The Department of Telecommunications (DoT), in collaboration with the Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) and Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), have organised two key sessions on telecom and artificial intelligence (AI) at the India AI Impact Summit 2026 in New Delhi.
The first session, titled “GenAI and Future Networks,” brought together leading voices from industry and government to deliberate on the transformative impact of generative AI (GenAI) on next-generation telecom infrastructure.
The discussion deliberated on how AI-driven predictive maintenance, intelligent spectrum optimisation, energy-efficient network management, and AI-native architectures are reshaping telecom networks into adaptive, self-optimising systems capable of supporting large-scale AI workloads. Speakers in the first session highlighted how cloud and network are becoming more agile. The boundaries between data centres, the cloud, and the network are blurring as they are required to provide a seamless experience to users. AI engines have to, on a real-time basis, seek more computing power and compute-on-demand to deliver outcomes that are required by the networks. They highlighted that the future networks will provide on-demand speed and on-time connectivity with such ultra-low latency that the real-time experience for augmented reality/ virtual reality and other applications will be visible.
Meanwhile, the second session, titled “AI Powered Bharat through Universal Digital Connectivity”. This session explored how AI is strengthening India’s digital connectivity for the customers, capacity building, and use of AI in addressing telecom frauds. Panellists highlighted that the network and universal meaningful digital connectivity will be achieved only when the last person gets full connectivity and connectivity on demand and delivers the quality of service to provide the content and real-time experience to a person wherever she or he is. The second aspect highlighted by the panel was that providing secured communication remains the responsibility of network providers, policymakers, and regulators. DoT and telcos highlighted the citizen-centric initiatives taken up in recent times, to help citizens get the desired digital safety.
Speaking at the Summit, director general, COAI, said, “Telecom networks are the backbone of AI-powered Bharat. As AI applications scale across sectors, telecom infrastructure will evolve into intelligent, AI-native platforms that enable secure, resilient and inclusive digital growth. Strengthening connectivity today will be critical to ensuring India’s leadership in the global AI-driven economy. Telecom operators are already deploying AI-driven network intelligence to strengthen digital trust by proactively detecting and mitigating spam, fraud and malicious communications. By investing in future-ready networks and building secure digital infrastructure, India has a unique opportunity not only to adopt AI but to lead globally in deploying AI for the benefit of humanity.”
COAI noted that India’s scale of connectivity, rapid digital adoption, and leadership in digital public infrastructure uniquely position the country to emerge as a global leader in AI-enabled digital transformation. Future telecom networks, particularly as the industry evolves toward 6G, will be AI-native by design, enabling intelligent automation, improved efficiency and new applications across governance, industry and public services. Strengthening telecom infrastructure will therefore be essential to ensuring India’s continued leadership in the global digital economy.
