Artificial intelligence (AI) offers communications service providers (CSP) vast improvements in many areas of their businesses, but at this point is at “a particularly interesting crossroads,” according to a Mobile World Congress 2025 blog post from Google Cloud.
The high-level goals are clear. They range from “building a strong data foundation, to optimizing network operations, to enhancing customer experiences” according to the post.
The “interesting crossroads” suggests that CSPs must carefully work through integrating technology so complex and foundational in huge networks that were not initially designed with the technology in mind. They also must carefully consider which of the many potential use cases to focus on primarily.
The Google post focuses on four uses of AI in which it sees the most promise:
Data migration: CSPs need to centralize their vast amounts of data into “data lakes” and (presumably bigger) “data oceans.” Google Cloud does this with tools including BigQuery and Looker. The post cites work with DNA — which is part of Telenor — and Vodafone Italy as CSPs using Google Cloud to take on this challenge.
Proactive network operations: CSPs of course need to take every step to keep networks operating. Google Cloud says that its Vertex AI and Network Intelligence Center can put AI to work doing this and, according to the company, dramatically change the game.
“This shift from reactive to proactive management allows CSPs to not only improve reliability and reduce costs, but also create self-healing networks that dynamically adapt to changing conditions,” the blog says.
Empowering field technicians: Field forces are another huge area for CSPs. The post says that it is working with CSPs to provide real-time diagnostics, predictive maintenance, optimized routing, and “agentic” workflows powered by Gemini.
New revenue streams through APIs: Google Cloud says that its Customer Engagement Suite, Vertex AI, and Vertex AI Search help CSPs harness insights that help CSPs anticipate needs, proactively address issues and provide personalized recommendations and seamless interactions
The post was written by Anil Jain and Angelo Libertucci. Jain is Google Cloud’s Global Managing Director, Strategic Consumer Industries at Google Cloud and Libertucci is the Global Head of Telecommunications.
The AI puzzle is getting anything but less complex. Jain recently told Telecompetitor that the newest iteration of AI — agentic AI — is one of the reasons that there has been a profound shift in consumer expectations and companies’ capabilities.
