Vodafone Partners with Infinite Reality Unveil AI-Onboard

According to a recent press release (8 April 2024), Telecommunications giant Vodafone has partnered with Infinite Reality (“iR”), a global artificial intelligence and immersive virtual experience firm to present a revolutionary automotive Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) onboarding service. AI-Onboard, which was showcased at the latest Mobile World Congress 2024 (“MWC”) in Barcelona, will be officially launched in the summer of 2024.

Mobile World Congress, which was on from 26-29 February, is an annual trade show and one of the biggest telecommunications, connectivity and technology events worldwide. An estimated 100,000 delegates, including the King of Spain, attended the MWC 2024 which was a great platform for iR and Vodafone to exhibit AI-Onboard.

What is AI-Onboard?

At the event, the platform AI-Onboard, built using the capabilities from Vodafone’s new platform Pairpoint, had its first look, creating an impression on hundreds of daily visitors with its demo and its potential of transforming the automobile retail landscape. Vodafone revealed 23 innovative divisions including Pairpoint which surprised everyone with its advanced technology and is now regarded as a trend-setter and one of the best at the event.

AI-Onboard showed a cutting-edge hybrid mixed reality and virtual reality showcasing true-to-life scenes in which Pairpoint technology will be game changing. AI-Onboard is powered by cutting-edge generative AI, augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) technologies to deliver a truly immersive, interactive retail experience that represents the next era of customer engagement and retail.

John Acunto, CEO at Infinite Reality, said that the MWC has been a perfect place for iR to give a boost to the popularity of AI immersive experiences and the ways they can update the way of buying and selling. He noted that Pairpoint Technology had been extremely influential and helped bring their shared vision to life. At the event, attendees got to experience a real-life immersive experience that will revolutionise the future of retail.

Jorge Bento Pairpoint’s CEO added that they need to present to everyone this technology and are planning to take Infinite Reality to wherever they can take their technology.

David Palmer, Chief Product Officer of Vodafone DAB, explained that AI-Onboard represents the kind of products we will have in the future, which combine virtual reality, mixed reality, and immersive experiences operated by AI technology. It’s an example of the use cases the company plans to roll out as part of their strategic partnership with iR.

Who is Vodafone?

Vodafone Group Plc is a British multinational telecommunication company. Its name derives from voice, data, fone (the latter being a spelling of “phone”) which was chosen by the company to “reflect the provision of voice and data services over mobile phones”.

The regulated office and the global headquarters of the company are in Newbury, Berkshire, England. It operates in Asia, Africa, Europe, and Oceania.

As of January 2024, Vodafone owns and operates networks in 21 countries, and partner networks in 44 more countries. The Vodafone Global Enterprise unit is responsible for providing telecommunications and IT services to large businesses in 150 countries.

Vodafone owns the major listing on the London Stock Exchange and is a member of the FTSE 100 Index. The company has a dual listing on Nasdaq.

Etisalat by e& is Vodafone’s largest single shareholder and has 14% of Vodafone shares.

How does Vodafone use AI?

According to Vodafone’s website AI is an essential part of their infrastructure and supports their network maintenance and performance. Vodafone uses AI to power applications to operate networks smartly or optimise them in different markets. AI can help them identify radio network anomalies or radio interference and establish its origin. AI has been helpful in forecasting potential equipment issues

and has allowed the company to act in a timely manner and perform preventative repairs. AI has also allowed the company to predict network traffic changes and helped them continue offering seamless user experience for customers.

Additionally, various security technologies that Vodafone uses are powered by AI and has supported various departments in fraud detection. On the customer front, AI has been key in helping the company address customer enquiries, with the company’s virtual customer assistant TOBi. TOBi is an example of the ways AI technology has helped Vodafone enhance and shape their customer experience across different countries. TOBi provides 24/7 customer support that replies to customer queries instantly. This has freed customer call teams and allowed them to dedicate their valuable time on more complex customer requests.

What is the future of AI at Vodafone?

Vodafone is working on creating cutting-edge AI technologies and solutions that will help boost their business as well as support their customers in many different fields.

AI innovations could play an active role in minimising the impact on the environment by supporting efficient energy management in operational networks and datacentres, but also new hardware and chipsets that would operate more efficiently than current systems.

Recent concerns from UK regulator CMA

The CMA has voiced its worries about the Vodafone-Three deal which could result in higher prices and reduced quality of mobile services.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) of the UK has announced that the start of a Phase 2 investigation on the proposed merger of Vodafone and Three, the two local carriers, which will be completed by the 18th of September. The CMA expressed the view that this merger was likely to lead to a substantial decrease in competition within markets in the UK. The regulator indicated that it has issues with the deal since mobile consumers may have to face higher prices and lower quality. In addition, the merger is expected to increase the possibility that smaller MVNOs like Sky Mobile, Lebara and Lycamobile will find it difficult to negotiate good agreements for their own customers.

The CMA started the first stage of the antitrust investigation in January, once it was notified by the two companies about their merger proposal. This initial screening is to determine whether the deal may trigger a substantial decline of competition and thus it requires a more detailed investigation. Phase 2 investigations are designed as a separate and more in-depth process, with an independent panel of experts analysing the initial concerns raised at phase 1, the CMA has explained.

Back in 2018, Vodafone UK, which is a subsidiary of Vodafone Group and Three UK, a subsidiary of CK Hutchison Holdings, announced a new joint venture agreement by which both entities were to merge into a single network operator. The merger terms indicate that Vodafone and Hutchison Group will own 51% and 49% shares in the newly formed company respectively. In the event of the approval of the transaction, the new entity will cover 99% of the UK population with 5G standalone (SA) networks.

Will the stock recover in 2024-25?

Despite these setbacks, and Vodafone stock being low for more than a year, there is some potential for the stock according to some analysts. On the bright side, the group is selling its Italian business to Swisscom for €8bn, with €4bn of this to be returned to shareholders through share buy-backs.

This deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2025. According to analysts, if Vodafone decides to buyback 21.5% of its stock by the end of this year or next year, the stock’s price could grow sharply.

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