Where telecommunications companies can grow in the future

For 20 years, the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona was primarily a showcase for connectivity: faster networks, greater range, more bandwidth. However, the 2026 anniversary marks a break with tradition. Under the theme "The IQ Era", the industry is no longer discussing how to transport data better, but how value creation with its networks can look in the future.

The reason for this discussion is urgent. While data volumes are growing steadily, revenues are not. Growth rates in the traditional voice and data business are stagnating. At the same time, the investment required for network expansion and modernisation continues to rise. The industry is facing a decoupling: its networks are becoming increasingly important for the economy and society, but the business models based on these networks are generating less and less revenue.

In practice, it is clear that, in view of outdated business models, telecommunications companies are evolving from pure infrastructure providers to technology-driven companies that are expanding their networks with new services for the AI era.

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Three growth areas are at the heart of this discussion:

1. The network becomes a programmable platform

In future, networks will no longer be "just" operated, but should become programmable. Third-party providers will be able to access network functions directly via standardised interfaces: identity verification, fraud detection or dynamic adjustment of connection quality to the requirements of a specific application.

This also changes the revenue logic. Instead of monthly flat rates for data volume, transaction-based models are emerging. A bank that verifies the identity of the user via the mobile network for each transfer, or a logistics company that books guaranteed network quality for its drone fleet, pays per use of a specific network function. This decouples revenue from data consumption.

In Europe, several network operators have already introduced commercial interfaces for identity verification and fraud protection. An industry-wide consortium is also working to standardise distribution on a global level. But getting there requires a cultural shift: telecommunications companies should learn to act more like software companies, attract developers to their platforms and develop a higher speed of innovation.

2. Sovereign AI infrastructure as a new business area

A second growth area is emerging at the intersection of artificial intelligence and digital sovereignty. The EU AI Act and geopolitical tensions are currently changing the rules of the game for handling data and computing power. Companies and public institutions are increasingly looking for AI infrastructures that are under European control.

Telecommunications companies can play a role here that goes far beyond connectivity. As operators of specialised data centres for training and operating AI models, known as AI factories, they offer computing capacity and integrated platforms that bundle infrastructure, data management and AI applications. Flagship projects are already underway in several European countries, with network operators working with technology partners to set up industrial AI platforms.

At the same time, artificial intelligence is increasingly permeating network operations themselves. Under the heading of "agentic AI," AI systems are being developed that can not only be used for analysis, but also act independently in some cases: proactively detecting network disruptions, autonomously redirecting data traffic and resolving complex service requests without human intervention. For network operators, this presents a twofold opportunity: they can not only offer AI infrastructure, but also use it to reduce their own operating costs and improve service quality.

3. Cybersecurity as a strategic value proposition

The third growth area is closely linked to the sovereignty debate. In a geopolitically unstable world, digital trust becomes a competitive advantage.

The European Network and Information Security Directive 2 (NIS2) massively expands the circle of companies with mandatory cybersecurity requirements. Industries such as chemicals, food, postal services and logistics will have to take proactive security measures and comply with strict reporting deadlines in future. For many companies, especially SMEs, this will be almost impossible to achieve without external partners.

Telecommunications companies are predestined for this role. As operators of critical infrastructure, they are themselves subject to the highest security standards and operate specialised security centres. They can detect and ward off threats directly at the network level before they reach the customer's network. Security thus becomes not a separate product, but an integral part of connectivity solutions. The acute shortage of skilled workers in the security sector is reinforcing this trend: those who do not have their own experts are dependent on partners who can offer security and networking from a single source.

Conclusion: The dawn of a new era

In future, the growth of European telecommunications companies will not be defined by data volume, but by the value of the services built on the network. Programmable interfaces, sovereign AI infrastructure and integrated cybersecurity together form the foundation of a new strategic positioning: the network is evolving from a pure transport medium to the intelligent core of the digital economy.

The conditions for this are favourable. Network operators have physical infrastructure, regulatory anchoring and established customer relationships that no purely digital competitor can offer in this combination.