisation or containers. The real transformation lies in a fundamental change in architecture and operations. Moving to a GitOps operational model with declarative deployments and a concept of desired network state has allowed TDG to move from infrequent bulk updates to continuous, incremental changes. In this new approach, change is no longer an exception but an asset.
However, this shift comes with its own challenges. Cloud-native telco systems are composed of highly distributed microservices, open-source components and loosely coupled layers. This creates what Michal refers to as the butterfly effect, where even a small change can lead to unexpected consequences elsewhere in the system. Traditional approaches to validation, configuration and assurance are simply no longer sufficient.
To address this, TDG has integrated AI tools across all stages of the network lifecycle: development, rollout and operations. In the development phase, TDG uses an AI-based validation framework that collects data from across the application, platform and infrastructure layers. It analyses complex interdependencies using pattern recognition across 3GPP signalling, KPIs, logs, Kubernetes, CNIs and service mesh. This approach replaces traditional regression testing with intelligent analysis that highlights functional issues and pinpoints root causes early in the pipeline.
During rollout, the AI-powered Network Configuration Co-Pilot supports configuration changes across distributed clusters. The tool goes well beyond Git automation bots, using a mix of reusable configuration patterns, chat-based interaction with embedded vendor knowledge and natural language integration with systems like Kubernetes. This allows engineers to handle the massive complexity of telco configurations more efficiently and with greater confidence.
In live operations, TDG employs a combination of active and passive monitoring across its Platform as a Service layer. Probes and telemetry continuously monitor performance while AI-driven root cause analysis tools detect anomalies and correlate them with platform and network data. This enables early detection of degradation and supports predictive fault analysis. TDG also applies AI to canary testing and deployment. New releases are gradually introduced in production environments under close AI-assisted monitoring, allowing issues to be caught before full rollout. This model is a marked departure from the old reliance on staging environments and lab testing.
TDG’s new operational model, grounded in GitOps and driven by AI, offers a compelling example of how operators can adapt to the complexity and speed of change in cloud-native environments. The shift transforms telecom networks from silent, black-box systems into transparent, data-rich platforms where actionable insight can be extracted and acted upon in near real time.
Michal’s insights make clear that AI is not an optional add-on in this new environment. It is a fundamental enabler that allows the telco cloud to scale, evolve and remain resilient. For operators looking to modernise their networks, TDG’s experience offers valuable lessons in how to harness automation and intelligence to meet the demands of the future.
The Internet of Things (IoT) is transforming industries, but device manufacturers often face significant challenges when integrating cellular connectivity into their products. To address this, Deutsche Telekom (DT) has introduced MECC – Make Everything Cellular Connected, a solution designed to streamline and simplify IoT connectivity. By embedding cellular modules directly into devices during production, MECC eliminates the need for complex modem integrations and reduces entry barriers for original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).
IoT Integration, Straight from the Factory
Traditionally, adding cellular connectivity to IoT devices required manufacturers to retrofit devices with modems, SIMs, and connectivity management platforms. This process added complexity, time, and cost. MECC offers a radically simplified approach:
Pre-installed connectivity: Cellular modules with embedded nuSIMs are directly integrated into products during manufacturing.
Smart Standby Mode: Connectivity is only activated when needed, such as for remote configuration or device status updates. This minimises ongoing costs and optimises energy efficiency.
Heartbeat and Dormant Tariffs: Manufacturers can choose basic standby connectivity plans during production, activating full IoT plans when the device is in use. This flexibility reduces the economic risk of mass-producing connected devices.
Partnerships Driving Adoption
Deutsche Telekom has teamed up with Nordic Semiconductor and PSsystec to bring MECC to market. Nordic Semiconductor’s IoT modules provide the hardware foundation, while PSsystec has incorporated MECC into its product range, enabling cellular connectivity out of the box.
At MWC 2025, DT showcased how MECC makes it easier and more cost-effective for manufacturers to integrate cellular connectivity without dealing with complex hardware configurations. During the session, industry leaders such as Dennis Nikles (CEO, Deutsche Telekom IoT) and Oyvind Birkenes (EVP, Nordic Semiconductor) highlighted how MECC reduces development time and provides scalable IoT solutions.
