How telecom’s most boring data is becoming its most valuable asset

Interview For decades, inventory management for telcos has been treated as a necessary but unremarkable feature of daily operations. Operators’ need to understand where their network physically exists was crucial for planning and maintenance, but there was little thought that this data could influence investment decisions, operational efficiency, or customer experience Today, however, this perception is beginning to shift, as operators grow increasingly aware of the strategic importance of network data, the limitations of legacy systems, and the practical realities of deploying AI at scale. According to Luke Sullivan, Head of Global Pre-Sales, Telecommunications at VertiGIS, the transformation is about telcos finally making use of the data they have always had access to. “Fundamentally, inventory is still boring,” he joked. “But what’s exciting is that understanding inventory on a more granular level means that you have a much better appreciation of the value of your network, how it’s used, and how you can deliver services to individual customers.” From obligation to opportunity with AI Historically, telco inventory systems were built purely to ensure that operators knew what infrastructure they had and where it was located, with little thought given to using this data after it was recorded. In fact, as Sullivan points out, in many cases this data was only accessed when there were issues with the network. “It is often the case that the primary focus for operators during deployment is speed – how fast can we construct the network? And what ends up happening is they only realise their weakness in inventory when something goes wrong,” said Sullivan. “As a result, these operators can take years before they understand how valuable their inventory would have been if it had been collected and managed their data more effectively.” The rapid advances in AI, however, has led to this process being re-evaluated, offering not only significant cost savings through operational efficiency but also competitive advantage through improved customer service. “The change in the last years has really been understanding that the inventory data has immense value,” Sullivan explains. “We can use that data to improve the way we deploy services, to maximise the efficiency of the network, and to improve operations. We now have the tools to leverage that data in the most efficient ways possible, and companies are finding much more creative and powerful ways of taking advantage of it.”