5G Core Summit Blog

Summary

Omdia is set to host the 2025 edition of 5G Core Summit, titled “Intelligent Core Empowers the Mobile AI Era,” in Bangkok, Thailand on November 26. During the Summit, operators, industry organizations, and standards bodies will address the latest evolutions in voice core technologies and business trends faced by communications service providers (CSPs) and discuss what they should do to benefit from new AI-based solutions to enhance end-to-end calling, improve customer experience, and monetize what was once a traditional service.

Voice services remain strategic for CSPs

Voice services remain strategically critical despite the emphasis placed on new mobile technologies and data speeds over the past decade as CSPs have evolved their networks from 4G to 5G and 5G-Advanced (5G-A). Voice represents a fundamental and essential service for operators, offering global connectivity through network-assigned numbering systems. Moreover, operators must comply with regulatory mandates and ensure reliable support for emergency and mission-critical communications.

The growing trend for consumers to use over-the-top applications, both for messaging and as a substitute for operator-led voice services, has significantly contributed to this decline. In addition, regulators in many regions have reduced mobile termination rates (MTRs), thereby reducing the revenue from incoming calls that originate from another network in the same country.

CSPs must therefore find new ways to keep voice services alive and attractive to customers, such as by providing a differentiated calling experience.

CSPs legacy voice services will continue to operate for many more years

Though voice over LTE (VoLTE) networks are experiencing rapid global expansion, the complete phase-out of legacy 2G and 3G networks remains unfeasible because of persistent challenges including coverage limitations, machine-to-machine (M2M) communications requirements, Internet of Things (IoT) connectivity needs, and inbound roamers. Consequently, though many CSPs have already shutdown 3G networks and have a roadmap to do the same with 2G, many other CSPs, especially those in emerging markets, will continue to operate these legacy networks for years to come. Nevertheless, circuit-switched (CS) networks are nearing the end of life, meaning their continued operation will result in escalating failure rates and substantially higher maintenance costs.

Many global CSPs have rolled out VoLTE services—a more efficient packet-networks-based solution than a CS solution used with the legacy 2G and 3G mobile networks—but many CSPs in emerging markets have either not started or are at the early stages of this rollout.

CSPs that continue to depend on legacy voice-calling systems face an additional obstacle: they cannot transition to 5G standalone (SA) architecture without first fully deploying VoLTE technology. This limitation exists because though 5G nonstandalone networks support CS fallback (CSFB) functionality, 5G SA networks under 3GPP Release 15 do not offer this capability.

The situation improves with 3GPP Release 16, which introduces single radio voice call continuity (SRVCC). This feature enables devices to seamlessly transfer from 5G New Radio (NR) directly to 3G networks during active voice calls, ensuring call preservation. However, this handover process comes with significant drawbacks: any concurrent data sessions, including video-streaming services, will be disconnected.

The advanced CSPs have set the trend in this area: they are working with their preferred vendor partners to implement a converged voice core solution, future-proofing their legacy, 4G, and 5G voice services under the same hood.

CSPs can capitalize on significant opportunities to monetize voice services through AI-driven enhancements, differentiated calling experience, and innovative business solutions. AI technology offers clear potential to improve fundamental voice experiences, for example, by implementing network-based AI noise reduction systems that can intelligently differentiate between background noise and human speech patterns.

Industry transitions to real-time service experience visibility

During the event and beyond basic improvements, speakers from stc will discuss what AI calls will usher in the new era of voice communications and New Calling. Discussions will uncover how AI enables transformative business innovations that create new revenue streams for CSPs. These include AI-powered call-answering services, real-time fraud prevention alerts, and live call translation capabilities. Such advanced features position CSPs to generate additional value from their voice service offerings while delivering enhanced user experiences.

Appendix

Author

Roberto Kompany, Principal Analyst, Mobile Infrastructure

askananalyst@omdia.com

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