One of the key benefits of MECC is its flexibility for both manufacturers and end-users:
For manufacturers: By embedding IoT modules during production, OEMs avoid the need for time-consuming and costly retrofitting. Devices leave the factory connectivity-ready, with the option to activate full IoT functionality later.
For end-users: Devices can be remotely configured, updated, and monitored from day one, enabling manufacturers to offer enhanced services such as predictive maintenance or usage-based pricing models.
Lower Costs, Faster Time-to-Market
With MECC, DT offers graduated hardware pricing models, allowing manufacturers to install IoT modules in mass production without incurring full connectivity costs upfront. For example:
Standby connectivity costs as little as €10 per year per device, with the option to upgrade to a full IoT Business LPWA data plan when needed.
The integrated nuSIM eliminates the need for physical SIMs, saving space and reducing power consumption.
A Milestone for IoT
By pre-installing cellular connectivity at the manufacturing stage, Deutsche Telekom’s MECC solution significantly lowers the barriers to IoT adoption. It offers manufacturers a flexible, cost-efficient way to bring connected products to market faster while enabling new service models. As IoT adoption accelerates, solutions like MECC will play a vital role in driving scalability and innovation across industries.
Open RAN (O-RAN/ORAN) took centre stage at Deutsche Telekom AG’s Capital Markets Day 2024 (#DTCMD24), with multiple mentions highlighting its growing significance in the telecom industry. Claudia Nemat, Member of the Management Board responsible for Technology and Innovation, underscored its role in co-creating with partners and kick-starting transformative initiatives like Open RAN and network APIs.
In her presentation, she highlighted both the opportunities and challenges presented by Open RAN. While it offers greater choice and flexibility, it also introduces significant complexity—someone must "stitch it all together." To navigate this complexity successfully, Deutsche Telekom is focusing on robust procurement at the subcomponent level, alongside developing strong software engineering, testing, and integration capabilities.
Deutsche Telekom’s transition from SRAN (Single-vendor RAN) to ORAN is not a new strategy, but Claudia shared an important update: the company is also developing its own RAN management system. This system aims to control costs, improve user experience, and mitigate risks associated with reliance on Chinese vendors. The approach involves replacing external configuration management systems with an in-house solution—a shift supported by a public agreement.
Deutsche Telekom reaffirmed its commitment to Open RAN, setting an ambitious goal to fully develop its conflict management capabilities by 2027. This long-term strategy positions the company as a leader in balancing innovation with operational resilience.
At Fyuz 2024 in Dublin, Petr Lédl, Chief Architect of DT O-RAN and Vice President of Network Trials at Deutsche Telekom talked about the progress in its three core areas of Open RAN – open fronthaul, an independent management framework, and the adoption of cloud RAN for hardware/software disaggregation. Deutsche Telekom is building on its in-house service management and orchestration (SMO) platform to develop a common management system that can cope with traditional RAN as well as Open RAN elements, says Lédl.
Deutsche Telekom has been actively promoting the role of Artificial Intelligence, both Predictive as well as Generative (GenAI), within their network. At FutureNet World 2024, Ahmed Hafez, VP Technology Strategy at Deutsche Telekom explained the role AI plays in their network. This Analysys Mason research note nicely summarises it as follows:
Deutsche Telekom’s (DT’s) Vice President of Technology Strategy, Ahmed Hafez, was forthcoming during a presentation at the event about the operator’s use of GenAI to improve employee productivity. Hafez said that DT had numerous GenAI-based use cases in production, including a coding assistant for developing test cases and an “FTTH roll-out chatbot” that helps contractors to adhere to regulation during fibre broadband installation. This chatbot uses retrieval augmented generation (RAG) based on information gathered from around 400 documents, each of which has about 900 pages, to respond to contractors’ questions and provide links to the relevant sections within these documents.
