SUBTONOMY, the world’s leading telecoms technical customer support vendor, is featured in a new report released today by the GSMA’s Mobile World Live, the online communications hub for the global mobile industry. Subtonomy sponsored insight into AI adoption in the customer care domain in the newly-released AI Survey 2025, which provides a barometer of uptake of AI as the mobile industry shifts to intelligent operation.

Mobile Operators see huge potential in AI-drive customer care 2025

Mobile World Live surveyed its 180,000 members, which represent mobile network operators, MVNOs, device manufacturers, systems integrators and service providers, to provide an up-to-date picture of how they view AI adoption in the mobile industry.

In the customer care domain, it found members could see huge potential for AI in customer care, primarily to tackle long-standing challenges such as resource constraints, operational costs and the drive to provide better customer care experiences.

When respondents were asked where they thought AI would deliver the most value in the next 18 months, the survey found:

• 54% said it would help them deliver round-the-clock (24/7) support
• 52% thought it would assist in reducing customer care costs
• 48% believe it is integral to boosting customer satisfaction and loyalty.

93% are already using smart chatbots

Nine in ten mobile operators (93%) are already using smart chatbots within their customer care operations, with less than one in ten (7%) yet to adopt these intelligent virtual assistants. However, they are at different stages of maturity in terms of the type of inquiries their chatbots can handle.

• Least advanced performers – 1 in 10 mobile operators (7%) say they are not using smart chatbots at all
• Average performers – 7 in 10 mobile operators (74%) say their chatbots handle up to half their customer inquiries
• Advanced performers – 2 in 10 (19%) say their chatbots are sophisticated enough to handle more than half their customer inquiries. Of these, just 3% have chatbots that are able to handle more than 75% of inquiries.

Predictable barriers are holding back innovation

Many operators report being stuck and not able to move to the next stage – often for entirely predictable reasons. More than half (56%) say their initiatives are being held back by lack of internal resources such as the availability of skilled staff and lack of budget. Budgetary constraints are particularly problem with many operators struggling to articulate a clear business case for deployment. Another major barrier is the lack of accessible data – a problem that’s particularly acute for 32% of respondents. Other operators complain that even where a solution is available, it’s often not suitable for the telecoms environment.

“The Mobile World Live AI Survey 2025 demonstrates the huge potential for mobile operators to achieve their goals of saving money, alleviating pressure on call center agents and providing a better experience for customers by moving towards a higher level of digital self-care supplemented by more sophisticated chatbots,” comments Andreas Jörbeck, CEO, Subtonomy. “This is where Subtonomy comes in. We know that while AI is the engine, data is the fuel. And telecoms data is like no other.”

Jörbeck explains that his company has years of experience working with major telecoms groups to help them squeeze more value out of the data trapped in operational silos to provide better customer care.

“At Subtonomy we’re already fuelling our customers’ initiatives to deliver the full potential of AI. Whether they’re working on AI-enhanced chatbots in self-care channels or intelligent co-pilots in the call center, our data mediation platform and network APIs are the foundational elements required to deliver intelligent customer care today.”

23% say they have difficulty sourcing telecoms-specific AI models and 18% say they have problems sourcing a telecoms-specific third-party solution.

Source: totaltele.com

Starlink will reportedly soon be granted approval by Indian authorities to introduce satellite broadband services, with the company submitting the required material for final clearance.

The Economic Times stated the satellite broadband arm of Elon Musk’s SpaceX agreed to most conditions for securing a licence from the country’s regulator but questioned some security-related requirements, which are under discussion.

The Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre will review Starlink’s application, the newspaper wrote.

The news comes a week after India Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Musk during his visit to the US to see President Donald Trump.

Back in early 2022, Starlink was ordered by the Indian government to refund deposits made by customers as the venture had not received a licence to operate.

SpaceX set up local subsidiary Starlink Satellite Communications in late 2021 to offer broadband service.

Source: Mobile World Live

Algerian mobile phone company Djezzy has launched into the cloud segment. The official announcement was made on Monday, February 17, on the sidelines of the inaugural ceremony of the CTO Forum 2025, which runs until February 19. The company intends to support businesses and institutions in their digital transformation by offering them innovative, reliable and secure solutions.

