Asian operators’ standing in the AI revolution

Asian CSPs lead the world in AI adoption

Some of the most AI-ambitious communications service providers (CSPs) in the world –including China Mobile, NTT and SK Telecom – are in Asia. But how fast is AI being adopted across the region as a whole? To what extent do these operators represent outliers?

It is generally accepted that CSPs in Asia are more ambitious and innovative, for example, than their peers in Europe or North America. But is this also the case when it comes to AI transformation, or are they struggling with the same challenges of progressing from proof of concept (POC) to “in production” and from bolt-on use cases to the deployment of AI at scale?

TM Forum surveyed 50 AI decision-makers in 28 telecoms operators across Asia about their progress in adopting AI and their plans for future investments. In this visual narrative we reveal the findings of this survey to reveal where they are on their AI journeys.

Here are some of the key data points.

• Two out of three operators have a vision and an implementation plan for transitioning into an AI-native telco
• One in four CSPs report making no progress in areas such as AI governance, measuring the ROI on AI deployments or building partnerships to further their AI ambitions
• 57% of CSPs expect agentic AI to have a meaningful impact on their business in the next three years
• Close to one in two CSP respondents see investment in AI infrastructure as a significant opportunity for their organizations
• Nine out of 10 CSPs believe that recruiting the right skills represents a moderate or significant challenge to their AI ambitions
• More than half of our respondents said they were taking a “wait and see” approach before committing to investing in agentic AI.

Download the PDF to find out more.

The SAS vision for an AI-native future

At SAS, we see organizations across industries entering a decisive phase of moving from AI experimentation to scale, trust, and measurable value. An IDC research report, commissioned by SAS, shows that robust data governance and responsible AI frameworks achieve significantly higher ROI. As Communication Service Providers (CSPs) in Asia, and globally, accelerate their transformation journeys TM Forum reinforces this momentum: ambition must translate into trusted execution. SAS champions an AI-native future – powered by explainable, governed, and responsible AI systems – to drive innovation, accountability and business growth. With our open AI platform, SAS is a global trusted partner supporting our customers to transform data into valuable, trusted, and actionable decisions.