According to a study by Ciena,  60 per cent of telecom and information technology (IT) surveyed engineers believe that the use of artificial intelligence (AI) will improve network operational efficiency by 40 per cent or more. In addition,  85 per cent respondents express confidence in communication service provider’s (CSP) ability to monetise AI traffic across networks.

The study was conducted by Ciena in collaboration with Censuswide, surveying more than 1,500 telecom and IT engineers and managers at CSPs in 17 countries across the globe.

A key theme from the study is the opinion that AI will enhance network performance. To achieve this, participants believe new solutions across fibre network infrastructure and operations will be required. The study noted that the most popular strategies believed to improve performance include upgrading networks with new traffic and network analysis software (selected by 49 per cent respondents), along with upgrades in switches and routers (43 per cent), and investment in 800G technology (40 per cent), underscoring the multi-faceted approach operators are adopting to bolster network capabilities. In fact, almost all (99 per cent) respondents believe they will need to upgrade fibre-optic networks to support more AI traffic.

As per the study, CSPs believe the sectors that will generate the most AI traffic globally, and therefore revenue opportunities, are financial services (46 per cent), followed by media and entertainment (43 per cent), and manufacturing (38 per cent).

The study highlighted that respondents also see multiple avenues to generate revenue from AI. Specifically, 40 per cent believe it will be from opening their networks to third-party integrations, 37 per cent believe revenue will come from security and privacy services, the same number (37 per cent) believe it will come from new product offerings, while 35 per cent believe it will be from the creation of tailored subscription packages, and 34 per cent believe revenue will be from differentiation on quality of service for connectivity.

Further, it highlighted the critical role of cloud in supporting and utilising AI across networks. 43 per cent CSPs favour private cloud deployment for AI services, while 37 per cent lean toward public cloud providers’ data centres. Meanwhile, only 21 per cent respondents plan to adopt a hybrid cloud model.

Furthermore, as per the study, 67 per cent CSPs anticipate AI to be a force for job creation and identified key areas of expertise necessary for developing and launching AI services, including cybersecurity (31 per cent), followed by machine learning (30 per cent), and programming/coding (30 per cent).

Moreover, the survey yielded interesting results by country, showing how CSPs’ confidence in monetising AI can vary significantly. Of note, CSPs in India are among the most confident (95 per cent) while the U.S. is among the least confident (55 per cent). There were similar differences in the optimism around AI’s impact on creating or reducing jobs amongst CSPs, with a 50 per cent difference between Mexico seeing the most job creation, and Japan seeing the least (90 per cent vs 40 per cent). The survey also revealed the breadth of sectors that different countries see as driving the growth in AI traffic, with financial services, entertainment, manufacturing, healthcare, and education all coming out on top in at least one market.

Commenting on the study, Jürgen Hatheier,  chief technology officer, international, Ciena, said, “Understanding emerging technologies like AI is an essential step toward staying competitive in today’s constantly changing digital landscape. The survey highlights the optimistic long-term outlook of CSPs regarding AI’s ability to enhance the network as well as the need for strategic planning and investments in infrastructure and expertise to fully realise the benefits.”