How AI and Emerging Tools Will Shape Telco Growth in 2026

This Industry Viewpoint was authored by David Hicks, Chief Strategy Officer at Render Networks

As we head into 2026, telcos are entering a period of accelerated technological change, particularly in network construction. While AI has captured attention across many domains, its most consequential impact is emerging where execution has historically struggled. Construction remains one of the last large-scale, capital-intensive activities to fully modernize, and that is beginning to change.

The opportunity for differentiation is becoming clearer. Operators that move beyond digitizing legacy workflows and instead reorient how work is planned, executed, and validated are addressing long-standing constraints. Labor shortages, schedule risk, rework, and field-level uncertainty are no longer viewed as inevitable. They are increasingly treated as solvable structural problems.

Against ongoing questions about the return on AI investment, a small set of technologies is beginning to stand out. Not because they are novel, but because they fundamentally change how construction data is captured, trusted, and acted upon.

Reality Capture and the End of Blind Burial

Two AI-enabled uses of existing technology stand out as likely to reshape construction execution: Reality capture and mobile LiDAR. Not because the hardware itself is new, but because AI is reaching a point where it can meaningfully connect, contextualize, and verify what those tools capture. Together, they point toward a future where one of construction’s oldest problems begins to disappear. Once a trench is filled, visibility of what lies underground is lost.

In the near future, reality capture could address this directly through a “time machine trench.” A field superintendent would mount a standard 360-degree camera to their hardhat, tap record on an iPhone, and walk the length of an open trench. AI would automatically synchronize that video to the project’s geospatial and construction context. Months later, if a line is cut, a user could click a location on a digital map and move a time slider back to the day the trench was open, verifying depth and placement without excavation. What relies on memory and reconstruction today could tomorrow become a navigable record.

Mobile LiDAR points in a similar direction for digital as-builts. Using a LiDAR-equipped iPhone, a worker could scan an open trench or handhole before backfilling. AI would process that scan into a colorized, three-dimensional point-cloud model, accurate to within inches, replacing tape measures and hand sketches with a permanent, measurable representation of what was built.

Taken together, these scenarios illustrate where construction is heading. As-builts move from approximations assembled after the fact to records captured at the moment work is visible. In 2026, this matters because AI-driven planning, compliance, and digital twins will depend on data that reflects physical reality. The most impactful advances will come from embedding intelligence at the point of execution, not from analyzing incomplete information later.

Predictive AI and the Shift from Reaction to Anticipation

These developments signal a broader transition in how construction will be managed. Predictive AI enables teams to move from reacting to problems after they occur to anticipating where disruption is likely to emerge. Schedules, crew deployment, and dependencies can be adjusted before delays compound. Quality issues surface during construction rather than at closeout, when options are limited and costs are higher.

Intelligent automation further reinforces this shift. Progress is no longer inferred through lagging reports or manual check-ins. Documentation becomes continuous, providing an always-on view of performance, precision, and risk. The result is not simply better reporting, but a more resilient execution model that can adapt as conditions change.

BEAD as an Operational Forcing Function

The evolution of BEAD is also accelerating this change. What began as a funding program is increasingly acting as an operational driver.

Meeting BEAD requirements demands more than digital records. It requires systems that guide, sequence, and validate work in real time. There is a meaningful distinction between digitization and digitalization. Digitization converts paper into PDFs and spreadsheets. Digitalization connects systems so that work is orchestrated, verified, and auditable as it happens.

BEAD demands the latter. Manual reconciliation, post-hoc reporting, and fragmented records are insufficient to meet compliance and audit expectations at scale. AI and intelligent automation move from optional enhancements to essential infrastructure. They verify work against design standards, flag risk before eligibility is compromised, and maintain a continuous chain of evidence through closeout.

Reshaping Construction Technology

As these dynamics take hold, construction technology will be judged less by the quality of its reports and more by its ability to prevent disruption. Planning tools remain important, but advantage increasingly lies with systems that adapt in real time and keep work moving as conditions change.

Traditional construction management approaches struggle under the weight of today’s geographically distributed, highly interdependent broadband builds. Manual processes contribute to delays, coordination breakdowns, and data integrity issues. A real-time, geospatial view of execution changes that equation.

When planners, project managers, and executives share a single, trusted view of progress, resources can be reallocated quickly, dependencies managed proactively, and field updates captured as work unfolds. Construction shifts from a reactive process to a continuous, performance-driven workflow.

Aligning for Predictable Growth

This transformation is not about removing humans from the process. Final decisions, approvals, and trade-offs remain firmly in human hands. What changes is where human judgment is applied. Instead of reconciling incomplete information, teams focus on validation, exception management, and informed decision-making.

As 2026 approaches, the gap between organizations that embrace this shift and those that hesitate will widen. Operators that continue to rely on fragmented workflows and manual oversight risk falling behind peers who are building with clarity, predictability, and confidence.

AI and emerging tools are not redefining construction by replacing people. They are redefining it by aligning systems, data, and execution in ways the industry has long needed. Those who recognize that distinction will be best positioned to grow.

 

David Hicks currently serves as Chief Strategy Officer at Render Networks. David has more than 25 years of leadership experience in telecommunications and network operations. Most recently, he served as Vice President of Construction at Cox Communications, overseeing a $1B annual capital portfolio. He also held senior roles at Cox and AT&T, leading large-scale infrastructure, engineering, and operations initiatives. 

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Categories: Artificial Intelligence · Industry Viewpoint