New report identifies the AI-native telco frontrunners

• In June, TelecomTV launched the AI-Native Telco Accelerator (ANTA) initiative with the support of telcos, vendors and trade bodies  
• One of ANTA’s functions is to provide its member partners with research data, including the AI-Native Telco Index
• The first index report – comprising a whopping 276 pages – is now available and it highlights, among many other things, which telcos are the AI-native telco frontrunners, with nine operators attaining ‘AI Vanguard’ status 

As part of its expanding AI-Native Telco Accelerator (ANTA) initiative, TelecomTV has published its inaugural AI-Native Telco Index, a 276-page report that provides a data-led evaluation of the AI-native progress being made by 56 telcos and which identifies the nine operators that have attained ‘AI Vanguard’ status, making them the frontrunners that are setting the pace for their peers. 

ANTA, which was launched in June this year with support from multiple telcos, vendors and trade bodies, was formed to help communications service providers (CSPs) more quickly progress from AI experimentation to real-world, scalable deployments by providing independent intelligence, practical guidance and opportunities for impactful collaboration. It is addressing some of the telecom sector’s biggest AI transformation challenges – fragmented information, disconnected initiatives and a lack of common benchmarks for measuring progress – through a combination of industry research, community engagement and industry events. The AI-Native Telco Index is a key example of ANTA’s industry research efforts, while this week’s AI-Native Telco Forum (Düsseldorf, 8-9 September), is one of ANTA’s main in-person events. (If you can’t attend the forum, you can sign up to watch a live stream of the sessions here.)

The index assesses the 56 operators (you can see a list below) against four dimensions – foundation readiness, strategic intent, execution evidence and transformation velocity – each of which comprises five specific indicators, using published evidence (the cut-off date for the first index report was 30 June 2026). The report also analyses nine important industry perceptions related to AI-native telco developments, examines whether there is a clear definition of the term AI-native telco, and offers an analysis of the aggregated data. 

The result is a reference work, where the value lies in coverage and comparability across the whole ecosystem. The full index is available now to ANTA partners and/or those holding a licence (more information is available here): A 12-page executive summary, which provides insight into the index’s methodology and key takeaways from the inaugural report, can be downloaded for free (or purchased) here.    

One thing not included in the index is a ranking, or ‘league table’ – that was a decision taken with the ANTA Steering Board, which comprises senior executive representatives from five ANTA founding partner telcos (Axiata, Deutsche Telekom, Orange, NTT Docomo, Rakuten Mobile). 

What the index does do, though, is assign an AI-native archetype to each of the 56 telcos assessed, based on the evidence analysed. This is an editorial judgement call to help readers understand the AI-native progress of each telco but does not reflect who is ‘better’ – instead the archetypes have been designed to illustrate transformation progress, to identify the AI-native stage reached by each of the assessed telcos at the end of June this year. 

The seven archetypes range from AI Vanguard (“Global frontrunner, setting the pace”), Infrastructure Architect (“Exceptional foundations not yet converted into proportionate execution”) and Strategic Accelerator (“Well resourced strategic intent with early execution and clear upward trajectory”) for the telcos leading the AI-native telco charge, to Transformation Pending (“Early stage across most dimensions; AI transformation not yet begun in earnest). 

In this first index report, nine telcos have been assigned AI Vanguard status, five have the Infrastructure Architect archetype and 15 are identified as having Strategic Accelerator status. Only one telco is still at the Transformation Pending stage. 

The nine AI Vanguard telcos are AT&T, China Mobile, Deutsche Telekom, KDDI, NTT/NTT Docomo, Rakuten Mobile, SoftBank Corp, Telefónica and Verizon. There may be a few surprises in that list, but remember this is an index based on published information available up to the end of June and analysed using 20 indicators, with the rule that ‘announce’ does not mean ‘executed’. A commitment is recorded as just that – a commitment. A deployment is recorded only where the operator has published something that shows it is running, and published data about actual deployments counts for a lot when it comes to compiling this index. 

For those wondering about SK Telecom, so often identified as one of the most prominent and leading AI-native telcos by the media and analysts (including this editor), its current archetype is Strategic Accelerator. The fact that it is often identified as a top leader among AI-native telcos “shows how perceptions can be misleading”, according to the index. 

The index assessment process finds that SK Telecom has a very clear AI-native strategy, with investments made, revenues already being generated and significant revenue goals identified, but many of its efforts were still at the planning stage at the end of June. SK Telecom’s momentum, though, suggests it could be among the strongest profiles by the time the next index report is published in 2027. 

Work is already underway for the next index, with data gathered and analysed every day by the AI-native telco index data analysis engine developed by TelecomTV. 

In the meantime, you can access the executive summary, and find out more about how to access the full 276-page report, here.

Until the next index is published, keep up to date with developments in our dedicated AI-Native Telco channel and see what ANTA has to offer in terms of intelligence, research, events and more here.  

And, as promised, here is the identity of the 56 telcos analysed in-depth in the AI-Native Telco Index. 

- Ray Le Maistre, Editorial Director, TelecomTV