From 16\u201320 February, the GSMA had a strong presence at the AI Impact Summit in New Delhi, a landmark gathering organised by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and officially inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Throughout the week, the GSMA actively contributed to high-level discussions on artificial intelligence (AI), telecom networks, digital public infrastructure (DPI), and resilience \u2014 speaking in several sessions and curating its own panel discussion. On 17 February, Jeanette Whyte, Head of Policy APAC at the GSMA, spoke at the session \u201cGenerative AI & Future Telecom Networks.\u201d The conversation focused on how the fusion of connectivity and compute is transforming the digital ecosystem. Networks are evolving from passive \u201cpipes\u201d into intelligent, aware, predictive, and increasingly self-optimising systems. As the industry looks ahead from 5G toward 6G, AI-native architectures and distributed intelligence at the edge are expected to become defining features of next-generation networks. At the same time, strong governance frameworks will be essential to ensure resilience and security in the face of increasingly sophisticated digital threats. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The session also examined the traffic implications of AI-driven services, which are expected to account for a significant share of future network growth. These dynamics underscore the need for balanced, sustained investment across mobile networks, cloud infrastructure, and data centres, underpinned by cybersecurity and trust. <\/p>\n\n\n\n AI-powered Bharat through universal digital connectivity<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n Julian Gorman, GSMA\u2019s Head of APAC, participated in the session \u201cAI-Powered Bharat through Universal Digital Connectivity\u201d. The discussion centred on inclusion and the role of universal connectivity in enabling AI to unlock new opportunities across sectors such as agriculture, healthcare, and citizen services. India\u2019s operators shared practical examples of AI already being deployed for network optimisation, energy efficiency, and consumer protection, including large-scale spam and fraud mitigation initiatives. The conversation underscored a central message: AI\u2019s transformative potential can only be realised when it is built on robust, nationwide connectivity. On 18 February, Kimberly Brown, Head of Mobile for Humanitarian Innovation at the GSMA, spoke at a session hosted by the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI). The discussion contributed to the Summit\u2019s Resilience, Innovation & Efficient Working Group and explored how AI can strengthen the capacity of infrastructure systems to absorb, respond to, and recover from shocks. She highlighted how AI tools are supporting more efficient early warning alert dissemination through mobile networks, how AI-informed automation is helping protect network infrastructure, and how AI-enhanced weather analytics are enabling operators to take early preventative action to reduce damage. The session reinforced that AI, when responsibly applied, can directly enhance climate resilience and disaster preparedness. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Data Sovereignty<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n A breakfast round table was attended by Debashish Chakraborty, Senior Director \u2013 Advocacy and Industry Engagement on 18 February in which he spoke about how countries should aim to achieve data sovereignty without technological isolation. He also spoke about how countries should avoid over regulation which can lead to stifle innovation. The conversation touched upon a critical point that while it is good to build in India for India, but the young generation should aspire to build in India for the world for higher visibility and reach. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Intelligent networks for DPI<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n On 20 February, the GSMA curated a high-level panel discussion titled \u201cIntelligent Networks for DPI: The Convergence of Telecom, AI, and Data Sovereignty,\u201d moderated by Debashish Chakraborty. The session explored how telecom networks are evolving from connectivity providers into AI-enabled trust platforms underpinning India\u2019s DPI, and how the country can preserve trust, interoperability, and global compatibility while avoiding fragmented or duplicative infrastructure models. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The discussion emphasised that telecom networks now serve as the foundation layer for critical citizen services, including digital payments, identity authentication, fraud mitigation, and security. Increasingly, networks act as an active trust layer, generating signals, risk indicators, and verification capabilities that strengthen the wider digital ecosystem. Participants reflected on how operator-led trust capabilities can complement public DPI frameworks rather than duplicate them, particularly through interoperable APIs and shared \u201ctrust rails\u201d that prevent the creation of parallel stacks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The road ahead<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n The GSMA\u2019s engagement at the AI Impact Summit sent a clear message. Telecom networks are no longer simply enabling connectivity; they are becoming intelligent, programmable, and trust-centric platforms that underpin DPI and AI ecosystems alike. <\/p>\n\n\n\n India is uniquely positioned as a global lighthouse, demonstrating how open, secure, and interoperable digital architectures can scale nationally while remaining globally compatible. The opportunity now is to ensure that AI-enabled networks strengthen not only innovation, but also sovereignty, resilience, and inclusion. <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" From 16\u201320 February, the GSMA had a strong presence at the AI Impact Summit in New Delhi, a landmark gathering organised by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and officially inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Throughout the week, the GSMA actively contributed to high-level discussions on artificial intelligence (AI), telecom networks, digital […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":74,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_oasis_is_in_workflow":0,"_oasis_original":0,"_oasis_task_priority":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3733],"tags":[],"algolia_discover_type":[],"class_list":["post-56615","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-apacpg"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Generative AI and future telecom networks<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n
AI for disaster resilient infrastructure<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n