Telecom Operators Shift AI Investment To Networks

Nvidia’s 2026 State of AI in Telecommunications survey of more than 1,000 industry professionals found 90% report AI delivers positive ROI and 89% plan increased AI spending. Respondents say network automation—predictive maintenance, traffic optimization and spectrum allocation—and internal process automation now deliver the strongest returns, prompting vendor partnerships (Ericsson–Mistral) and operator deployments (AT&T Geo Modeler, autonomous agents). The shift prioritizes embedded network intelligence and incremental steps toward autonomous networks before 6G.