I’ve also used the 6-dimensional nature of networks as a reason why each use-case “cell” is a tiny part of the overall
At the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2024, CEO Tim Höttges provided an insight into the ambition, the framework and governance of AI in Deutsche Telekom. His presentation is embedded below:
You can also read this article from Deutsche Telekom AGM 2024 where Tim Höttges talks a lot more about the use of AI in some 400 projects all across Deutsche Telekom. It is in turn helping optimize quality, bringing them closer to their customers, and enhancing productivity by up to 50% for routine tasks.
The adoption of AI within the networks is going to accelerate in the next few years and as 6G is billed as AI-native network, the ambition would be to have as little people interaction as possible and have most major tasks work autonomously.
Back in June, Deutsche Telekom hosted a digital conference for sharing knowledge and experiencing the latest innovations. 'Telekom Tech Grounds' for magenta technology and green power took place on 28 & 29 June 2021. The event was hosted virtually and the admission was free for all. You can access the event here.
Deutsche Telekom presents ideas and technical solutions that address four key questions: How will we tackle climate change as a Telco – together with our partners and clients? How will innovations empower business and digital health solutions? How will we leverage real-time data to build smart digital lifestyle environments and ecosystems? How will we transform networks into software-based platforms and services, enabling new business models?
Four topic areas will be presented on different virtual stages. They focus on "Business Innovation," "Network Differentiation," "Home Innovation" and "Sustainability."
Digital transformation in the telecommunications and IT industry is advancing at a rapid pace. "Digital technologies will play a key role in overcoming current challenges: without them, for example, we will not achieve climate neutrality," said Claudia Nemat, Telekom Board member responsible for technology and innovation. The CTO adds examples: "Video conferencing can continue to replace a large part of business travel. In agriculture, IoT-based applications effectively reduce the use of fertilizer, while smart home and smart grid applications help reduce our electricity consumption."
Nice video of Deutsche Telekom's O-RAN Town in Neubrandenburg, Germany - https://t.co/Hb6XPN86bn
Deutsche Telekom has put its ‘O-RAN Town’ into operation in Neubrandenburg, Germany. RAN stands for "Radio Access Network" and refers to components of antenna technology in mobile communications. And Open RAN, because unlike in the past, technology components from a large number of different technology suppliers are to work together. O-RAN Town will provide 4G and 5G services based on Open RAN at up to 25 sites. The first sites have now gone into operation and been integrated into Telekom Deutschland's live network. This includes Europe's first integration of Massive MIMO radio units (mMIMO, MIMO = multiple input, multiple output). This involves the use of a large number of small antennas per transmission unit.
At O-RAN Town, Deutsche Telekom is researching, enhancing and verifying the end-to-end capabilities of the Service Management and Orchestration Tool (SMO) developed in-house based on open source. The SMO is used for automated testing, remote site configuration, and network anomaly detection and resolution. Deutsche Telekom plans to gradually expand O-RAN Town, working with various vendors. These solutions are currently being tested in the lab to ensure interoperability across all components.
Deutsche Telekom says it wants to make Open RAN “deployable across its footprint by 2023”. Yesterday, it confirmed Europe’s first deployment with massive MIMO, at its "O-RAN Town" in Neubrandenburg, Germany. #MWC21#TelekomTechGroundspic.twitter.com/OlTZG7ZAiA
Individual requirements are playing an increasingly important role, especially in industry: data rates, speeds or latency times. To meet these requirements, Telekom is testing network slicing. This means operating multiple virtual networks in parallel on the basis of a common network infrastructure. Network slicing is a key feature of 5G. Several virtual networks can be operated on a single physical network infrastructure. The network is “cut into slices", the so-called network slices. Different service characteristics and quality parameters can be provided for each "slice". The slices are completely isolated from each other. They can thus be adapted to different customer requirements.
Together with its partners Ericsson and Samsung, Deutsche Telekom has now announced the world's first implementation, which was carried out across all manufacturers in the laboratory environment in Bonn. Another new feature allows a device to steer applications and services with specific requirements to a defined slice. With this, a customer can experience great service quality by serving applications with the right network slice.
Deutsche Telekom and Samsung join forces for sustainability
Deutsche Telekom and Samsung are entering into a strategic partnership for sustainability. The core of the collaboration is the development of a green smartphone suitable for the mass market. It will support 5G technology and be designed to be sustainable. This includes easy repair and a removable battery. The smartphone is planned for the end of 2022.
