AI ROI a long-term game for telcos; skipping adoption not an option: IMC CEO Ramakrishna P

Telecom companies have to adopt artificial intelligence (AI) despite uncertainty around its contribution to revenue and financial returns, India Mobile Congress chief executive Ramakrishna P said.

He suggested that staying away from this adoption risks leaving telcos out of the market

Speaking to ET AI during the India Mobile Congress (IMC) 2026, Ramakrishna said operators need to distinguish between adopting AI and expecting an immediate return on investment (ROI).


“If you don’t adopt AI, you are not in the market. And the ROI point… I think it's a long-term game that everyone needs to understand,” he told ET AI.

From telcos to tech-cos

Ramakrishna suggested that since telecom operators are providing a wider range of services for businesses, they might soon become more of a tech company.

“They are moving from a regular pipe and communication point of view to tech companies,” he said, referring to operators such as Reliance Jio, Airtel, Vi and BSNL.

He pointed to Airtel’s sovereign cloud offering as an example of that expansion, saying AI would become part of the products operators offered. “In this transformation, most of the products will be AI-enabled… the changes will come,” Ramakrishna said.

Enterprise Wi-Fi and security services would also incorporate AI, he said, tying adoption to the experience delivered to the customers. “If it’s not AI-enabled, your customer experience will go bad,” he said.

He said AI would affect network optimisation, the systems carrying traffic, the data centres supporting those networks, along with the services sold.

Also read: AI boom will need bigger telecom ‘pipes’; spectrum still a hurdle: COAI chief

Network growth and affordability

The expansion of AI services also brings network capacity into focus, with Ramakrishna distinguishing between computing closer to users and data moving across international connections.

On edge computing, which brings smaller computing facilities closer to users, he said carriers have sufficient capacity. “We have enough capacity out there in the carriers that have the capacity to converge smaller nodes of edge computing,” he said.

He said undersea cable capacity needed to increase as data flows grew. Ramakrishna added: “Data in India is growing so much, and now we also have data coming in from across the globe. The capacity of undersea cables carrying those transfers needs to increase.”

Even as operators invest in networks and services, affordability would remain essential, Ramakrishna said. “We are a country where affordability is what sells and creates value, given our GDP and socio-economic conditions. There will be no compromise on affordability,” he said.

Also read: Qubo looks to on-device AI to widen smart home adoption in India: CEO Nikhil Rajpal

India’s role in 6G

Looking beyond current network needs, Ramakrishna said India’s priority in 6G should be to help set its standards.

“The first thing in 6G is standards. We are not there yet, and neither is the world. Our role is to play an important part in setting the standards. India should have a role, and we are very focused on that,” Ramakrishna said. “I think the government is providing a lot of support. India will have a role in the standards; and after the standards come the products,” he added.

Pointed towards products at Jio’s booth, he said Indian companies were already exploring how 6G could develop, suggesting that early innovation would help them compete with global players.

At the IMC 2026, Jio showcased what it called India’s first Giga MIMO Radio and unveiled a common baseband unit designed to support 5G and 6G networks.

Industry experience still matters

The shift in services and technology would also disrupt jobs, although the full employment picture remained unclear, Ramakrishna said.

“I see the jobs are increasing. I see more automation being done… Doesn't mean you lose the jobs in other places,” he said.

He argued that employees’ knowledge of how their industries work would remain valuable in teaching AI, because their experience would help them identify what actually works.

“The real strength in AI is building on your knowledge base. That knowledge comes from having worked in the industry for, say, 10 years. You know certain things that work. You have to give that learning to AI and only you can do it. It is not something I can just come in and code,” Ramakrishna said.

For people entering the industry, he emphasised on the foundations in basic sciences. “You should be strong in maths and physics. This is very true now.”

Maths and physics underpin the intelligence built into AI platforms, he said, arguing that a strong grounding in those subjects would help people adapt to changes in technology.