Large Language Models (LLMs), AI-driven models that can achieve general-purpose language understanding and generation, have emerged as a transformative force, revolutionizing fields well beyond Natural Language Processing (NLP) and garnering unprecedented attention. As LLM technology continues to progress, the telecom industry is facing the prospect of its impact on its landscape. To elucidate these implications, we delve into the inner workings of LLMs, providing insights into their current capabilities and limitations. We also examine the use cases that can be readily implemented in the telecom industry, streamlining tasks, such as anomalies resolutions and technical specifications comprehension, which currently hinder operational efficiency and demand significant manpower and expertise. Furthermore, we uncover essential research directions that deal with the distinctive challenges of utilizing the LLMs within the telecom domain. Addressing them represents a significant stride towards fully harnessing the potential of LLMs and unlocking their capabilities to the fullest extent within the telecom domain.

翻译：大型语言模型（LLMs）作为基于人工智能、能够实现通用语言理解与生成的模型，已成为一股变革性力量，不仅彻底改变了自然语言处理（NLP）领域，还引发了前所未有的广泛关注。随着LLM技术的持续发展，电信行业正面临其可能对行业格局带来的影响。为阐明这些影响，我们深入剖析了LLM的内部机制，揭示了其当前的能力与局限性。同时，我们考察了可在电信行业中直接应用的用例，这些用例能够简化目前制约运营效率且需要大量人力和专业知识的工作，例如异常解决和技术规范理解等任务。此外，我们还揭示了应对电信领域内利用LLM所面临独特挑战的关键研究方向。解决这些挑战将是充分释放LLM在电信领域潜能、最大限度发挥其能力的重要一步。