The two companies are also focusing on a holistic approach. This also focuses on the service life of smartphones. Samsung is already an integral part of the Telekom cell phone cycle in Germany and Poland, which gives phones a second life. As part of the cycle, Telekom repurchases used phones, refurbishes them, and puts them back into circulation.
Digital port logistics: Drones secure port of Hamburg
Customer satisfaction is also a focus for Telekom when it comes to setting up campus networks. A few days ago, Telekom announced the establishment of a campus network in the Port of Hamburg on behalf of HHLA Sky, a subsidiary of Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG. HHLA Sky will control and monitor a fleet of industrial drones from a single control center using the campus network. At HHLA's terminals, the drones will inspect container bridges and asphalt surfaces to improve safety on the port site. This saves time compared to previous inspection procedures. In addition, the drones reliably transmit sensor and flight data via the campus network.
IoT Boost
Getting devices and applications up and running on the IoT is now easier than ever: Telekom and 1NCE, with clear focus on low bandwidth IoT connectivity, in cooperation with Amazon Web Services, Inc. (AWS), offer the new Zero Touch service. This makes the integration of Internet of Things (IoT) solutions as if by magic: simple and fast in the cloud with automated device onboarding on AWS. This is designed to rapidly reduce the complexity for customers by enabling them to easily set up and run their IoT solutions.
And that's the point. Technology must put people at the center. That applies to this solution as well as the others presented. Hence the motto of the Telekom Tech Grounds: #HumancenteredTechnology. www.techgrounds.telekom.com.
The first day of the #TelekomTechGrounds was all about the questions how we are constantly improving our network, ensuring carbon-neutral business operations by 2040 and what our vision for #6G 🚀 looks like. All sessions are also available on demand 👉https://t.co/H5L80i5Yowpic.twitter.com/qcsnP7Dbqg
— Deutsche Telekom AG (@deutschetelekom) June 28, 2021
You can also find a short summary of Telekom Tech Ground Network Differentiation Session by Dr. Alex Jinsung Choi, Deutsche Telekom Senior Vice President, Head of Strategy & Technology Innovation, COO of O-RAN Alliance, on his LinkedIn post here. Some pictures from the O-RAN session can be found on the LinkedIn post by Abdu Mudesir, Senior Vice President of Deutsche Telekom, here.
Germany hosts one of Europe’s largest telecom markets and number of significant operators which offer effective competition in the mobile and broadband sectors. Telekom Deutschland remains the dominant provider in the fixed-line segment, though there is increasing competition from operators including freenet, Vodafone Germany, and Telefónica Germany, each of which is making use of regulatory measures aimed at facilitating wholesale network access to provide fibre-based broadband services.
It took many years for Germany with 83M inhabitants to pass Finland (5.5M inhabitants) in total mobile data traffic, but Germany is now clearly ahead. Italy and France much ahead of Germany, though. pic.twitter.com/DHd2bB4WxV
The German mobile market is driven by mobile data, with the number of mobile broadband subscribers having increased rapidly in recent years. With LTE now effectively universally available, considerable progress has recently been made in building out 5G networks. Telekom’s 5G service provided about 80% population coverage by March 2021. This was expected to be increased to 90% coverage by the end of the year.
There are currently three network operators left in Germany: Deutsche Telekom (formerly known as T-Mobile), Vodafone, and O2 (owned by Telefónica) merged with e-plus (acquired by Telefónica).
There are also a number of MVNOs each belonging to one of the three major network operators. MVNOs are particularly popular for prepaid in Germany and are mostly cheaper than the MNOs. They now have a prepaid market share of more than 40%, which is among the highest in the world.
Some visitors are surprised to find out that the leading industrial powerhouse in Europe still has quite patchy mobile networks. One cannot expect Korean or Japanese speeds and coverage. Local users, politicians and major CEOs alike now put pressure on the three operators to improve the situation that lags behind other European countries what 4G/LTE coverage and speeds are concerned sold locally at rather high prices.
