Telecommunications operators are becoming AI utility infrastructure—and that’s not a bad thing

Telecommunications operators won’t want to hear this, but the winning AI strategy is simple: Go for the utility play. Utility is a dirty word in the telcommunications industry. Operators fought hard against the label in the battle over net neutrality. But embedding themselves as AI utility infrastructure seems to be their best bet in a market that is dominated by hyperscalers and, to date, lacks a killer use case that would require their unique touchpoints. Rather than chasing AI baubles, AvidThink Founder and Principal Analyst Roy Chua said, telephone companies should invest in modernizing their networks, making them more programmable and consumable, and reclaiming the ground they’ve lost in the long-haul, sub-sea, and metro connectivity realm.