What’s up with… Telefónica & Microsoft, Proximus & AWS, telco data strategies

• Telefónica teams with Azure to maximise API potential
• Proximus leans on AWS for digital transformation
• Telco data management strategies need a boost

In today’s industry news roundup: Telefónica & Microsoft are combining cloud and telco API gateway capabilities; Proximus is reinventing its operations with help from hyperscaler Amazon Web Services; only half of telco data is accessible by AI, find Amdocs and IDC; and much more!

Here’s one to check out if you happen to be at MWC25 in Barcelona. Two of the hot topics during the show will be the use of cloud platforms by telcos and how operators can benefit from exposing their capabilities to third-party users via application programming interfaces (APIs) – Telefónica is combining the two and showing off what it’s doing on its stand in Hall 3 at the show. The Spanish operator has teamed up with hyperscaler Microsoft Azure to initiate a project “focused on the development of new digital solutions based on Open Gateway – the GSMA-led initiative in the telco industry to transform communication networks into programmable platforms [via APIs] – through Kernel, Telefónica’s core AI-driven platform to develop digital products and services.” Telefónica and Azure will “invest financial, technological and professional resources to work together to migrate Kernel’s capacities to Azure as part of its SaaS [software-as-a-service] offering.” The availability of Kernel via Azure “will help mobile operators simplify their complex digital transformation processes and accelerate the adoption of Open Gateway.” Telefónica and Azure will make “digital services based on the Telefónica Kernel platform available to other operators, developers and telecommunications companies. These services will be incorporated into Microsoft’s Azure Marketplace, an online store providing applications and services for use on Azure. In addition, Kernel will be part of Microsoft’s offering to operators and other players in the telecommunications industry.” The telco/hyperscaler/enterprise Venn diagram just got more complex! Chema Alonso (pictured above left), Telefónica chief digital officer, said: “Kernel was first launched back in 2017 under the name of the Fourth Platform, when we had a very clear vision and a lot of challenges ahead. Today, we are very proud of what we have achieved, transforming ourselves internally and getting ready for new opportunities like Open Gateway. That’s why we want to bring our platform into the Azure marketplace, enabling other companies to embrace its technology and reduce the time-to-market for the new plethora of digital services.” And the partners are expanding their collaboration. “As part of Kernel’s evolution, Microsoft and Telefónica will also collaborate on the conceptualisation, design, development and industrialisation of new components and complete solutions of Kernel on Azure, based on generative AI and advanced analytics capabilities to go beyond the scope and functionality of Telefónica’s platform, opening new advanced user experiences and augmented decision-making.” Groovy!!

Sticking with telcos and hyperscalers… Belgium’s national operator Proximus has selected Amazon Web Services (AWS) to “provide global cloud infrastructure to modernise and unify its business”. As part of a multi-year deal, Proximus announced it will “leverage AWS’s portfolio of services, including generative AI solutions, to support a data-driven expansion of its products as the company aims to become a global leader in digital communications, digital identity and connectivity.” That charge beyond Belgium’s borders is being led by the recently formed Proximus Global. According to the operator, it will use Amazon Bedrock, a fully managed service that offers a choice of high-performing foundation models from leading AI companies (such as AI21 Labs, Anthropic, Cohere, Luma AI, Meta, Mistral AI, Stability AI and, of course, Amazon) through a single API, to “experiment with the latest foundation models along with a broad set of features needed to build safe, private, and responsible generative AI applications. Using Amazon Bedrock, Proximus has already developed its customer-facing chatbot Roubot. Proximus is, like many of its telco peers, spreading its hyperscaler love. It has developed sovereign cloud services with Google Cloud and last year struck a five-year deal with Microsoft focused on digital communications and cloud collaboration. 

Here’s a wake-up call for any telco looking to make use of AI to enhance its operations: According to a new study by research house IDC, commissioned by Amdocs, service providers (on average) believe only 50% of their internal data is accessible by their AI models and analytics systems. That would rather limit the applicability of AI in telco operations! And there’s more… only 19% of service providers have fully implemented an integrated set of processes to support data modernisation for AI. So there’s plenty of work to be done! But guess what? More than 75% of service providers believe investment in data modernisation is crucial to realising generative AI’s full potential. That is particularly shocking because that means 25% of service providers don’t think it’s crucial! Amdocs, no doubt, is ready to help any telco with data management challenges in this AI era. Read more. 

Canada has unveiled a new spectrum policy that will enable satellite-to-smartphone communications. “This new spectrum policy is a first step to enabling service providers to offer expanded wireless services via satellites. This technology represents an exciting opportunity to secure reliable and resilient wireless services across the country, with most of the benefit in typically unserved or underserved areas. While it is still in its early stages and subject to limitations, this new capability is expected to improve over time with technological development and as more satellites are launched,” noted the Canadian government in this announcement. 

– The staff, TelecomTV