Communications service providers (CSPs) face growing challenges from fierce competition, price pressure, and rising regulation, making revenue growth difficult even after major investments in 5G. Now, AI is fundamentally transforming the industry. Generative and agentic AI are ushering in a new era where CSPs can deliver “autonomous customer experiences”-interactions that are fully personalized with zero-touch automation-unlocking new opportunities for growth through cost reductions and improved customer lifetime value.
According to a recent survey Oracle conducted with analyst firm, Analysys Mason, 73% of telco leaders report that AI has a significant or highly positive impact on customer experience, especially in customer care and acquisition. However, the road to successful AI deployment remains complex. Our survey with Analysys Mason found that 60% of operators report an 80% POC failure rate, while only 3% claim a success rate above 40%. Lack of access to quality data and in-house skill to productize AI were consistently cited as primary barriers to success.
Looking ahead to 2026, Oracle expects CSPs to prioritize data unification and management, recognizing that impactful AI outcomes depend on the quality and accessibility of underlying data. Moreover, we anticipate CSPs investing in AI tools that lower adoption barriers for business users-particularly within marketing, sales, and customer service. Finally, more CSPs will also turn to all-in-one vendor solutions for managing the customer lifecycle to simplify data management, enhance AI adoption, and drive cost-effective improvements across the organization.
Autonomous Operations: 2026 promises to be a pivotal year for CSPs looking to achieve Level 4 maturity by 2028
Rapidly maturing GenAI and Agentic AI technologies promise a major shot in the arm for telcos in their ambitions to achieve autonomous operations. Many CSPs have publicly stated that they would like to attain L4 autonomy in parts of their networks and operations by 2028 and realize that significant work is needed in 2026 to make meaningful progress. In 2026:
- Improving data quality will become one of the top priorities: High quality data helps ensure the system’s ability to perceive, learn, and act correctly. Trustworthy and timely availability of data is critical to drive reliable and consistent decision making based on AI model training and performance.
- CSPs will prioritize �hygiene’ programs such as �fixing the inventory’ and unification of observability siloes to prepare for AI adoption at scale: The traditional �systems-of-record’ for networks and services are critical for a wide range of processes, including network planning and design, fulfilment and, increasingly, trouble to resolve for proactive problem identification and remediation. Therefore, inventory systems must evolve to a near-real-time network data platform offering an up-to-date, correlated view of the overlay and underlay networks and services. On the other hand, assurance and monitoring tools tend to accumulate over several years, especially for functions such as fault, performance, deep packet data and others, creating data silos that are not ideal for AI. Transitioning to unified observability platforms (�data ponds’ and �data lakes’) enables efficient aggregation and deduplication, building a stronger foundation for AI models.
- CSPs will accelerate AI adoption in operations as they increase trust in AI-based automations: Trust is the necessary currency for AI to move from a powerful technology in labs to a widely accepted and integrated part of society and business. With increasing AI focus on quality, reliability, and security, CSPs will gain the confidence to gradually deploy more AI based automations in their operations starting with Assurance.
- Assurance use cases such as AI-native automated root cause analysis to reduce resolution times will see rapid adoption: Automating root cause analysis has been one of the most sought-after operational goals for CSPs. Good progress has been made over the years to automate repetitive tasks and runbooks. AI-native root cause analysis capabilities such as unsupervised event correlation and agentic ticket enrichment will help accelerate time to closure and eliminate human errors. Reduction in time taken for identifying issues and root cause analysis directly improves operational KPIs such as MTTR. Furthermore, these capabilities form the basis for solution recommendation engine which can use past patterns to drive resolutions.
- More CSPs will trial digital twin solutions to perform AI-driven �what-if’ analysis: Digital twins with �what-if’ capabilities provide a controlled environment to validate the suitability and impact of a resolution action before applying it in production. Increasing trust in AI and LLM application in CSP environments combined with the emergence of pre-integrated AI-native assurance and inventory will enable CSPs to seriously assess their suitability in their operations.
Autonomous integration into communications (Voice AI)
Into 2026, Managed Service Providers (MSPs) and enterprises will be at a pivotal point as communications complexity continues to accelerate. With the rapid adoption of cloud-based services, UCaaS, CCaaS, and advanced AI capabilities, enterprises are demanding seamless integration, security, and differentiated offerings from their communications partners. The need for voice orchestration and intelligent integration will be critical as MSPs and enterprises strive to deliver unified, agile, and resilient experiences across fragmented environments. Key trends and predictions shaping 2026 include:
- AI-ready orchestration as a differentiator: Businesses will deploy orchestration platforms that unify legacy and cloud-based systems, enabling rapid test and deployment of AI-powered voice services, bots, and analytics for clients.
- Operational efficiency through automation: Automation and workflow orchestration will not only streamline onboarding and integrations but also help companies reduce operational costs and manual intervention, driving leaner operations and higher margins.
