Post-MWC telco AI debrief: What’s real and what’s hype with Charlotte Patrick

"AI adoption in telco isn’t just about grand visions—it’s about the practical wins happening today." – Charlotte Patrick

Post #MWC25, AI remains the hot telco topic. Independent analyst Charlotte Patrick joined us this week on Zero-Touch Live to share her perspective from show meetings, sessions and deep research. We discussed how AI is making a real impact and where it’s being held back.

Watch the replay below.

Where AI is delivering now

AI is making a tangible impact in telecom in areas where vast amounts of data need to be analyzed quickly. For network optimization, AI-powered fault detection is improving reliability by identifying anomalies that human teams might miss. In customer support, generative AI is streamlining processes by automating documentation and assisting agents with real-time responses. In field operations, AI-driven site management is cutting rollout costs by 40% thanks to new capabilities such as image recognition, which can instantly validate work to eliminate unnecessary site visits.

However, fully autonomous, self-healing networks (Level 4-5 AI) are still a ways off. Scaling AI to this level will require better data architectures, reduced costs and more advanced knowledge models to make automation truly effective:

• Real-time data streaming is replacing traditional polling methods, but many telcos still struggle to extract and process data fast enough to enable true AI-driven decision-making.
• Knowledge gaps remain a significant hurdle as AI needs structured models of how networks operate to make intelligent, automated decisions.
• Scaling AI cost-effectively remains a challenge, as some applications generate immediate ROI while others require expensive computing resources that make widespread adoption difficult.

Check out the interview now for insight into how telcos overcome these hurdles to stay competitive. And keep an eye out for Charlotte’s upcoming research, which will explore data architectures, knowledge planes and the evolving role of digital twins in telco AI strategies.

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