“The cloud, an essential lever for the competitiveness of companies, is a solution that provides access to flexible, secure IT resources adapted to their needs,” said Djezzy in a press release quoted by Algérie Presse Service (APS).

Djezzy is positioning itself in a growing market in a context of digital transformation where telecom operators want to diversify their activities beyond traditional mobile telephony services. The Global Mobile Phone Association (GSMA) believes that services beyond the core business are becoming increasingly important in the growth strategy of operators in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). The organization cites a 2023 survey which showed that 57% of operators in 2023 cited public cloud among their top three technology priorities for businesses.

According to data portal Statista, the public cloud market in Algeria is expected to generate revenue of $1.12 billion in 2025. Revenue in Algeria is expected to grow at a CAGR of 14.99% over the period 2025-2029, reaching $1.96 billion in 2029. “The Algerian public cloud market is increasingly influenced by government initiatives aimed at accelerating digital transformation and improving local data management capabilities ,” Statista added.

This initiative could allow Djezzy to increase its revenues. The company posted a turnover of 112.17 billion dinars ($831.6 million) in 2024, up 10% compared to 2023. However, it should be remembered that the company must face competition in the regional cloud market, driven in particular by global leaders in IT services such as American companies Oracle and Microsoft or Amazon Web Service.

Source: Agency EcoFin

Vodacom has unveiled Vision 2030 to shareholders and prospective investors — a five-year strategy that sets out the mobile operator’s ambition to deliver double-digit growth in earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation, and amortisation (Ebitda).

The company noted that this represented an upgrade from its existing medium-term target framework of high single-digit Ebitda growth.

In a presentation to investors, Vodacom Group CEO Shameel Joosub and Group CFO Raisibe Morathi explained that the company expects to achieve this result through a combination of measures.

These include a focus on customer growth, capital and cost efficiency, and debt reduction.

Vodacom said it planned to add another 50 million customers across the group in the next five years, growing by 23.8% from 210 million to 260 million subscribers.

It noted that Africa is expected to add around 800 million to the global workforce by 2050 and will be home to the largest and youngest population globally.

Vodacom said it aimed to grow its fintech customers by 35 million — an increase of 41% from its current base of 85 million.

The company said it also expects smartphone penetration to grow from its current level of 63% to over 75% in 2030.

In addition to growing its customer base, Vodacom said it aimed to boost earnings in hard currency by managing costs, maintaining or improving its return on capital employed, and reducing debt.

Vodacom said it would maintain a leverage ceiling of 1.5× net debt to Ebitda, and a capital intensity of 13% to 14.5%.

Additionally, Vodacom said it aims to increase revenue by over 32% from R151 billion to over R200 billion.

It also said it would like to diversify its operations so that South Africa contributes less than 50% to the group’s operating profit. Currently, South Africa contributes 59%.

Vodacom released a trading statement for the quarter ended 31 December 2024 earlier this month, reporting 1.6% revenue growth across the group and a 1.4% decline in service revenue.

Vodacom South Africa recorded revenue growth of 4.7% — up from R22.80 billion the year before to R23.87 billion.

It service revenue was R16.2 billion, up from R15.7 billion for the same period the year before — a 3.2% increase.

In addition, Vodacom South Africa reported that it increased its capital expenditure by 5.4% compared to the year before from R3.03 billion to R3.2 billion.

Joosub said Vodacom South Africa expects to invest between R11 and R11.2 billion this financial year.

“The improved Vodacom South Africa performance was underpinned by a variety of factors, including successful seasonal campaigns, improved consumer environment in the prepaid segment, and a 40.6% increase in data traffic,” said Joosub.

Average data usage per smart device increased by 37% to 5.3GB, while the number of 4G and 5G networks on Vodacom’s network increased by 4.9% to 24.5 million.

Vodacom South Africa recorded a 3.9% increase in mobile contract customer revenue to R6.1 billion, supported by a price increase in the first quarter of the year.

Its average revenue per user from mobile contract customers increased 2.3% to R306, which it also attributed to the price increase.

“We added 61,000 contract customers in the quarter, to reach a contract base of 7.0 million, up 2.0%,” said Vodacom South Africa.

