Ranchi, Aug 23: A new survey from HCLTech, conducted in partnership with Mobile World Live, has exposed a widening gap between telecom executives’ enthusiasm for AI and their operational readiness to deploy it at scale.
The Telecom Pulse Survey Report, which polled nearly 200 senior executives from network operators, MVNOs, communication service providers and OEMs worldwide, found that 60% of telecom leaders view AI as central to future revenue growth. Yet only 25% believe their organizations are actually prepared to operationalize AI at scale, a shortfall that is stalling the industry’s shift from traditional telco to AI-native “TechCo” models. Legacy infrastructure, incomplete cloud-native modernization and talent gaps remain the biggest roadblocks.
The report also points to eroding confidence in core connectivity as a growth engine. Nearly 70% of respondents said connectivity services are becoming commoditized, pushing operators toward differentiated digital offerings and platform-based business models. Even so, innovation is moving slowly: almost 80% of surveyed firms launched fewer than five new digital products or services over the past year, signaling persistent bottlenecks in product development and speed to market.
Partnerships are increasingly seen as the way forward, with roughly half of leaders naming collaboration with hyperscalers, AI platform providers and software vendors as essential to unlocking innovation and new revenue streams. Still, most organizations continue to judge AI and digital transformation success primarily by cost savings rather than growth or new capabilities.
“The telecom industry is at a defining moment as AI transforms networks into intelligent, platform-driven ecosystems,” said Anil Ganjoo, Chief Growth Officer and Global Head of Telecom, Media and Technology at HCLTech, adding that the company’s AI-intrinsic approach is designed to help telcos accelerate their transition toward autonomous, AI-native operations.
HCLTech, which employs more than 223,000 people across 60 countries, reported consolidated revenues of $14.8 billion for the 12 months ending June 2026.
