AI requires stronger upload connections among U.S. carriers: Report

"Ookla said the growing use of ChatGPT and other AI tools places much more demand on mobile networks than the typical activities of browsing social media and the web, watching videos, texting, and making the occasional phone call. As a result, more speed and expanded capabilities will be necessary. The report said advanced AI capabilities like AI-enabled glasses will put a particular strain on upload connections in the future."

""The uplink traffic will increase significantly over the coming years and, indeed, is becoming telecom's new 'currency,'" Ericsson wrote. "This potential growth of uplink traffic underlines the importance of network capacity planning, spectrum allocation, and RAN [radio access network] feature developments." "AI changes how traffic is generated, where it flows and when it peaks. It increases uplink use in the home, it injects automation and machine vision into industrial sites, and it multiplies east-west movement between data centers," Nokia said in a company report."

"It is vital to implement best practices for managing uplink connections, the Ookla report said. For U.S. operators, this means major changes are needed. In Ookla's most recent analysis of Speedtest data, the three largest U.S. providers - AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon - allocated a much smaller percentage of capacity to users' uplink connections than their counterparts in other countries. Chinese operators allocated the largest percentage."

Growing use of ChatGPT and other AI tools places much more demand on mobile networks than browsing social media, watching videos, texting, and making occasional phone calls. As a result, higher speeds and expanded capabilities will be necessary. Advanced AI capabilities such as AI-enabled glasses will particularly strain upload connections. Equipment providers Ericsson and Nokia indicate uplink traffic will increase significantly, alter where and when traffic flows, and require careful capacity planning, spectrum allocation, and RAN feature development. The three largest U.S. carriers allocate a smaller percentage of capacity to user uplinks than many international peers, with Chinese operators allocating the largest share. Major changes and uplink best practices are needed.

Read at Telecompetitor