The mobile network operator attributed much of the success in its prepaid segment, which delivered growth of 5.6%, to its seasonal campaigns.

It noted that the “V-UP” summer campaign resulted in 13.7 million customers actively engaging to win rewards and prizes.

“The seasonal campaigns helped capture an improved consumer spend environment with prepaid data revenue of R3.8 billion in the quarter, up 15.5%,” said Vodacom South Africa.

Source: extensia.tech

Operator trio MasOrange, Telefonica and Vodafone Group revealed plans to demonstrate the first use case of the Open Gateway Multi-Telco Innovation Lab at MWC25 Barcelona, in partnership with the i2CAT research centre.

During MWC25 Barcelona, the companies will demonstrate ViRe, a mobile application designed by technology company Laude to ensure a safe environment for individuals protected by restraining orders.

The operators explained a distinguishing feature of the proof-of-concept is the integration of the Open Gateway APIs.

In this case, Laude integrated various APIs provided by the laboratory, including device location verification, quality-on-demand, number verification, KYC and device swap, among others.

The application also employs AI algorithms powered by the APIs which are integrated into telecoms networks, offering “enhanced security and reliability”.

Laude is the first company to explore the potential of the APIs deployed by operators within the lab, the companies stated. The innovation lab launched in October 2024 and offers a “developer-ready environment” allowing companies and developers to explore and use telco capabilities through standardised APIs.

i2CAT serves as a coordinator, optimising the performance of the APIs.

The use case is designed to prioritise critical social needs and runs through the multi-operator mobile application to inform victims of the proximity or risky behaviour of people identified as dangerous in real time, along with alerting law enforcement and other people to offer extra protection.

The demonstration will be held at the GSMA stand in Hall 4 daily during MWC25 Barcelona.

Source: Mobile World Live

Microsoft has launched a $1 million initiative to train one million Nigerians in artificial intelligence (AI) skills over the next two years, The Nation Newspaper has reported.

According to the report, the announcement was made by Microsoft’s Country Manager for Nigeria and Ghana, Ola Williams, during the launch of the Microsoft AI Tour in Lagos.

The initiative can potentially help to equip Nigerians with AI expertise, fostering digital transformation and workforce readiness in the country.

Source: extensia.tech

Nokia teamed with Japanese tech companies NTT and Anritsu to validate what they claimed is the world’s first proof of concept (PoC) for elastic networking, a technology designed to enhance energy efficiency in mobile networks.

Developed under trade body Innovative Optical and Wireless Network (IOWN) Global Forum, elastic networking reallocates network resources on demand. The technology allows operators to switch off radio and optical equipment when traffic is low and redirect network resources when demand is high. This “intelligent” resource allocation apparently does not compromise network performance even in densely populated urban areas.

Nokia touted the technology will help operators in Japan, including NTT, meet rising AI-driven bandwidth demands while reducing energy consumption.

In a statement, the vendor stated the PoC utilised Nokia’s high-performance optical solutions to demonstrate real-world energy savings.

James Watt, VP and GM Optical Networks Division at Nokia, affirmed that reducing energy consumption across the vendor’s product portfolio was a priority. “This successful PoC highlights the trusted performance and resilience of our optical products,” he stated, adding that the vendor plans to continue collaborating with industry players including IOWN to develop energy-optimised wireless networks.

The move aligns with Nokia’s previous energy-saving efforts, such as enhancing its energy efficiency software in 2023 with advanced algorithms and power-saving features, enabling operators to reduce network power consumption by up to 30 per cent.

Source: Mobile World Live

Apple took the wraps off of its low-end iPhone 16e priced at $599 as it attempts to revive sluggish growth by including advanced AI tools.

Apple is attempting to better compete against AI-enabled devices from Google and Samsung, but at a lower price point than its high-end iPhone 16 models.

The iPhone 16e lays to rest the iPhone SE first introduced in 2016 and updated three years ago. Bloomberg reported it will cost $170 more than an SE due to advanced features such as the same A18 Pro chip used in the iPhone 16 devices announced in September.

The A18 chip is built with second-generation 3nm transistors and is 20 per cent faster than the A17 chip used in previous phones. 

It is also the first iPhone to use the C1 chipset developed internally by Apple.

