Indian telecommunications and network service providers are demonstrating exceptional optimism about artificial intelligence's financial potential, according to a recent survey by Ciena. The study found that 67 per cent of Indian respondents 'strongly agree' that AI-driven network services will be the primary driver of revenue growth over the next three to five years. This positioning makes Indian operators among the most optimistic globally regarding AI's financial upside in the telecommunications sector. Another 27 per cent somewhat agreed, indicating strong expectations that AI infrastructure will create new monetisation opportunities as enterprises expand their AI deployments. As per Gautam Billa, Vice President, Solutions Engineering and Chief Technology Officer, Asia Pacific, India and Japan, Ciena, the survey reflects growing confidence among service providers in the revenue potential of AI-driven services, with operators increasingly shifting focus towards AI infrastructure builds and monetisation following India's rapid 5G rollout.
The comprehensive study was conducted by Censuswide between July 13 and 23, surveying 100 respondents in each of 12 key markets including India, the United States, Canada, Brazil and the United Kingdom. The survey methodology ensured broad geographic representation and provided a comparative framework for assessing regional AI adoption expectations across major telecommunications markets worldwide.
Beyond revenue expectations, Indian operators have expressed an urgent need to modernise physical infrastructure to support heavy AI workloads, as reported by Ciena. Consequently, a majority of them are prioritising immediate upgrades to infrastructure to ensure their networks can handle the growing demands of AI-driven services. About 88 per cent of respondents said optical network upgrades are urgently needed, including 38 per cent who said major upgrades are required immediately. This infrastructure focus reflects the practical implementation challenges operators face in preparing their networks for AI-driven revenue opportunities, with the urgency around network upgrades increasing as enterprises seek reliable, low-latency connectivity for AI applications.
Service providers believe existing networks will need substantial investment to meet the capacity, latency and reliability requirements of AI workloads. About 93 per cent of respondents said next-generation optical technologies, including higher-capacity wavelengths and power-efficient coherent optics, would be critical to making AI connectivity services more competitive and profitable. Nearly 98 per cent of Indian respondents expect managed optical fibre network services to contribute to revenue from interconnecting AI compute clusters over the next three years, with 48 per cent expecting a significant contribution. 94 per cent identified advanced network automation as important or critical for capturing AI-driven opportunities, with investments in optical networks, automation and edge infrastructure expected to play a central role in enabling operators to participate in the emerging AI infrastructure market.
Telecom operators are exploring multiple AI-related revenue streams beyond traditional connectivity. About 96 per cent of Indian respondents said guaranteed low-latency performance would be important or critical for monetising enterprise edge deployments, while 93 per cent saw moderate or high revenue potential in physical AI applications such as autonomous industrial robots, machine vision and remote-control systems. Multi-cloud connectivity is emerging as another potential growth area, with 58 per cent of respondents planning to generate revenue through multi-cloud connectivity management and consumption-based bandwidth services. Around 88 per cent of Indian respondents expect services such as GPU-as-a-Service, edge computing, localised AI inference and private wireless to account for at least 10 per cent of total enterprise revenue over the next three years. The opportunity is expected to grow as enterprises distribute computing workloads across multiple cloud environments and services delivered closer to enterprise users and devices contribute to telecom revenues.
