James Pearce, TelecomTV (00:07):
As the industry shifts focus towards AI-powered networks and 6G, what does that mean for the green agenda and sustainability? Who better to ask than the NGMN Alliance? I am joined today by Arash Ashouriha, NGMN board director and SVP Group Technology at Deutsche Telekom. Welcome, Arash. Let us begin by discussing Mobile World Congress. What can attendees expect as key takeaways at this year's NGMN press and industry briefing at MWC?

Arash Ashouriha, NGMN & Deutsche Telekom (00:40):
Let me start by reminding everyone that NGMN is a true operator-driven community where we bring operators from all around the world. We bring the vendor ecosystem and academia to drive the next generation mobile networks, both in terms of customer experience and customer needs, as well as ensuring that all the operator requirements are met. NGMN is focusing on three strategic pillars: through to disaggregation, green future networks, and 6G. And it is no surprise that all these three highly relevant strategic topics are building on each other, helping the operators to drive the next generation mobile networks. At our press and industry briefing, you will hear our latest guidance and a lot of news and insights on these topics with practical examples and many insightful experiences. I look forward to seeing you all there.

James Pearce, TelecomTV (01:36):
What are the main challenges facing the telecom industry's AI adoption from a sustainability perspective?

Arash Ashouriha, NGMN & Deutsche Telekom (01:43):
That is a very good question. There are four things. Energy carbon impact: increasing electricity consumption, challenging the net zero and the carbon reduction targets. Number two, the infrastructure footprint: GPU-heavy data centres and edge upgrades for AI raise embodied carbon and increase risk. Three, responsible AI: a very important topic, particularly in Europe. Large-scale data centre use introduces privacy, ethical, and also regulatory sustainability concerns. And four, supply chain and rebound effects: because AI reliance on vendors and efficiency gains can actually amplify scope three emissions and the overall energy demand. So just to be clear, I think we are seeing with AI a sort of efficiency paradox, and we need to carefully balance that all the AI-driven network efficiencies are not, on the other side, turning the overall energy consumption up. So we must adopt AI in a way that is energy conscious, carbon accounted, and responsibly governed to ensure real sustainability.

James Pearce, TelecomTV (03:00):
Clearly, as we push towards 6G, future networks need to be built with sustainability in mind. And we look forward to finding out more about how this can be achieved at Mobile World Congress next week. Arash, thank you for joining me on TelecomTV.

Arash Ashouriha, NGMN & Deutsche Telekom (03:16):
My pleasure.