The iPhone 16e has enough compute power to run Apple Intelligence, the software set of AI tools that includes access to OpenAI’s ChatGPT.

It features a 6.1-inch OLED display, a single 48MP rear camera and a 12MP front-facing camera.

Kaiann Drance, VP of worldwide iPhone product marketing, stated the 16e is optimised for longer battery life. It lasts up to six hours longer than an iPhone 11 and up to 12 hours longer than all generations of iPhone SE.

It comes equipped with the same Action button as the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 lines. The Action button allow users to access a variety of functions.

It is available in two colours, black and white, and is available for pre-ordering on 21 February with shipping slated for 28 February.

The new smartphone does not include support for MagSafe cases, wallets and wireless chargers. It does have wireless charging capabilities up to 7.5W.

It does not have support for ultra-wideband technology but does include satellite-based texting to friends and family and support for SOS messaging.

Analyst Paolo Pescatore said the new model “should help accelerate adoption and especially its foray into AI with Apple Intelligence”.

“Apple’s trust and credibility is critical. This alone will help drive sales and lure users from rival devices and platforms,” he said.

As part of its lineup shift, the iPhone SE and iPhone 14 are no longer available.

Apple’s smartphone revenue in fiscal Q1 2025 (the period to 28 December 2024) was $69.1 billion, flat year-on-year. Sales in China fell by 11.1 per cent to $18.5 billion.

Source: Mobile World Live

Maroc Telecom’s capital expenditures in its sub-Saharan African subsidiaries operating under the Moov Africa brand reached MAD7.96 billion ($800.1 million) in 2024, according to the company’s annual financial report for the year published on Friday, February 14. This figure represents a growth rate of 75% compared to the MAD4.54 billion invested by the company in 2023.

The company did not detail the precise allocation of the funds invested, but it indicates that 3.54 billion dirhams were devoted to the purchase of frequencies and licenses. “The evolution of the amount of licenses is mainly explained by the renewal of Mobile licenses at Sotelma [Mali, Editor’s note] and Moov Africa Chad,” the company declared. In Mali, for example, the operator paid 160 billion CFA francs ($256.2 million) to renew its telecoms license.

This comes amid growing momentum in Maroc Telecom’s investments in its sub-Saharan African subsidiaries. In 2022, the company invested 4.5 billion dirhams, compared to 2.98 billion dirhams in 2021. The company even invested 150 million euros ($157.2 million) in the construction of a new 9,414 km long submarine fiber optic cable to serve its Moov Africa subsidiaries.

Subsidiaries in Sub-Saharan Africa are gradually becoming the group’s main growth driver. At the end of 2024, Moov Africa recorded a turnover of 18.7 billion dirhams, up 4.6%, driven by the growth of Mobile Data (+15.6%), Fixed Internet (+21.1%) and Mobile Money (+14.4%). Meanwhile, turnover in Morocco fell by 2%, to 19.1 billion dirhams. A trend that is confirmed after 2023, where revenues in Sub-Saharan Africa had increased by 6.6%, while those in Morocco had remained stable.

Maroc Telecom is facing increased competition in a saturated domestic Moroccan market, where players such as Orange and Ooredoo are exerting strong pressure. Conversely, in sub-Saharan Africa, the growth potential remains significant: in 2023, only 44% of the population estimated at 1.2 billion by the World Bank had access to mobile services and 27% to mobile Internet, according to the Global Association of Mobile Phone Operators (GSMA). The rise of mobile money also accompanies this dynamic, in a region where a large part of the population remains unbanked. The region had 234 million active mobile money accounts in 2023, according to the GSMA.

Despite sub-Saharan Africa’s potential, Maroc Telecom faces increasing competition from players such as Airtel Africa, Orange, Airtel Africa and MTN Group. The latter has around 230 million subscribers across all its markets in the region, including Benin and Côte d’Ivoire, which it shares with Maroc Telecom. In Côte d’Ivoire, for example, Moov Africa held a market share of 19.6% as of June 30, 2024, compared to 27.8% for MTN and 52.6% for Orange, according to the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (ARTCI). In Benin, Moov had a market share of 33.45%, behind MTN (49.06%), but ahead of Celtiis (17.49%), according to official statistics.

Source: Agency EcoFin