Page 8 - SAMENA ELITE - June-September 2025

ARTICLE
8 JUN-SEP 2025

The 5G-A & AI

Synergy: A New

Era for Telecoms

Smarter Networks,

Smarter Services
Abhinav Purohit
Chief Expert, Middle East & Central Asia
Region, Business & Strategy Consulting
Huawei

5G-Advanced and AI are converging monetize better . Telcos across the innovation, and what telcos are
to make telecom networks smarter, globe – from South Korea to Kuwait doing today to ride this intelligent
faster, and more efficient. This article revolution.
explores how telcos are using the
synergy to automate operations, The convergence of 5G-A What is 5G-A and What is AI (in the
personalize services, and unlock new and AI is more Telco Context)?
revenue – featuring real-world case than just a technology Understanding 5G-Advanced
studies from global operators. 5G-A (Release 18 and beyond
upgrade – it’s a
in 3GPP terminology) represents
strategic enabler that
Introduction: The Convergence the next significant evolution
delivers measurable
That’s Changing Telecom in 5G networks. While early 5G
As telecom operators transition benefits across the telco deployments focused on enhanced
from basic connectivity providers value chain. From mobile broadband and foundational
to digital experience enablers, two reducing operating costs to connectivity, 5G-A is where the real
powerful forces are reshaping their unlocking new power of 5G begins to materialize
journey: 5G-Advanced (5G-A) and revenue streams, early – through enhanced performance,
Artificial Intelligence (AI) . While intelligence, and adaptability.
5G-A delivers the next evolution in adopters are already
network performance – with higher realizing the returns of Thus, in a sense, 5G-A moves 5G
speeds, improved uplink, slicing, building intelligent, closer to 6G.
integrated sensing and many other AI-native 5G-A networks
new advanced capabilities – AI A Few Key Capabilities of 5G-A
provides the intelligent cognitive layer (Include, but not Limited to):
that enables intelligent automation, – are beginning to embed AI into the • Uplink Boost: Enhanced uplink
prediction, personalization & new very fabric of 5G-A infrastructure, throughput – essential for
business models across every unlocking new business models, video-rich services like XR, user-
telecom function. operational savings, and radically generated streaming, and real-
Separately, both technologies are improved user experiences. time sensors.
transformational. But together, This write-up tried to explore what • RedCap (Reduced Capability):
they create a compounding effect: 5G-A and AI mean in the telecom Enables cost-effective, low-
networks that not only move faster – context, how their relationship is power connectivity for wearables,
but think faster, respond smarter, and shaping the next wave of telecom industrial sensors, and lightweight

SAMENA ELITE