During GITEX 2025, the SAMENA Telecommunications Council highlighted the central and multi-dimensional role of telecom operators, emphasizing how they must now harness visual data to drive digital transformation. In a keynote delivered by the CEO of the Council, Bocar BA, the whitepaper titled "AI-Driven Visual Intelligence: An Imperative for Telecom Operators & Industries" was unveiled. The paper serves as a call-to-action, urging telecom operators to recognize the vast potential in visual data and the need to rethink policy and regulation to unlock this potential.
Bocar BA stated, "Telecom operators are at a defining moment in the digital era. Our future success will not only rely on traditional connectivity services but on how we enable industries, governments, and societies to make real-time, informed decisions using the data around them. The opportunities with visual data are immense, but we must evolve as an industry to fully realize them."
The SAMENA Council emphasized that telecom operators are uniquely positioned to be at the center of a visual-intelligence ecosystem. With the growing demand for real-time visual-data gathering and processing in sectors such as healthcare, transportation, logistics, and public safety, telecom operators can expand their traditional role and cement their position as central players in this new era. The convergence of 5G-Advanced (5G-A), AI, machine vision, and cloud-edge computing presents a unique opportunity to build networks that not only connect but understand, interpret, and act on the data they process in real-time. 5G-A acts as the nervous system, enabling real-time, low-latency connectivity, while AI functions as the brain, analyzing data for continuous network optimization. Cloud infrastructure serves as the heart, providing scalable, flexible computing and storage for seamless AI model deployment.
With existing 5G networks, spectrum, cloud infrastructure, data centers, and edge presence, telecom operators are well-positioned to provide the critical foundations for the development of visual-intelligence services. As Bocar BA explained, "While the volume of visual data is expanding, true value lies in the ability to use network and computation-level innovations to transform data into trusted, actionable insights that can drive positive outcomes using visual data capture. Telecom operators can leverage their existing infrastructure, edge locations, and localized data centers to provide real-time, scalable solutions to process and interpret this data effectively."
The SAMENA Council’s whitepaper outlines how, by utilizing a unified network and computing architecture, telecom operators can deliver innovative solutions such as intelligent video analytics, machine vision, and compliance-ready visual data systems that address both business needs and regulatory requirements. Coordinated architecture that integrates cloud, network, edge, and device layers, enabling the development of smarter, more adaptive services creates a foundation for smarter services, operational efficiency, and new socio-economic opportunities.
The whitepaper also emphasizes the importance investing in edge infrastructure that allows video data to be processed closer to where it is generated, preparing networks to support fast, reliable, and secure video flows. It also reiterates that operators must work closely with policymakers and regulators to embed compliance into every service, ensuring trust and transparency as countries implement new laws related to personal data protection and visual intelligence. Lastly, the white paper delineates the need for telecom operators to forge partnerships with technology providers, solution providers, and vertical industry players to create complete, end-to-end solutions that meet the growing demands of enterprises across various sectors.
The SAMENA Council’s whitepaper, carrying input from various valued members, advocates for industry-wide collaboration to reduce fragmentation and ensure that visual intelligence investments create lasting, tangible impact across industries. The Council encourages telecom operators to closely engage to align regional efforts, shape common standards, and create an environment that supports the development of a robust visual intelligence ecosystem. By collaborating with regulators, technology providers, and industry partners, telecom operators can scale visual-intelligence applications in sectors such as traffic management, urban visualization, campus security, industrial process monitoring, and remote healthcare.
"Visual intelligence has the potential to transform entire industries and unlock new revenue streams for telecom operators," said Bocar BA. "For example, healthcare can leverage real-time video analytics for diagnostic support, while smart city infrastructure can use machine vision to enhance safety and traffic management. The implications are vast, and telecom operators must take the lead in driving these solutions."
By combining investments in infrastructure, close collaboration with regulators, and active partnerships across the ecosystem, telecom operators can cement their position at the heart of a new digital economy, enabling them to expand beyond traditional services and create smarter, more integrated solutions.
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Source: SAMENA Council Press release
