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AIQuiet 12d · day 12

Telecom leaders: AI's value is in automation, not agentic systems

A panel of industry experts argues that practical machine learning and cross-domain automation—not autonomous AI agents—hold the real opportunity for telecom operators.

newest coverage 12d agosummary written 7d ago3 pieces2 likes & upvotes MastodonRedditHacker News

What to know

  • Telecom leaders argue AI is already delivering value through machine learning and predictive maintenance, but agentic AI remains too immature and vendor-dependent for mission-critical deployments.
  • Operational trust is the primary barrier—telecom operators have decades of closed-loop automation experience but remain reluctant to cede control of critical services to autonomous systems.
  • The real opportunity lies in cross-domain automation that coordinates across operational silos, with direct impact on cost, workforce productivity, and customer experience.
  • Telecom operators will likely serve as infrastructure providers and AI hosting platforms rather than competing as AI model developers.

Warren Bayek VP Intelligent Edge, Software and Services, AptivRobert Curran Consulting analyst, Appledore ResearchDiego R. Lopez Senior technology expert and chair of ETSI ZSM ISG, Telefónica

How it unfolded 1 development · click the chart to see its coverage posts

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Sep 16Sep 17Sep 18Sep 19Sep 20Sep 21Sep 22Sep 23Sep 24Sep 25yesterdaynow · 11:08 PM ET
  1. 1

    Telecom operators positioned as infrastructure providers, not AI model builders

    Lopez and Bayek argued that telecom operators are unlikely to become major AI model providers. Instead, operators will serve as trusted infrastructure providers and data intermediaries, adding value as AI hosting platforms and broader ecosystem enablers.

    “progress is real but uneven, and the biggest opportunities may not look like what many expect…”
    — TelecomTV panelists, Panel discussion · source
  2. background

    Cross-domain automation emerges as real opportunity for telecom operators — Curran argued that the genuine opportunity lies in cross-domain automation, where AI coordinates across multiple operational silos. This approach offers direct impact on OpEx, workforce productivity, customer experience, and autonomous networks—driving major operators to pursue it.

  3. background

    Operational trust identified as primary barrier to autonomous telecom systems — The panelists identified trust as the central challenge. Bayek noted that telecom operators have pursued closed-loop automation for decades but remain reluctant to hand control of critical services to autonomous systems. Lopez argued that agentic AI remains too closed and vendor-centric for heterogeneous telecom infrastructures.

  4. background

    Telecom panel argues AI's real impact is in established automation, not agentic systems — A TelecomTV panel featuring Warren Bayek (Aptiv), Robert Curran (Appledore Research), and Diego R. Lopez (Telefónica) discussed AI's practical role in telecom. The panelists agreed that AI is delivering value through machine learning, anomaly detection, predictive maintenance, and customer support automation—not through autonomous agentic AI, which remains immature for mission-critical environments.