"These AI tools drive profitability because they reduce outages, save energy, and obviate the need for manual intervention said Chetan Sharma, CEO of Chetan Sharma Consulting, who contributed to the report. The focus on AI-native networks and autonomous operations has overtaken customer service optimization as the leading use case for investment, according to findings from the firm's fourth annual State of AI in Telecommunications survey. The report also showed that AI has become profitable for 90% of telco operators."
"That's a substantial increase compared to 2025, when only half of telcos told NVIDIA they had deployed AI. At the time, 44% said customer experience optimization was their top area of AI investment. A year later, telco operators identified three top use cases for AI investment. Half of respondents pointed to network automation as a top use case, while 41% identified customer service and 33% cited internal optimizations."
"The survey also identified a surge in edge computing investment. The report showed that telecommunications companies are building AI-native RAN (radio access network) and 6G in preparation for the 6G deployment cycle, and 77% of respondents predict the deployment will be much faster than it was for previous deployment cycles. Companies plan to focus AI spending on the following: Enhancing spectral efficiency Improving the performance of RAN-supporting edge AI applications Accelerating the research and development of 6G"
Network automation leads AI use cases in telecommunications, overtaking customer service optimization. Integration of generative and agentic AI is expected to drive industry returns. AI reduces outages, saves energy, and eliminates manual intervention, increasing profitability. AI is profitable for 90% of telco operators, up from about half the prior year. Top AI investments are network automation (50%), customer service (41%), and internal optimizations (33%). Edge computing investment is rising as companies build AI-native RAN and prepare for 6G; 77% predict faster deployment cycles. Planned spending targets spectral efficiency, RAN-edge performance, and accelerated 6G R&D. AI also boosts internal productivity, with over a quarter reporting major benefits.
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