People take photos of an AI robot at the All In artificial intelligence conference, Wednesday, September 27, 2023 in Montreal. As Canada's telecommunications sector undergoes technological changes, artificial intelligence could be leveraged to predict and reduce network outages or change the way customer service is provided.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz
TORONTO – As Canada’s telecom sector undergoes technological changes, artificial intelligence could be leveraged to predict and reduce network outages or change the way customer service is provided.
That is one of the key messages from Telus Corp.’s chief information officer Hesham Fahmy, who says AI is useful for recognizing data patterns and detecting anomalies.
His comments came on the opening day of the Canadian Telecom Summit taking place Monday to Wednesday in Toronto, where topics such as AI and industry evolution are front and centre.
Fahmy says any debate of whether there needs to be more integration of AI in the sector is over and predicts more adoption happening at a rapid pace in the years to come.
Raising the level of transparency surrounding network outages is an ongoing focus of the federal regulator, as the CRTC launched a consultation in March with the goal of developing a framework to improve the reliability and resiliency of telecommunications networks.
Fahmy says another potential application for AI relates to customer support, noting that companies such as Telus could lean more on technology to potentially reduce the amount of time customers are on hold waiting to speak with a telephone agent.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2023.
Companies in this story: (TSX:T)
