Across the telecom industry, interest in quantum computing is growing rapidly. However, a key challenge remains: how to move from understanding its potential to identifying where it can create real value- and how to begin in a structured, low risk way.
To date, the industry conversation has focused largely on potential. Operators are asking where quantum computing could create value, which use cases are most relevant, and how to begin experimentation and skills development with a realistic and low-risk approach. The GSMA x QCentroid collaboration is intended to answer these questions, providing a framework for telco quantum adoption that spans economic impact assessment, actionable implementation pathways, and use case prioritisation.
Addressing this gap is central to the collaboration between GSMA and QCentroid, launched at MWC Barcelona 2026through the GSMA Foundry.
The objective is clear: to support telecom operators in moving from interest in quantum computing to practical readiness.
The collaboration is designed to provide a structured framework for quantum adoption in telecom, bringing together use case prioritisation, economic impact assessment, and actionable implementation pathways to help operators take the first steps with confidence.
At the mid-point of the programme, that work has progressed significantly.
The partnership has moved from an initial phase of exploration and use case identification into a methodical stage focused on defining, preparing, and modelling telecom-relevant use cases for quantum experimentation.
This marks an important shift—not just within the programme, but across the industry, reflecting a broader transition from awareness of quantum computing towards early-stage experimentation and validation.
Why this matters now
Momentum is already building across the telecom sector.
According to GSMA Intelligence research published recently:
- 60% of telecom operators globally already have quantum technologies on their roadmap.
- 52% plan to invest in or deploy quantum computing for the first time within the next five years.
These findings indicate that quantum technologies – and, specifically, quantum computing – are becoming part of mainstream operator planning.
Early industry activity is also accelerating, with operators such as Telefónica, Orange, NTT Docomo, and Telstra launching pilots to explore the impact of quantum computing on network planning, operation, and security – while the GSMA’s Quantum Networks and Services (QNS) group recently published a recommendation to explore quantum computing for planning in the near future.
For operators, the opportunity now is to build readiness in a practical and informed way.
From exploration to structured execution
The programme has now moved from broad industry discussions to a more grounded and execution-oriented phase, aligned with the current state of quantum computing technologies.
The GSMA and QCentroid teams have translated network challenges into well-defined optimisation problems, supported by business case assessments and technical modelling, and aligning them with approaches that can be explored using current hybrid quantum-classical methods. The project has identified: Mathematical frameworks to turn network problems into quantum programs
- Data requirements and operational constraints for network models
- Economic considerations for assessing the potential business impact of near-term use cases
- An outcome and benchmarking framework for understanding how quantum performance will scale.
- This has enabled a clearer understanding of which problems are most relevant, how they can be approached in a systematic way, and how they can be prepared for meaningful experimentation.
The key shift has been moving from high-level discussions about the potential of quantum computing to building a pathway towards initial adoption, use case prioritisation, and implementation at scale.
For operators, this stage should be seen as the transition from interest to early execution.
The focus is not yet on deployment. It is on building a solid foundation for experimentation by clearly defining use cases, understanding operational and economic constraints, and establishing a framework for evaluating potential solutions.
Real telecom challenges in focus
The use cases selected for the programme focus on complex optimisation challenges that are central to telecom network operations, with impact across:
- Infrastructure planning
- Resource allocation
- Network efficiency
- Security and resilience.
These challenges are closely linked to how operators design, manage, and optimise increasingly distributed and dynamic networks.
They are difficult to address because they often involve large-scale combinatorial optimisation problems, where multiple variables, constraints, and objectives must be considered simultaneously – while, at the same time, the set of possible outcomes grows exponentially with the size of the network. In practice, operators must balance factors such as cost, performance, coverage, and operational requirements under dynamic and uncertain conditions.
This complexity is further reinforced by the fact that telecommunications is a highly regulated industry and a critical infrastructure sector, where reliability, security, and compliance requirements significantly shape how change can be implemented.
As network complexity continues to grow, traditional methods experience bottlenecks in time, memory, and compute resources. Quantum approaches offer an increasingly relevant new toolkit for telco operators to cut through these bottlenecks.
Four telecom use cases now underway
The programme is focused on four telecom-relevant use cases
Urban densification through small cell placement
This use case focuses on increasing capacity in dense urban areas. It explores how operators can optimise small cell placement in high-demand hotspots to improve service quality and reduce congestion while keeping rollout costs and operational constraints under control.