Which operators in Europe had the fastest growth in mobile data traffic in 2020?
2G and 3G: GSM mostly up to EDGE speed is on 900 and decreasingly on 1800 MHz and 3G is on 2100 MHz like in most of Europe. Almost the entire country is covered by 2G, few remote unpopulated areas remain without any coverage. 3G/UMTS up to DC-HSDPA+ speed is available in most of the populated areas with rather extended blank patches left in the countryside. Telekom has announced that it will re-farm the 3G spectrum to 4G and 5G and gradually switch off 3G in starting June 30th 2021.
4G/LTE: LTE has been rolled out on most common 4G frequencies in Europe on all operators: 800 MHz (band 20), 1800 MHz (band 3) and 2600 MHz (band 7). From 2017 on 900 MHz (band 8) and 2100 MHz (band 1) has been re-farmed from 2G and 3G. Band 28 on 700 MHz will be added from 2019 after digital TV has left this spectrum.
Deutsche Telekom is the previously state-owned, incumbent provider. It is the market leader in Germany with the best network. For a time it was called T-Mobile like in the US, but has reverted to its old name in Germany. While it caters mostly for postpaid, it still offers prepaid that used to be called Xtra Cards. Note that their rates are the highest in the country and are sold often cheaper by its subsidiary Congstar and MVNOs, not to mention its competitors.
Telekom has won all network tests within the last decade in the country. It offers coverage where no other network does and speeds mostly faster than its competitors. But this comes at the highest prices of all operators. 4G/LTE is available at locations that are not covered by any other network and is available for 97% of population.
On the downside, it's indoor power on 4G/LTE is sometimes lower compared to Vodafone or o2. That's because Telekom mainly uses 1800 MHz B3 and 2600 MHz B7 in towns without any 800 MHz B20 fallback. To fix this problem, they now add 900 MHz B8 and 2100 MHz B1 where 800 MHz is not available. Note that Berlin's underground U-Bahn system is only partly covered so far.
The operator expects its 5G network to reach 90% of the country’s population by the end of this year. They currently provide coverage to 80% of the population. By the end of March, more than 66 million people in around 5,000 towns and cities across Germany will be able to use their 5G network.
Over 50,000 5G antennas are already transmitting with 5G across Germany. Deutsche Telekom is using multiple frequencies for its 5G expansion. The focus is on the 2.1 GHz and 3.6 GHz frequency bands. At the end of March, 5G will be available in 30 cities on the 3.6 GHz frequency following the deployment of nearly 1,000 antennas in Aachen, Augsburg, Berlin, Bonn, Braunschweig, Bremen, Darmstadt, Dortmund, Duisburg, Düsseldorf, Essen, Frankfurt/Main, Hamburg, Hanover, Jena, Kiel, Cologne, Leipzig, Ludwigsburg, Munich, Nuremberg, Saarbrücken, Schwerin, Stuttgart, Wiesbaden and Wolfsburg.
According to Deutsche Telekom the primary 5G technology currently deployed in Germany is based on the 5G non-standalone (5G NSA) network architecture, which means that current’s 5G offerings are still technically dependent on a simultaneously available 4G network (LTE). With 5G standalone, the infrastructure in the core network will also be fully upgraded to a new, cloud-based 5G architecture.
According to the recent OpenSignal report Telekom remains the dominant operator as far as their awards table is concerned — the operator won five out of seven awards outright and is the joint winner for a sixth. However, it has been forced to share the 4G Availability award with O2 because of a surge in O2’s score since the last report. In addition, Telekom’s leads on Video Experience, Games Experience, Download Speed Experience, Upload Speed Experience and 4G Coverage Experience have all declined since last time due to its rivals in second place seeing larger increases in their scores.
Vodafone is considered the number two network in Germany which has become the biggest market of the UK-based provider. They cover almost 98% of the population by 4G/LTE in 2019.
Meanwhile their 3G network has been partly refarmed to 4G with only one remaining UMTS carrier (formerly three) in most cities. That is why Vodafone without 4G/LTE can't be recommended for heavy data users, because data speeds are often less than 1 Mbit/s in crowded areas on 3G.
