Vodafone’s boss has warned that Britain’s ambitions of becoming a leader in artificial-intelligence are at risk due to substandard mobile data networks.
Margherita Dela Valle warned that the UK would be slower to adopt the technology and benefit from it than its competitors.
The FTSE100 chief executive stated that the UK’s cellular network could be the “next AI bottleneck”, which would restrict the growth of AI. This is in addition to the issues with chip shortages and computing power limitations, as well as AI’s high demand for energy.
She said that Britain was at the bottom of G7 in terms of 5G compatibility and also “falling further behind” the rest of world.
Della Valle stated that “5G alone in the UK is not available, and it will not be even available in three, four or five years’ time.”
The absence of high-speed and low latency connectivity will prevent certain use cases, whether across the entire network or because there are locations that do not have this high speed and low latency.
Almost all of the 5G technology used in the UK today is built upon existing 4G infrastructure. In order to get all the benefits of 5G, it is necessary to have a “standalone” architecture that operates independently. It can transmit more data at higher speeds, with shorter latency, and faster speeds.
Ofcom said that the deployment of 5G was “at an initial stage” in December. Frontier Economics found a gap in investment between what the private sector can provide and what’s needed to reach the target. The National Infrastructure Commission, however, believes that it can be commercially funded.
Della Valle said that as AI becomes more prevalent in smartphones and AI has commercial applications in areas such as agriculture, healthcare, and education, the demand for network capacity will only grow.
Vodafone and Three are in the middle a £18 billion merger that would make the UK’s largest mobile network operator.
She said, “All this will travel through our network”. She said that AI requires computing power, energy and networks. Without these, businesses and society will not be able to benefit from the technology.
Her comments echo those made by some analysts, who warned that increased AI adoption could lead to an increase in wireless data which would require upgrades of the network.
Della Valle stated that “when people think of AI and what it can do for society or the public sector, they tend to focus on the tech companies’ side of the equation. But the success of AI is often overlooked in the infrastructure required for AI.”
Vodafone and Three are in the middle a £18-billion merger, which will create the UK’s largest mobile network operator. This merger would bring 27 million customers to the same place while reducing the number operators from four down to three.
The Competition Watchdog is investigating the deal because it fears that mobile customers may face higher prices and lower quality.
Della Valle argued that the amount of money needed to invest in UK infrastructure would be uneconomical without the scale afforded by the tie-up. “In the present circumstances, companies such as ours are unable to invest more due to a lack of returns on investment”.
Vodafone has pledged to invest £11 billion in the next decade, if the acquisition goes through.
Della Valle stated that it is imperative to examine the impact of AI in Britain’s digital infrastructure at the earliest possible time: “It will require time to fill these holes. You can’t just wake up one morning and say, “I want the best 5G in Europe” and get it. It takes time.”
National Grid’s boss has also warned of the impact of AI on energy networks, noting that the power consumption of data centres would increase six-fold over the next decade.
According to the Department of Science and Technology (DST), the UK’s AI industry employs over 50,000 people and contributes £3.7billion to the economy each year. It also attracts £4.2billion in investment.
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