en.Wedoany.com Reported - Itaú Bank's Telecom Manager, Bruno Cezzaretto, emphasized at GSMA's Digital Nation Summit event in São Paulo that telecom services have become a core pillar of the bank's development. Cezzaretto stated that Itaú does not view telecom as a mere commodity or infrastructure, but rather as a strategic growth driver. As one of the first banks to open fully 5G-enabled outlets to test the technology, it now has 1,300 customer sales points using only 5G. Cezzaretto explained that fiber coverage has flexibility issues, while 5G can enhance sales point availability and prevent disruptions.
In terms of Open Gateway API applications, Itaú Bank has already implemented them. According to Cezzaretto, the bank is the largest user of the "SIM Swap" service, with a cumulative 70 million queries, while the "Know Your Customer" service has seen 5 million queries. These applications have yielded positive results in anti-fraud and user registration processes, aiding in customer identity verification and confirmation.
Mariana Abreu, Executive Director of Conexis, which represents major operators, stated that Itaú's remarks convey exactly what the telecom industry wants to communicate to other economic sectors. She noted that the key lies in creating value based on investments, ensuring sustainability, and delivering returns to shareholders. Abreu believes the telecom industry's current focus is on removing constraints, ensuring continuity of investment and service delivery, and concentrating on digital transformation by creating ecosystems to attract other industries to invest in connectivity. She emphasized that this process requires ongoing dialogue with regulators and governments to ensure investments yield returns and drive digitization in the production sector.
Cezzaretto added that Itaú's leadership in cutting-edge areas like Open Gateway will benefit Brazil as a whole. He believes Open Gateway will accelerate development and transform the telecom industry's business model, moving beyond mere infrastructure to become a vehicle for collaboration and co-creation between industries.
Traditional network technology companies warn that advances in artificial intelligence will impact various economic sectors. Andrea Faustino, Chief Technology Officer at Ericsson, pointed out that the combination of cloud, 5G connectivity, and AI presents digital transformation opportunities for multiple industries. He emphasized that while connectivity serves as a driver for AI across industries, it also enables telecom operators to optimize their own networks.
Carlos Roseiro, ICT Market Director at Huawei, stated that the technology sector is capital-intensive with short innovation cycles, and AI will be a key factor in telecom companies' transformation. He noted that operators are already positioned to advance 5G Advanced networks by adding frequency bands. Roseiro believes 5G Advanced emerged because AI creates uplink demands that other services cannot generate, shifting traffic ratios from the previous 9:1 to 6:1, requiring mobile networks to adapt to new traffic patterns.
