In an exclusive interview during the 18th edition of the Telecom Review Leaders’ Summit, Telecom Review delved into how TELUS is innovating its network strategies to stay ahead of customer demands, the integration of cutting-edge technologies like generative AI (GenAI), and the vision for a more diverse and inclusive ICT industry.
Shazia Sobani, Vice President Fibre Networks, TELUS, shed light on the company's forward-thinking approach and shared actionable advice for women aspiring to thrive in tech.
How does TELUS ensure its network upgrades align with the evolving needs of its customers, both residential and enterprise?
TELUS is such a customer-centric organization. We want to make sure that we are always ahead of our customers in terms of network operation and upgrades. We are conscious of the growing need and hunger for data. Hence, we are actually planning our network upgrades in a way that ensures they stay a few years ahead of where our customers are today. This applies regardless of whether we are investing in the core network (and creating the capacity by upgrading our platform and the core) or the front-end network (such as through investing in wireline networks, our PureFibre networks, or our 5G networks).
We are focused on putting capacity at the right place, at the right time, and anticipating where customer demand will increase.
What do you see as the next big trend in network implementation, and how is TELUS positioning itself to lead in that space?
TELUS is at the forefront of utilizing generative AI-powered tools to guide network upgrades. We are investing in these tools to unleash the full potential of self-optimizing networks, which will be heavily anchored in GenAI.
The second thing that we are exploring aggressively is large language models (LLMs) as they can leverage location-based, real-time information and data trends to support our future capacity upgrades. This will ensure that we are not only upgrading our cell sites but also our wireline network, staying ahead of growing customer data needs.
What does the ICT industry stand to gain from prioritizing gender diversity? Can you give a short piece of advice to the women who are considering ICT as their career path?
The ICT industry is far from achieving gender parity. When we look at where the industry is, we know that there is empirical data that shows that organizations that are committed to gender diversity are 27% more profitable than organizations that don’t. So when you spread that globally across all organizations, there is USD 12 trillion in value left at the table that can be unleashed by pursuing gender diversity, especially across ICT.
My advice to women who are thinking of entering the field of ICT is: own your career. Be bold; be unstoppable. You can conquer the world. Go for it!
Shazia Sobani at TRS-24: Women in ICT: Breaking Gender Barriers in the Industry