Network anomaly detection
This use case focuses on detecting network anomalies in real time, including DDoS attacks, port scanning, and data exfiltration. It examines how quantum-inspired machine learning methods could improve the identification and classification of suspicious traffic patterns.
Predictive maintenance and scheduling
This use case focuses on helping operators better schedule interventions across critical network assets before failures become service-impacting incidents. It examines how optimisation methods could help balance reliability, technician availability, travel constraints, and cost.
Sleep mode scheduling for energy-efficient operations
This use case focuses on reducing network energy consumption by optimising when mobile sites should enter and exit low-power sleep modes while maintaining service quality, coverage, and performance.
Each use case has been selected based on its relevance to core telecom operations and alignment with approaches where hybrid quantum-classical approaches may provide near-term advantages.
A closer look: Small cell placement
One example is urban small cell placement.
The goal is not to solve basic coverage, which is typically already in place, but to address localised congestion, improve quality of service, and support rising busy-hour demand in city centres.
The case study focuses on a representative urban environment where traffic is concentrated in busy hotspots and shaped by commuter-driven demand peaks.
Candidate small-cell locations were selected using publicly available infrastructure data, including OpenCellID, in areas showing poor 5G performance and limited existing small-cell deployment.
The optimisation challenge is to identify which small-cell sites should be deployed to reduce congestion and improve network performance as efficiently as possible.
In practice, that means finding a deployment plan that improves capacity and customer experience while limiting unnecessary CapEx and operational complexity.
Traditional approaches rely on computationally intensive RF planning techniques, generating high-resolution datasets that need to be processed and combined for each potential network configuration.
By contrast, quantum-inspired approaches reformulate the problem into an optimisation framework, where different configurations are evaluated systematically to identify the most efficient outcome. This enables a more structured exploration of complex decision spaces, particularly where the number of possible combinations grows rapidly.
Through the programme, GSMA and QCentroid will
- Evaluate the mathematical framework, creating a template for turning telco problems into quantum approaches
- Assess how the quantum approach will scale, as the problem size increases
- Understand the impact of performance improvements to rollout costs and network QoS.
Practical value for operators today
Operators can benefit from this work by gaining the context needed to move beyond abstract discussions and take concrete steps towards evaluating and testing quantum approaches.
While awareness is growing across the industry, there remains a gap between understanding the potential of these technologies and knowing how to act on them.
This programme helps bridge that gap by providing a clear framework for:
- Identifying relevant use cases
- Assessing feasibility
- Preparing for experimentation
- Building internal knowledge
- Benchmarking and evaluating performance.
- Contextualising the business adoption pathway
This enables operators to take the first concrete steps towards quantum readiness.
What comes next
The next major milestone will be the launch of the Quantum Implementation Playbook**.
The Playbook will provide telecom operators with a practical framework for exploring quantum computing in real-world environments.
It will combine use case definitions, estimated economic impact assessments, and implementation insights into a single resource, helping operators understand how to identify relevant opportunities, prioritise use cases, and approach experimentation in an informed way.
Following that, the programme is expected to evolve into a more hands-on phase focused on experimentation and capability building through a Discovery Sandbox environment.
Join the upcoming webinar
To share progress from the programme and hear perspectives from across the telecom value chain, GSMA and QCentroid will host a webinar this June (Registration link below).
The session will explore:
• Why quantum matters for telcos — separating hype from reality
• What is not working today in quantum adoption for telecoms
• Bridging the implementation gap: from challenges to use cases
• Phase 1 insights: use‑case frameworks, prioritisation logic, and estimated impact
• Practical roadmaps and decision points for telco leaders
• Entry points and next steps for Phase 2 participation
Get involved through GSMA Foundry
The GSMA Foundry exists to help the industry turn innovation into practical progress.
Operators and ecosystem partners interested in exploring quantum computing are encouraged to engage in the next phase of the programme.
By participating early, organisations can help shape how quantum computing is explored and applied across the telecom industry.
Contact foundry@gsma.com for further information.
The bottom line
This work matters because it helps bridge the gap between interest and action.
At the mid-point of the programme, the GSMA and QCentroid partnership is demonstrating that telecom operators can begin building quantum readiness today through structured experimentation and real-world use cases.
**Watch for the launch of the Quantum Implementation Playbook – Coming soon.