Vodafone mostly uses 800 MHz (B20) frequency band for 4G/LTE away from large cities. Additionally, 700 MHz (B28), 900 MHz (B8), 1800 MHz (B3), 2100 MHz (B1) and 2600 MHz (B7) are employed.
5G has been started in a few places in 2019. All own branded Vodafone prepaid SIM cards can use it, but only a few handsets are so far capable of 3500 MHz (n78).
Vodafone Germany CEO has said they are the first in Europe to take off the so-called LTE training wheels of its 5G network, launching standalone (SA) 5G with vendor partner Ericsson.
All mobile radio sites in the 3.5 GHz range were switched over and now connect to an independent 5G core network, no longer relying on LTE. That includes 1,000 antennas in 170 cities and municipalities, according to Vodafone.
Large cities like Berlin, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Munich and Düsseldorf, are on the list, as well as smaller locations Magdeburg, Solingen, Bremen and Mainz. By the end of 2021, the mobile operator plans to up the number of radios connected to 5G standalone in Germany to around 4,000 – which calls for additional spectrum bands.
Vodafone used Ericsson’s 5G radio system gear, along with its Cloud Core for the SA 5G network.
The partners also converted a Frankfurt data center to 5G for cloud data processing closer to the customer. Two more are planned, located in Berlin and Munich, and expanding to a total of ten 5G data centers by 2023.
Vodafone launched 5G in Germany in 2019. In moving beyond non-standalone (NSA) 5G, which is what most carriers have used for initial 5G rollouts, Vodafone cited a variety of performance improvements. That includes connecting about ten-times as many people and machines per square kilometer (up to 1 million) simultaneously, compared to NSA 5G. Moving to standalone is also key for network slicing, a technique operators are looking at to drive new revenue models by allocating parts of the network to different users or customers.
Vodafone recently announced that its 5G network now reaches 25 million people across the country, with this set to rise to 30 million by the end of the year, exceeding its original target to cover 20 million Germans by end-2021. The firm has switched on more than 10,000 5G antennas at over 3,000 locations. It plans to implement a further 7,000 mobile upgrade and expansion projects in the twelve months to end-March 2022, including 3,000 projects to activate 9,000 5G antennas, as well as rolling out its 5G Standalone (5G SA) network, which currently comprises 1,000 antennas. In addition, from the end of June Vodafone will reallocate its former 3G spectrum to boost LTE coverage at 18,000 base stations. The 3G switch-off has already been implemented in the cities of Mainz, Wiesbaden and Chemnitz.
O2, owned by Telefónica, has now grown from Germany's smallest network to its biggest after the merger with E-Plus, what number of subscribers is concerned. The shops of E-Plus/Base have been rebranded and each customers can use also the both 2G and 3G networks nationwide and 4G/LTE and is available for 85% of population. This gives a better coverage in the countryside, but still not as widespread as Telekom or Vodafone. 4G/LTE has been opened for prepaid in 2016 on its own brand and most of their MVNOs.
O2 Deutschland currently offers 5G using 3.6 GHz frequencies, with around 1,000 antennas covering 30-plus cities. Now it has upgraded one 5G facility at Helene-Mayer-Ring 10 in Munich using carrier aggregation to offer a faster service, provided customers have the appropriate device, of course; the operator named the Xiaomi Mi 11 5G as an example.
It did not specify which frequencies it is aggregating with 3.6 GHz, instead making vague references to the potential of the 700 MHz and 1800 MHz bands for boosting 5G.The operator has recently launched standalone 5G network.
Matt Walker, Chief Analyst at MTN Consulting shared this chart on LinkedIn.
The following are some interesting points from the discussions:
This does not include spectrum.
China Unicom is 12th with $1,862M in 3Q20 capex spend. Vodafone Idea spent only $140M in capex in 3Q20, which would rank it #72 on our list of 138 telcos.
Reliance Jio was just outside the top 20 (#23) for 3Q20, based on $730M in estimated capex spend.
Earlier we wrote about Telefónica Deutschland working with Big Data & AI, so today we are looking at another German operator working with Artificial Intelligence and Analytics.
