- Deutsche Telekom uses AI to translate anonymized mobile network data from Europe into music.
- Premiere of the “Melody of Europe” on November 27, 2024 in Berlin at “Network Day”.
Deutsche Telekom's mobile network now has its own melody. For the first time, data experts have used AI to translate anonymized data from Deutsche Telekom’s mobile network in ten European capitals into a melody. The idea was to make the network audible and thus also symbolically depict connections within Europe.
"We are excited to bring this project to life, showcasing how technology and creativity can come together to form a powerful symbol of unity," said Dominique Leroy, Board Member for Europe. "The ‘Melody of Europe’ is a reflection of our commitment to connecting people and communities across the continent."
Europe’s powerful network as the foundation
The basis for the “Melody of Europe” is Deutsche Telekom's network in Europe. Currently, 72 % of people in the ten European national subsidiaries of Telekom outside Germany have access to 5G. By 2027, this figure is expected to rise to 95 %. In Germany, nearly 98 % of the population can already use 5G today. Both in Germany and in all European national subsidiaries combined, Telekom is well on track to reach over 10 million households each by the end of this year.
Data, AI, and music expertise create the audible network
Making the invisible audible was a challenging task for Deutsche Telekom's data experts. They translated billions of data points from mobile telecommunications into sound. Deutsche Telekom worked closely together with the internationally recognized Hungarian Data Scientist Milan Janosov: “Data is my passion and being part of the journey to translate abstract information into a tangible, emotionally resonant experience was exciting. "Melody of Europe" exemplifies how human expertise and AI capabilities can synergize to produce something unique and meaningful.”, comments Janosov.
This is how the “Melody of Europe” was created
- Data experts from ten European countries counted mobile network activities like calls, text messages, mobile Internet usage and cell-switching events. This data, originating from both local customers and roaming users, was collected across the capital cities of these countries over a one-month period, mostly in June 2024. All data used was anonymized and aggregated and the process was fully compliant with GDPR.
- All anonymized and aggregated data from the countries were merged into a single data pool, totaling over 109 billion mobile network activities.
- Then the transformation of the mobile networks data into sound began. Data scientists mapped traffic intensity changes over time into a structured sound pattern, following a simple rule: each data point, representing the total mobile network activity in a given hour, was converted into a musical note, with higher intensities producing higher-pitched sounds.
- This initial sound was then processed by an AI composer software, which combined the input with its knowledge of established classical music. The result was a piece of music that accurately reflects the patterns of the underlying data. With some final brush-up by a sound designer, the Melody of Europe was born.
- Media artist Hayk Zakoyan created a generative artistic animation with 3D models of the landmarks of the ten capital cities to illustrate the 'Melody of Europe'.
The live premiere of the “Melody of Europe” will take place on November 27, 2024 in Berlin. The e-violinist MISS vio-LINE & DJ Carter from Soundlabor will perform it live on stage, opening Deutsche Telekom's “Network Day”. The “Network Day” will be streamed live in German language from 10:00 a.m.
Here you can already get a taste of the artistic interpretation of "Melody of Europe", presented by MISS vio-LINE and DJ:
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