Europe is at a pivotal moment in its digital transformation, with artificial intelligence (AI) emerging as a powerful tool for reshaping networks and enhancing service performance and security. At the 2025 Mobile World Congress (MWC), Christel Heydemann's presentation reaffirmed Orange’s leadership in this space. She shared a bold vision of an ecosystem where AI and connectivity converge to address the challenges of a rapidly evolving world — spanning Business to Consumer (B2C), Business to Business (B2B), and Carrier-to-Carrier (C2C) relationships.
How AI will transform our sector
Is AI a revolution? Orange CEO Christel Heydemann is in no doubt. Speaking at a roundtable alongside the CEOs of Vodafone, Deutsche Telekom, and Telefonica, she described AI as “a fascinating and exciting topic for our industry, possibly the most significant revolution we’ve seen in 20 years.
"Generative AI, in particular, is emerging as a key technology, supported by significant global investment. As Heydemann pointed out: “75% of large language model (LLM) investments come from the US, with much of the rest from China — leaving Europe with only a small share. But AI’s potential extends far beyond LLMs.”
AI is no longer limited to language models and cloud-based apps – it's now reaching devices at the network edge, such as smartphones and PCs, opening up new possibilities for innovation. “We’ve only scratched the surface of the innovation AI at the edge can enable,” Heydemann noted. This shift is set to redefine how we design and use technology.
This transformation raises critical questions. The challenge is no longer whether we’ll be reliant on tech giants from the US and China – it’s about how to build a strong European ecosystem. Rather than seeing the dominance of global players as a threat, Heydemann views it as an opportunity: to energize the European ecosystem, create synergies, and drive talent exchange. Achieving this will require closer collaboration between European stakeholders and the development of open, non-exclusive partnerships to fully harness AI's potential.
AI : enhancing customer experience and business performance
AI is reshaping the customer experience and transforming telecom services. For consumers, it means more personalized services, improved security, and optimized connectivity. In the B2B and C2C sectors, AI is automating processes, improving infrastructure management, and enabling real-time network adjustments.
We’re champion because we focus on how AI can improve business efficiency, that’s always a priority for us. But even more importantly, we’re exploring what AI-driven networks will look like – and that’s where we see real opportunity.
Specifically:
- BtoC : Consumers benefit from personalized interactions, smart assistants, and real-time recommendations. For example, AI handles 30% of simple inquiries in our contact centers, allowing advisors to focus on more complex tasks.
- BtoB : AI helps companies optimize processes, analyze data in real time and deliver tailor-made solutions, enhancing competitiveness.
- CtoC : for operators, AI enables smoother data exchange between networks, strengthens infrastructure resilience and allows for predictive maintenance to prevent service interruptions.
Orange: a key player in smart grid evolution
In this race for innovation, Orange is positioning itself as a key player by developing AI-powered solutions to make networks smarter, more efficient, and more secure. “We sit between the cloud and the edge,” Christel Heydemann remarked. “Who else is better placed to create a secure platform that combines the best of both worlds?”
She emphasized that 5G’s full potential remains largely untapped. “AI will likely be the key to unlocking the real capabilities of 5G by leveraging the features already built into our networks.
At MWC 2025, we showcased how 5G can work together with AI to create innovative solutions.
One highlight was a real-time conversation using generative AI (Live Intelligence enhanced by 5G) – a world first – demonstrating our ability to deliver ultra-reliable, low-latency connectivity for demanding applications.
Other key initiatives included My Security Partner which enhances user cybersecurity, and Leveraging AI for African Languages which reflects our ambition to transform the customer experience in Africa.
Building an open and innovative European AI ecosystem
Orange is driving collaborative innovation by opening its networks to developers, accelerating the creation of new AI-powered solutions. As a founding member of the Aduna joint venture and a key player in the CAMARA open-source community, Orange is helping to deliver interoperable network APIs.
This collaborative approach was highlighted at MWC 2025 with the Network APIs Powered Industry 4.0 demo, which showed how AI cas optimiza remote operations on an industrial production line.
AI is also enhancing various consumer services, form Connexted Home and Orange TV to GenAI Voice Interaction to make life easier in and around the home.
We want to collaborate with everyone. We're not interested in building walls around Europe - but we do need to ensure that a strong European ecosystem emerges, supported by greater investment from within Europe. There's huge potential for smaller European companies to benefit form this strategy.
We’re embedding AI into the heart of our strategy to drive network transformation and unlock new opportunities for businesses and consumers alike. The advances showcased at MWC 2025 underscore this shift: smarter networks, strategic partnerships, and solutions that boost European competitiveness.