The Strategic Role of Telecom Providers Across the AI Value Chain 2026

1Industry narrative and the AI opportunity AI and geopolitics are reshaping the tech architecture, providing growth opportunities for telecom providers. As artificial intelligence (AI) redefines the digital landscape, communication service providers (CSPs)/telecommunications companies (telcos) are exploring new strategies to invest in and harness AI infrastructure to remain competitive. AI is seen not just as a technological breakthrough, but also as an opportunity to redefine CSPs’ relevance in the next era of the digital economy. Over the past three decades, CSPs have enabled the infrastructure on which today’s digital platforms, content ecosystems and cloud services run. Despite this foundational contribution, they have struggled to capture commensurate value. Digital platform players have built business models directly on top of telco networks, allowing them to generate massive value by monetizing customers more effectively and driving commerce. Their consumption-based pricing structures have enabled stronger pricing power and significantly higher returns. Meanwhile, many CSPs continue to operate with all-you-can-eat pricing models in their consumer businesses and with underdeveloped enterprise offerings, which has constrained value capture as digital ecosystems have evolved. Today, these structural issues remain visible in the industry’s performance. While regional differences exist, global communications revenue is forecast to grow just 2.3% through 2026 while margins remain flat, with global earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) holding at approximately 33%. Post-tax return on invested capital (ROIC) sits at approximately 8%, far below digital platforms’ approximate 27% in 2025, and continued capital intensity constrains investment capacity and innovation.1 8% post-tax ROIC, far below digital platforms’ approximate 27% in 2025. The Strategic Role of Telecom Providers across the AI Value Chain 6