Verizon Expects to Double Network Thanks to AI Demand

Verizon Communications is reportedly placing a significant bet on artificial intelligence (AI) as its next major growth driver.

The company, which is the largest retail wireless carrier in the United States, believes in the potential of AI to double its network over the next five years, Verizon Consumer CEO Sowmyanarayan Sampath told Bloomberg in an interview posted Tuesday (May 14).

While video traffic has been the primary driver of growth for Verizon’s network in recent years, Sampath foresees AI demand surpassing it soon, according to the report. The massive amounts of data generated by AI tools require efficient transmission from data centers to end-users for analysis and back to data centers. To meet this increased demand, Verizon aims to provide a robust network infrastructure.

Verizon also expects AI to transform various aspects of its operations, the report said.

The company has already integrated AI software from Google into its customer service operations. This technology has been deployed to empower 40,000 customer relations agents, enabling them to better serve customers, per the report.

For instance, the AI tool listens in on representatives’ calls, tracking human sentiment and tone. If a customer appears frustrated, a supervisor can receive a notification and intervene to assist, according to the report.

In addition, routine processes like bill inquiries and payment details will be automated, allowing customer service agents to focus on more complex tasks, such as assisting customers with international travel or account changes, the report said.

Verizon also plans to leverage AI to offer personalized recommendations and curated offers to customers in real-time, per the report.

The company has strategically positioned its infrastructure to handle the anticipated surge in AI-related traffic, the report said. It has invested in spectrum acquisition to support the increased demand for data transmission.

During the company’s most recent earnings call, which was held April 22, Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg focused in part on the company’s AI strategy, saying that it needs to create an AI-centric revenue stream by commercializing the company’s network’s mobile edge computing capabilities.

“Generative AI workloads represent a great long-term opportunity for us,” Vestberg said. “As we expand our network and increase our performance advantage, we’re also making Verizon a more efficient organization.”