Wipro Intelligence™: Telecom Business Trends

Telecom’s Next Act: From Connectivity to Digital Stewardship

The telecom industry is at a strategic inflection point. For decades, operators competed on coverage, speed, and reliability. In today’s AI-driven, cloud-native world, those metrics are no longer enough. The infrastructure layer is being redefined, and telecom’s role within it is up for grabs.

The winners will not be those with the fastest networks. They will be the ones who orchestrate how compute, context, and trust flow across industries.

The Big Shift: Proximity-Based Compute

Proximity-based compute moves processing, storage, and security from centralized data centers to network-embedded, location-aware infrastructure. This is more than edge computing, it represents a structural rearchitecture of digital infrastructure.

The implications are profound. By eliminating unnecessary data transit, proximity compute enables real-time, context-driven services and supports advanced use cases such as AI inference, industrial automation, and immersive applications. According to Cisco, 75% of enterprise data will be created and processed at the edge. IDC projects Asia-Pacific edge spending to reach $84B by 2028, growing at a 15% CAGR. STL Partners forecasts the global edge computing market will grow from $51B in 2023 to $424B by 2030, a 35% CAGR.

As compute moves closer to where data is generated and consumed, traditional boundaries between connectivity, compute, and security dissolve. Telecom operators are uniquely positioned to operate this proximity layer, but only if they evolve beyond access provisioning.

Telcos at a Strategic Crossroads

Executives face two stark futures. One path leads to commoditization, where telcos become invisible bandwidth providers beneath hyperscaler platforms. The other positions telcos as digital supply chain stewards, orchestrating proximity infrastructure across industries.

The former is a path to irrelevance. The latter demands bold repositioning, from selling access to delivering orchestration, trust, and operational intelligence. This is not a technology upgrade; it is a business model transformation.

What’s Driving the Change

Six converging trends are reshaping telecom’s role in the digital economy.

1. Agentic AI has moved from back-office support to the core engine of customer experience, operations, and service delivery. Telcos are using AI to accelerate release cycles, optimize journeys, and predict defects. A German provider automated customer journeys with AI, while an Australian telco applied AI for predictive maintenance and service assurance.
2. Autonomous Networks are replacing manual operations. Intent-driven, cloud-native architectures such as TMF ODA, MEF, and CAMARA enable self-orchestrating networks that respond dynamically to service demands. An Australian telecom simplified OSS and enabled autonomous orchestration using AI-native ODA architecture.
3. Network-as-a-Product (NaaP) is gaining traction. Telcos are productizing network features, exposing them via APIs, aligning them with business outcomes, and monetizing them like software. Telstra’s Connected Future 30 Strategy exemplifies this shift, combining AI and cloud to deliver differentiated network services and autonomous operations.
4. Open APIs are harmonizing global telecom ecosystems. GSMA’s Open Gateway initiative standardizes APIs across more than 20 operators, enabling integration with digital platforms and scalable service delivery. APIs for location, QoS, identity, and edge discovery are already in use by developers such as Zoom and Vonage.
5. Cybersecurity and Trust by Design have become non-negotiable. As 5G, edge computing, and AI expand the attack surface, telcos must embed zero-trust principles, AI-driven threat analytics, and compliance frameworks into every layer of infrastructure. After major cyberattacks, leading telcos in the U.S., Australia, and Qatar strengthened infrastructure with AI-based threat detection and compliance frameworks.
6. Repurposed Compute and Connectivity are redefining infrastructure models. Telcos are deploying edge compute for real-time autonomy and NTN for IoT and AI workloads, architecting infrastructure around workload profiles rather than legacy paradigms.

Infrastructure, Repositioned

In the AI era, decision speed matters more than reach. Connectivity becomes a distributed control fabric. Storage localizes based on data gravity and sovereignty. Security shifts from perimeter defense to embedded trust.

Telcos must evolve from enabling access to enabling AI-driven outcomes. This is the new infrastructure layer and telecom must own it.

Strategic Imperatives for Telecom Leaders

To avoid commoditization and lead the next phase of digital infrastructure, executives must act decisively.

1. Monetize proximity intelligence by turning operational data into real-time insights and services. Telcos sit on vast telemetry, it’s time to productize it. Second, embed trust and sovereignty by delivering location-aware security and compliance as a service. As data localization and AI governance rise, telcos can offer embedded trust enforcement at the edge.
2. Co-create industry platforms by partnering with vertical leaders to build domain-specific solutions. Telcos must move beyond horizontal connectivity into vertical value creation.
3. Automate orchestration to manage distributed infrastructure with AI-driven control planes. Autonomous networks aren’t just efficient, they’re essential for scaling proximity compute.
4. Expand via ecosystems by building open platforms, federated edge clouds, and developer marketplaces. GSMA’s Open Gateway and CAMARA are early steps but telcos must move faster.
5. Align with sustainability by optimizing energy use and carbon footprint across distributed infrastructure. Edge sites must be efficient, secure, and sustainable, not just fast.

What Success Looks Like

Verizon has embedded AWS Wavelength into its 5G network, enabling ultra-low latency services for AR, gaming, and industrial automation. Today, 75% of the U.S. population is now within 150 miles of a Wavelength zone. Vodafone partnering with hyperscalers to deliver MEC services across Europe, powering smart city and connected vehicle use cases. Vodafone’s Edge Innovation Program is attracting startups in AR maintenance and drone control. In South Korea, SK Telecom offers GPU-accelerated edge services for enterprise AI workloads, transforming its network into a real-time compute fabric. It launched Metatron AI Edge and Jump AR/VR, and is investing in its own Korean-language GPT model.

These are not connectivity plays, they are orchestration platforms.

What Failure Looks Like

Telcos that treat proximity compute as an extension of connectivity will be absorbed into someone else’s platform. Hyperscalers, CDNs, and API aggregators will capture the value, leaving telcos with the cost. Enterprises will bypass telcos for edge services unless telcos offer differentiated, outcome-based solutions.

The Bottom Line

Proximity-based compute isn’t adjacent to telecom’s future—it’s foundational to it. Telcos that embrace this shift will become stewards of digital performance, trust, and orchestration. Those that don’t will be relegated to invisible infrastructure.

The infrastructure layer is being redefined. The question is: will you own it or be absorbed by it?

About the Authors

Jeffrey Mitchell
Partner and OSS Practice Lead Wipro Telecom, Media and Technology Consulting

Padman Kumar
Senior Partner and APMEA  Head Wipro Telecom, Media, and Technology Consulting 

Amit Jain
Managing Partner and Europe  Head Wipro  Telecom, Media, and Technology Consulting

Eric Kingston
Global Managing Partner Telecom, Media, and Technology Consulting