"Hacking is not a problem unique to Korea. But Korean corporations do not allocate large budgets for cybersecurity or IT compared with corporations in other countries."
Rahul Kumar, IBM Consulting vice president overseeing the communications and media industry, met with ChosunBiz at the Korea IBM office in Yeouido-dong, Seoul, on the 18th and said, "The evolution of artificial intelligence (AI) means corporations are more exposed to hacking."
He added, "Telecom operators must proactively respond to how hackers penetrate corporate networks with advanced technologies," and "Hackers these days use agentic AI (AI that makes autonomous judgments and solves complex problems) to carry out attacks."
Vice President Kumar is the global head overseeing the telecom and media industry at IBM Consulting. He leads digital transformation strategies, business opportunity development, and industry-specific solution development and execution for communications service providers (CSPs) worldwide. With more than 23 years of consulting experience in the telecom industry, he is working with major global telecom operators on projects including digital transformation, revenue generation and billing process innovation, and omnichannel strategies. He is currently leading the Generative AI strategy in the telecom sector and holds the "Industry Diamond" badge, which signifies IBM's highest level of industry expertise. The following is a Q&A with him.
― The three Korean telecom operators have declared they will reinvent themselves as AX (AI transformation) platform companies.
"AI as a technology is very powerful. Telecom operators have long played the role of service providers and are specialized in putting technology to good use. Internally, they are also moving quickly to adopt AI. A differentiating potential of Korean telecom operators is that they operate data centers directly. Some global operators do not have data centers in their home countries. AI sovereignty spans data, infrastructure, and security. Securing a data center in the home country does not by itself mean AI sovereignty, but it is indeed advantageous when working with governments and regulators that prioritize it."
― How is AI changing the global telecom market?
"In a survey IBM conducted of telecom chief executive officers (CEOs) worldwide, 80% said AI will upend the telecom industry and that growth will occur in areas outside their core telecom businesses. The areas where telecom operators can generate revenue with AI are broadly △ consumers △ networks △ corporations. On the consumer side, operators hold unique data on how customers communicate. Using that data helps them better understand customers in sales motions, personalization, and new product launches. The network is the operator's biggest asset. Today, operators manually solve domain issues, but with AI, they can quickly identify and resolve root causes when network problems arise. Finally, whether adopted for themselves or for clients, implementing AI will greatly boost operational efficiency and generate revenue."
― What matters in an AX transformation?
"AI is a highly transformative technology. Used well, it maximizes efficiency and elevates growth potential. But the key is not to adopt AI in pieces; corporations must drive AI enterprise-wide across platforms, security, and corporate culture."
― Has IBM seen results from its AI transformation?
"In 2023, IBM CEO Arvind Krishna said we should generate $2 billion in revenue with AI over two years (about 2.9442 trillion won). The initial goal was very ambitious. It ultimately meant prioritizing AI and changing how we do business. Through AI transformation, IBM generated $3.5 billion (5.1523 trillion won) in two years and $4.5 billion (6.6244 trillion won) in three years in revenue."
― It seems difficult for telecom operators to generate revenue in a limited domestic market.
"Telecom is among the industries facing the most challenging circumstances. They compete on service, call quality, price, and future features, but the differences among operators are not large. Operators can grow by expanding margins or increasing revenue and reinvesting it. AI enables work at lower expense. They must move to a model that maximizes margins at low cost by leveraging technology. There is still room on the revenue side as well. In a survey IBM conducted of small and midsize businesses, they said that because they lack in-house IT or security staff and systems, they would be willing to entrust integrated AI solutions or security to operators if the return on investment were clear. Ironically, operators still seem to misunderstand customer needs. They must identify the weaknesses of small and midsize businesses and meet their needs."
― Will space-based non-terrestrial networks replace operators' terrestrial networks?
"Competition with non-terrestrial networks is very good for consumers. Terrestrial networks have limits, such as disconnections in remote areas. But non-terrestrial networks enable connectivity anywhere. It is as if the last piece of the puzzle has been put in place. For now, operators are collaborating through outsourcing rather than building non-terrestrial networks themselves. Of course, in some countries, licenses are granted for non-terrestrial networks, allowing a non-terrestrial operator to directly establish a telecom company. Non-terrestrial and terrestrial networks can both compete and cooperate. Still, licensing, sovereignty, and latency issues must be resolved."