1、The telco reinvention:How AI can fuel value creationMarch 20262 The critical bets on the future of telco value creation15 Telcos AI inflection point:What leaders do to capture value31 Winning B2B customers in technology and telecommunications 53 AI-driven telecom networks58 AI infrastructure62 B2C g
2、rowth beyond the core 65 Satellite connectivity69 Sovereign AI73 Telecom infrastructureContents InsightsIssue briefsInsightsTechnology,Media&Telecommunications Practice The critical bets on the future of telco value creationAfter a challenging decade,telecom operators may finally be poised to spur a
3、 new era of growth.But it will require embracing fundamental change and making strategic moves in four key domains.March 2026This article is a collaborative effort by Andrea Travasoni,Dev Patel,Theodor Vendrig,and Tiago Palma,with Alima Ziman and Marco Labianca,representing views from McKinseys Tech
4、nology,Media&Telecommunications Practice.Telecom operators(telcos)have played a critical role in laying the foundation for the massive,technology-driven economic and financial gains of the 21st century.Yet for most of that period,the industry hasnt managed to share in much of the spoils.While establ
5、ished tech titans and emerging start-ups alike were profiting from successive generations of wired and wireless infrastructure,the telcos that deployed and operated those networks found themselves weighed down by the crushing capital burden as well as intense new competition.That initial period from
6、 the late 2000s to 2015 put great pressure on the industrys revenues and margins,leaving it with an ROIC that fell below the cost of capital.The industry has spent much of the last decade trying to spur a recovery,but its track record has been mixed.Despite making modest progress by embracing select