Introduction

The telecommunications industry is a capital-intensive business with high fixed costs, which puts pressure

on communications service providers (CSPs) to control variable costs, particularly human capital. While

this has always been an issue, it has gotten worse recently.

Tom Nolle of CIMI Corporation estimates that many CSPs crossed the point where revenue per bit is lower

than cost per bit in 2017. Threatened by fast and highly-efficient web-scale companies, CSPs are straining

under the challenge posed by digital transformation. On top of that, they must solve how to profitably

manage and operate the dizzyingly complex 5G networks. Internet of Things (IoT) use cases, ranging from

autonomous cars and industrial sensors to smart cities, create a multiplier effect for network complexity.

It is an industry ripe for artificial intelligence (AI)-driven solutions, with their promise of lowering costs and

boosting efficiencies through automation. Many telecom operators have begun to experiment and deploy

AI-driven solutions in both customer-facing and internal organizations. Omdia has identified seven key

telecom AI use cases: network operations monitoring and management, predictive maintenance, fraud

mitigation, cybersecurity, customer service and marketing virtual digital assistants (VDAs), intelligent

customer relationship management (CRM) systems, and customer experience management (CEM). This

white paper provides details about these telecom AI use cases in Africa.

The emergence of these telecom AI use cases will vary across the globe. The primary drivers for AI in

telecom—cost savings from replacing or enhancing human workers and the rollout of 5G networks—are

not immediate needs for CSPs in Africa. Barriers, such as the lack of reliable, consistent power and limited

per-capita income are present in Africa. Due to less intense pressure from the market drivers and the force

of the market barriers, the rollout and spending on AI-driven solutions in Africa will lag behind other regions.

Nevertheless, Omdia estimates that spending on AI-driven software for telecom use cases in Africa will

grow from $4.4 million in 2018 to more than $265 million in 2025.