Instead of buying "off-the-shelf" AI systems and robots, which can be expensive, Deutsche Telekom is developing its own AI solutions – via its developer teams, and with the support of partners. And it is testing AI-based software, computers, voice control functions and chatbots, with a view to making customer service more efficient, for consumers and corporate customers alike. Standard queries from corporate customers can easily call for a thousand manual actions in various software systems – actions such as entering bookings and process commands, and initiating orders. By developing its own smart software for such tasks, the company can thus save considerable time and expense – and nerves! Chatbots can make customer service more effective and efficient. They can handle routine tasks, and they can be available around the clock. Deutsche Telekom has a range of different digital assistants, most of which are recognizable as such to customers. While they will not be able to replace real human service agents in addressing complex concerns, AI systems will increasingly be able to relieve human agents of standard tasks – and thus give human agents more time for the tasks that only they can do. With this perspective, AI systems are being designed to be able to solve specific customer problems. Virtual assistants such as Tinka, Sophie and Vanda will soon be able to "learn" from chat logs and from real conversations between service agents and customers. They will be able to glean the best solutions and approaches, to remember what they have learned and to apply a growing fund of knowledge. They are also being designed to communicate with customers in ways that sound and feel "human." Significantly, in the interest of coordinating its efforts in this area, Deutsche Telekom has launched an overarching AI program, eLIZA, for the purpose of linking all AI solutions within the Deutsche Telekom Group.
In the recent news, Deutsche Telekom announced that it has been using artificial intelligence for fiber-optic roll-out:
Deutsche Telekom is breaking new ground in its fiber-optic roll-out: It has become the first network operator in Europe to plan a pilot project using artificial intelligence. Thanks to faster and optimized route planning, the roll-out can cover more ground, faster. And customers will feel the benefits. "The shortest route to the customer is not always the most economical. By using artificial intelligence in the planning phase we can speed up our fiber-optic roll-out. This enables us to offer our customers broadband lines faster and, above all, more efficiently," says Walter Goldenits, head of Technology at Telekom Deutschland. It is often more economical to lay a few extra feet of cable. That is what the new software-based technology evaluates using digitally-collected environmental data. Where would cobblestones have to be dug up and laid again? Where is there a risk of damaging tree roots? A measuring vehicle was sent out in Bornheim (near Bonn) this summer, equipped with 360° cameras and laser scanners as part of Deutsche Telekom's FTTH (Fiber-to-the-home) project. It collected detailed environmental data using GPS technology. Depending on the terrain, the vehicle can cover 50 to 80 kilometres per day. All told, it collects approximately 5 GB of surface data per kilometer. The effort and thus costs involved in laying cable depend on the existing structure. First, civil engineers open the ground and lay the conduits and fiber-optic cables. Then they have to restore the surface to its previous condition. Of course, the process takes longer with large paving stones than with dirt roads. ... The neural network used for this recognizes a total of approximately 30 different categories through deep learning algorithms. This includes trees, street lights, asphalt and cobblestones. Right down to the smallest detail: Do the pavements feature large pavement slabs or small cobblestones? Are the trees deciduous or coniferous? The trees' root structure also has a decisive impact on civil engineering decisions. Once the data has been collected, a specially-trained artificial intelligence is used to make all vehicles and individuals unidentifiable. The automated preparation phase then follows in a number of stages. The existing infrastructure is assessed to determine the optimal route. A Deutsche Telekom planner then double-checks and approves it.
Telefónica Deutschland leveraging DT's high-performance fiber-optic cable network to connect at least 5,000 mobile base stations to support 3G and LTE networks and prepare for 5G. According to Broadband World News it was unclear whether its AI use will apply to the work slated for Telefónica Deutschland.
AT&T, Verizon, China Mobile and NTT have maintained their top four positions in 2017 while Softbank has slipped one place to let Deutsche Telekom become the fifth largest operator by revenue. Other top 20 players by revenue include Telefónica, Vodafone, China Telecom, América Móvil, Orange, Comcast, China Unicom, KDDI, British Telecom (BT), Charter, Altice, Telecom Italia, Telsta and KT
