Four major telcos have joined forces to accelerate the way artificial intelligence (AI) transforms their existing business and create business opportunities with AI services.

SK Telecom, Deutsche Telekom, Etisalat and Singtel have formed the Global Telco AI Alliance to make a difference in the lives of global citizens using AI technology. They signed an MoU for cooperation in the AI business, which includes the co-development of a telco AI platform.

The four members have agreed to make joint efforts to accelerate AI transformation of the existing telco business, and develop growth drivers through AI-powered business models.

The MoU signing ceremony took place in Seoul, South Korea, in the presence of key executives of the four telcos who attended online or in-person, – Claudia Nemat, board member at Deutsche Telekom, Hatem Dowidar, group CEO of Etisalat (which now likes to be called E&), Yuen Kuan Moon, group CEO of Singtel, Chey Tae-won, chairman of SK Group, and Ryu Young-sang, CEO of SK Telekom.

The four telcos will jointly develop the telco AI platform by combining their technologies and capabilities. The platform is expected to serve as the core foundation for AI services, including those designed to improve the existing telco services, digital assistants and super apps that offer a wide range of services.

“To make the most of the possibilities of generative AI for our customers and our industry, we want to develop industry-specific applications in the Global Telco AI Alliance,” said Nemat. “I am particularly pleased that this alliance also stands for bridging the gap between Europe and Asia and that we are jointly pursuing an open-vendor approach. Depending on the application, we can use the best technology. The founding of this alliance is an important milestone for our industry.”

To facilitate the cooperation, they will form a joint working group, which will discuss issues such as co-investment opportunities and the co-development of the telco AI platform.

The four telcos also plan to support each other in operating AI services and apps in their respective markets and cooperate to build an ecosystem.

“The launch of the Global Telco AI Alliance is meaningful in that it marks the beginning of a new journey to innovate our business models while growing together with our global partners,” said Young-sang. “Through collaborative efforts, we will accelerate AI transformation of all industries, provide new value and experience to our customers, and lead the growth of the global AI ecosystem.”