The World Broadband Association (WBBA) has published its State of AI in Telecoms report examining the use of artificial intelligence across the telecom sector. The survey, conducted during the 2026 BDC Barcelona event, includes responses from more than 340 telecom professionals and outlines current trends in AI adoption in the industry.
While AI adoption is increasing, the report indicates that many operators remain focused on internal efficiencies and cost reduction rather than developing commercial AI services. According to the survey, 42% of telecom providers currently use AI primarily in customer service and cybersecurity.
The findings also indicate that network enhancements may become a key area for future AI deployment, with 41% of respondents identifying this as the area where AI use is most likely to increase over the next two years.
Alongside the report, the WBBA has published a whitepaper titled Optical Network Architecture and Technologies in the AI Era, which outlines technical considerations and potential approaches telecom service providers may use when developing AI capabilities.
The report also notes that many existing data centre networks were not originally designed for the scale, performance or resilience required by current AI workloads. As demand increases, operators may need to update infrastructure to support these requirements. In some cases, older and fragmented networks may limit the ability to support new services.
The WBBA has also introduced the IP Network Development Index (IP NDI) as part of its Net5.5G Readiness Assessment. The index is intended to provide a framework for assessing regional networks against the Net5.5G architecture, including benchmarking across several network areas to help evaluate readiness for future AI applications.
According to the report, these frameworks are intended to support the telecom sector as it moves toward Net5.5G and 6G networks and expands support for AI-driven services.
The BDC Barcelona event brought together telecom operators, technology vendors and end users to discuss the development of AI in broadband networks. Sessions at the event examined current AI deployments, technical and operational challenges, and examples of AI applications currently in use.
