AI has been embedded in telecommunications for over a decade, initially through rule-based automation and early machine learning applied to network optimization, fraud detection, and customer analytics. Even before 5G, CSPs used AI to enable self-optimizing networks (SON), predictive maintenance, and customer experience management—leveraging large volumes of operational and subscriber data to improve efficiency and service quality. However, these early deployments were often siloed and constrained by legacy systems, limiting AI’s role to augmenting human decision-making rather than transforming core operations and customer engagement. This Frost & Sullivan market insight presents an overview of the AI initiatives powering next-generation business support systems (BSS) in the global mobile communications market. It describes the various opportunities that generative AI (GenAI) and agentic AI support in enhancing existing BSS functions and presents details of new, emerging opportunities that AI creates for BSS providers. Throughout this study, the terms “communications service providers,” “service providers,” and “operators” are used interchangeably. While this study focuses on BSS, discussion of operations support systems (OSS) is also included when discussing related industry trends.

Author: Vikrant Gandhi