AI-native telcos prep major updates, insights for industry forum

• The second AI-Native Telco Forum takes place in Düsseldorf, 8-9 September
• Major telcos, including Deutsche Telekom, NTT Docomo, Orange, Rakuten Mobile and Vodafone, will provide insights and updates related to their AI-native journeys
• TelecomTV will unveil the 275-page AI-Native Telco Index that includes a detailed analysis of the progress being made by more than 50 telcos from around the world

Deutsche Telekom, NTT Docomo, Orange, Rakuten Mobile, Telenor and Vodafone Group are among the influential network operators set to provide a real-world view of how AI is affecting the telecom sector during the upcoming AI-Native Telco Forum (Düsseldorf, 8-9 September), where TelecomTV will launch its first AI-Native Telco Index, a 270-plus page report that details the progress being made by 56 operators around the world as they invest in and use AI to meet their operational and revenue-generating goals. 

A great deal has changed since the first AI-Native Telco Forum was held in October 2025: Not only has AI had an impact on the strategies of day-to-day operations of all telecom operators around the world, it has done so at a pace not normally associated with the telco sector. That is why TelecomTV recently launched the AI-Native Telco Accelerator (ANTA), an initiative that will help communications service providers (CSPs) more quickly progress from AI experimentation to real-world, scalable deployments and which has attracted support from major telcos, vendors and influential industry organisations.  

The many ways in which AI is transforming the sector, and the impact this is having on every part of the telecom ecosystem, is what will be discussed in Düsseldorf by the very executives who are defining and executing these AI-native telco strategies. 

The opening session, for example, will feature four ANTA steering board members –  Deutsche Telekom’s SVP of network strategy and data & AI in networks, Ahmed Hafez, Rakuten Mobile’s chief AI and data officer, Sachin Verma, Totogi CEO Danielle Rios and Wind River’s VP of intelligent edge, Warren Bayek – who will provide key updates on the progress being made by their own companies and the sector in general and, in doing so, set the tone for the two days of the event. 

In addition, executives from China Telecom, Colt Technology Services, Elisa, MetTel, Amdocs, the GSMA, Rakuten Symphony and many more will take to the stage, and the show floor, to share first-hand accounts of the progress being made across the industry. 

And there’s plenty to share: As TelecomTV’s chief strategy officer and director of content, Guy Daniels, told Totogi’s Rios during episode 147 of her Telco in 20 podcast, “There is way more AI activity than most people think and it’s going on in all regions. I read a statistic recently that 70% of telcos have yet to deploy AI in their network – well, I think you’ll want to rethink that. Our evidence says that is not the case,” stated Daniels.

That evidence is laid out in the first edition of the AI-Native Telco Index, one of the key pillars of the work being done at ANTA. The index provides an up-to-date assessment of the varied ways in which network operators around the world are not only adopting many of the same approaches and targeting the same opportunities but finding their own individual ways of exploiting the potential of AI and identifying niche, market-specific new business opportunities. (Watch out for further announcements and information about the Index starting Monday 7 September).   

The AI-Native Telco Forum, the agenda of which will focus on how operators scale AI beyond pilots, integrate intelligence across network domains and turn AI into a trusted, revenue-generating operational capability, will be broadcast live on both days of the event, but to meet the individuals shaping the future direction of the telecom sector, grab one of the few remaining spaces left at the Düsseldorf event today. 

For coverage from the event, and for all the latest AI developments in the telecom sector, check out TelecomTV’s dedicated AI-Native Telco channel. 

- Ray Le Maistre, Editorial Director, TelecomTV