- Security and compliance at the forefront: As enterprises adopt more AI and multi-cloud solutions, MSPs are expected to play a critical role in enabling visibility, auditability, and compliance support for complex regulatory environments.
- Addressing the talent gap: Pre-integrated orchestration and automation solutions will help companies overcome skill shortages by reducing dependence on specialized manual configurations.
- Enhanced resilience and differentiation: Organizations will rely on orchestration to improve network resilience, optimize resources, and create customized workflows-enabling faster rollout of innovative services.
According to IDC State of Adoption of Decision Intelligence, 2025 , cost, implementation complexity and integration are the top challenges with enterprise-wide adoption of decision intelligence. A well-orchestrated integration of AI into communications reduces complexity which in turn reduces cost. As enterprise and MSPs embrace these solutions, the winners will be those who outpace complexity, seamlessly integrate new technologies, and provide trusted, future-ready communications services.
Sovereign AI: The Foundation for Secure and Autonomous CSP Operations
For CSPs, sovereign AI is rapidly becoming A valuable option to address compliant requirements without sacrificing future-ready operations. As AI permeates networks, IT systems, decisioning engines, and customer-facing channels, CSPs face rising exposure across five foundational dimensions: AI capabilities, data residency, data privacy, legal controls, and security and resiliency. These pillars increasingly define whether AI deployments can be trusted, regulated, and scaled in environments that manage national infrastructure and sensitive customer data. Sovereign AI provides the operational flexibility to address localization requirements, protect critical data, and support autonomous network evolution. Its importance is only accelerating: “By 2030, 50% of Tier 1 CSPs will deploy sovereign AI models trained and hosted in their national or regional jurisdictions.”* For many operators, sovereign AI is no longer a technology choice-it is a strategic imperative for competitiveness, regulatory alignment, and national digital ambition.
Autonomous Industries
Service providers become enablers of autonomous industries
In 2026, leading CSPs will shift from “connectivity suppliers” to “autonomy platforms,” packaging hybrid connectivity (cellular, WiFi, IoT) with satellite, edge AI/ML, and managed governance to keep operations running safely, continuously, and securely. “CSPs are using LEO satellite services to offer reliable internet and communication for remote operations where terrestrial infrastructure is lacking. Application of this use case is prominent in oil and gas, mining, government, healthcare, manufacturing, logistics and construction industries in remote areas.”**
In parallel, IoT stacks will converge with AI, edge compute, eSIM/iSIM, and multi-bearer designs that blend satellite with cellular and noncellular technologies, while zero-trust security, privacy, and governance become core differentiators. Omdia reports that security and privacy are the top reasons enterprises adopt edge, cited by more than 40% of respondents, with compliance also a material driver. Of all enterprises, 64% believe they need to partner to achieve their deployment goals, even if half of all enterprises surveyed would prefer to use in-house resources.
Similarly, 66% of enterprises identify that they are challenged by skills gaps when trying to implement IoT solutions. Gaps in skill sets are not surprising, especially as new technologies are coming into view.
The opportunity to enable autonomy in vertical industries is significant. The winners will productize “autonomy as a service”: vertical edge bundles, policy-based hybrid connectivity, and managed security and data governance that delivers measurable outcomes.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Shirin Esfandiari, Senior Product Marketing Director, Oracle Communications
Shirin Esfandiari is a senior technology marketing leader serving as Senior Director of Product Marketing at Oracle Communications, where she leads a global team responsible for developing and executing go-to-market and product marketing strategies for Communications Service Provider and Enterprise markets.
With over 20 years of industry experience, Shirin has a proven track record of shaping compelling messaging, positioning, and value propositions that drive thought leadership, customer engagement, and commercial impact. She is particularly passionate about leveraging artificial intelligence, unified data, and agile delivery models to deliver innovative solutions that address evolving customer needs, market dynamics, and competitive landscapes.
Shirin brings deep expertise across strategy development, sales enablement, internal communications, content creation, and business analytics, and is known for her ability to work effectively across cross-functional and multicultural teams while leading complex change initiatives. She holds a Master’s degree in Engineering, an AI certification from MIT Sloan Executive Education, and an Advanced Program Management certificate from Stanford University. Based in Madrid, she operates at the intersection of technology innovation, business strategy, and industry transformation.
Source: OMDIA IoT Enterprise Survey: Vertical Market Overview – 2025
Source: Gartner Market Trend: Emerging Use Cases for LEO
Satellite Communication Services
Direct quote: CSPs are using LEO satellite services to offer reliable internet and communication for remote operations where terrestrial infrastructure is lacking. Application of this use case is prominent in oil and gas, mining, government, healthcare, manufacturing, logistics and construction industries in remote areas.
*Gartner�, AI Predicts 2026: CSPs Turn AI-First by Necessity, Not Choice – Sovereignty and Security Predefine Success or Failure), 25 November 2025
** Gartner, Market Trend: Emerging Use Cases for LEO Satellite Communication Services, Khurram Shahzad, 5 May 2025
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