The 5 Decisions Defining North AmericanTelecom Leadership in the AI Supercycle

This Industry Viewpoint was authored by Cody Bowman, VP Solution Consulting, North America, Nokia

Telecommunication service providers in North America are approaching an inflection point. Navigating economic headwinds while confronting unprecedented technological change will determine who leads and who lags over the next decade.

Spurring this fork-in-the-road moment is the AI supercycle, where artificial intelligence is fundamentally reshaping not just what networks do, but how they’re designed, built and operated. In the AI supercycle, data center construction and AI infrastructure will continue to progress at a rapid pace. Specialized back-end networks for GPU clustering and front-end networks for AI workload management will drive exponential demand for high-performance connectivity.

Leadership in this new era requires end-to-end automation, architectural transformation and bold strategic choices. The playbook that built today’s industry giants won’t sustain them in the future. To adapt, service providers must commit to five critical decisions now.

Decision 1: Accelerate growth in AI and cloud

Investing in sophisticated, AI-ready infrastructure is key. From data centers to the intelligent edge, network platforms are capable of generating entirely new revenue streams.

Leading service providers are aggressively pursuing AI and cloud workload revenue by positioning their mobility design, edge computing capabilities, low-latency infrastructure and distributed architecture as competitive advantages that cloud providers can’t readily replicate. And they’re partnering with enterprises that need AI compute power closer to data sources, using high-performance connectivity to achieve demanding service-level agreements while ensuring reliable security.

The AI supercycle represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to redefine the telecom business model. But the window is narrow. Service providers who treat AI infrastructure purely as a cost will watch competitors build billion-dollar businesses on the same foundation they’re underutilizing.

Decision 2: Lead the next era with AI-native networks and 6G

The second critical decision involves the network architecture itself. Will you build networks designed from the ground up for the AI era or continue retrofitting AI capabilities onto legacy infrastructure?

AI-native networks need to be trusted and secure to make connectivity invisible and intelligent, autonomously optimize performance, predict failures before they occur, and dynamically allocate resources based on real-time demand. End-to-end automation must become the standard, not the aspiration.

Service providers making this shift now are seeing reductions in manual intervention, faster service deployment, lower total cost of ownership and service-level guarantees that legacy architectures can’t match. More importantly, they’re building the foundation for 6G capabilities that will define the next generation of wireless connectivity. While 6G may sound distant, the required research and groundwork are happening today.

Decision 3: Grow by co-innovating with customers and partners

No single service provider can innovate fast enough alone to stay ahead of market demands, and neither can vendors. The AI supercycle is moving too fast, and the technological complexity is too high.

Embracing co-innovation partnerships with technology vendors, cloud providers, enterprise customers and other telecoms is where some of the most innovative solutions are being developed. These aren’t traditional relationships, but rather strategic alliances where partners come together to enhance performance and create valuable new experiences for their customers.

The result is faster innovation cycles, reduced financial risk and access to capabilities that would take years to build independently. This requires a cultural shift away from “not invented here” skepticism to genuine partnership. Telecoms making this transition are launching services months or years ahead of competitors who are still trying to build everything themselves.

Decision 4: Commercialize network APIs

Executives face a pivotal choice: Do they treat the network as a closed system or a programmable platform? By exposing network APIs (application programming interfaces) for capabilities like quality on demand, identity verification, location services and more, they can allow global developers to access information and controls that are contained only within telecom networks.

This approach creates new scalable B2B2C revenue streams without linear increases in physical infrastructure costs. As the adoption of agentic AI accelerates, intelligent agents will utilize the API ecosystem to execute their respective tasks, furthering the demand for programmable networks.  

Decision 5: Commit to autonomous, AI-first operations

It’s time to move beyond retrofitting AI and embrace a zero-touch network architecture. Deploying AI-native automation stacks not only improves network reliability but also maximizes optimization and dramatically reduces predictive maintenance. This approach is the most direct path to lowering costs and simplifying operations, which is necessary to offset price shrinkage while meeting the demands for improved quality of service. 

The clock is ticking

These five decisions aren’t theoretical exercises. They’re being made right now, and the compounding effects will be clearly evident by 2027.

For service providers navigating the AI supercycle, now is the moment to position with intent. Leadership will come from focusing capital where real differentiation exists, not from matching competitors dollar for dollar. The strongest service providers will make deliberate bets on the architecture, capabilities and customer segments that matter most over the next three to five years.

At the same time, transformation must deliver sustainable returns. The winners will prove that innovation and profitability reinforce each other, pairing AI-driven efficiency with near-term revenue opportunities and holding every investment to clear ROI expectations.

Ultimately, the question is no longer whether the industry will transform, but who will lead the charge.

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About the Author:

Leading Nokia’s Solution Consulting organization for North America, Cody Bowman is at the forefront of creating technical solutions for mission-critical business problems. Cody and his team are focused on helping CSPs and their enterprise customers achieve success and exceed their business objectives.

Prior to Nokia, he was Principal Consultant and head of business development for Beyond the Horizon Technology, creating mission-critical IT solutions for companies that rely on Salesforce clouds and complex data systems. Cody has also held senior roles at Comptel and BEA Systems (now part of Oracle).

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Categories: Artificial Intelligence · Cloud Computing · Industry Viewpoint