Telecom operators are reporting financial benefits from artificial intelligence, but questions remain over how accurately these returns are measured and whether they justify the cost of implementation.
Globe Telecom reported ₱1.2 billion in measurable benefits from AI, including ₱825 million in additional revenue and ₱368 million in avoided costs. The company calculated a 2.8 times return on its AI investment.
Deutsche Telekom has set a target of approximately €800 million in AI-related revenue outside the US by 2030, alongside around €2.5 billion in indirect cost savings from AI and automation compared with 2023.
However, turning AI projects into measurable financial returns remains difficult. Research cited by Cerillion found that many organisations take two to four years to achieve satisfactory returns from a typical AI use case, while only a small proportion recover their investment within a year.
Measuring the full cost of AI is another challenge. Expenses can include infrastructure, subscriptions, governance, staff training, organisational changes and the cost of errors, in addition to the direct cost of using AI models.
Operators also need to distinguish operational improvements from financial benefits. Reducing network downtime or speeding up customer service may improve performance, but the financial value depends on whether these changes increase revenue, reduce actual expenditure or free up resources for other work.
AI investment also competes with other spending priorities, including network upgrades, customer service and existing business support systems. Operators need to assess whether AI delivers better results than alternative uses of their budgets.
Cerillion plc (LON:CER) is a leading provider of billing, charging and customer management systems with more than 20 years’ experience delivering its solutions across a broad range of industries including the telecommunications, finance, utilities and transportation sectors.
