Telecom has seen this investment cycle before. Each generation of mobile technology drives network expansion, while revenue takes longer to follow. AI raises the pressure by creating demand for high-speed, low-latency connectivity and shifting more traffic toward the uplink. For Vodafone Idea, preparing for that change reaches across wireless access, backhaul and core infrastructure, with service quality and customer expectations shaping every decision.
The strategic partnership between Cisco and Vodafone Idea brings the network and operator sides of that challenge together. Cisco contributes secure, programmable infrastructure and a global view of how service provider networks can support wider AI adoption. Vodafone Idea brings the operating scale, local market knowledge and customer relationships needed to translate those capabilities into useful services. Their shared opportunity is to connect network investment to outcomes, including serving more customers efficiently and opening new sources of revenue.
Edge inferencing gives that opportunity a clearer shape. Processing data closer to users can reduce latency, support faster local experiences and ease the strain of routing every request through a centralized data center. Operators already have distributed infrastructure, proximity and customer trust. Turning those assets into services gives Cisco and Vodafone Idea a path to expand the operator role in the AI value chain while building a network foundation ready for broader adoption and physical AI.
Masum Mir:
Every G cycle, we put massive amount of investment and we try to monetize.
Jagbir Singh:
To get the money from the end consumer for the services which are being given on 5G, it's still a big question mark.
Narrator:
Successive generations of mobile technology have had huge investment from network operators, but building the network and finding new revenue from it haven't always been the same thing.
Diana Goovaerts:
How is the role of service providers changing in the era of AI and 6G?
Jagbir Singh:
I think AI is putting a lot of challenge, even for the service provider, in terms of ensuring that we have the connectivity, which is high speed, low latency, and it's driving the traffic, which is actually more towards the uplink than the downlink. So there's a behavior of the traffic pattern change happening. Load on the networks is increasing day by day. At the same time, expectation of the consumer is also increasing, so we need to prepare not only the access or the wireless network, but the backhaul network, core network to ensure that we are able to serve the need of the consumer.
Diana Goovaerts:
Masum, what is Cisco's perspective on this?
Masum Mir:
We think the diffusion of AI relies on what we do on the service provider networks around the world. Today, most of the AI adoption is happening in knowledge economy. The next phase of AI diffusion is going to go to the masses, and without the service provider's participation in this wave, it's not going to diffuse. So we actually think the role of service provider becomes even more critical at a time when we're thinking about mass adoption of AI by every industry, and even more importantly, the foundation to go to physical AI will only happen with the success of the service provider networks, starting with 5G, eventually go to 6G.
Narrator:
AI creates a huge wave of demand, but for operators, more traffic alone doesn't solve the commercial problem.
Diana Goovaerts:
How are you thinking about monetization opportunities, and where do 5G capabilities fit in? Is this one of the scenarios where you have to spend money to make money?
Jagbir Singh:
I would say globally, this has been the challenge. It's not easy that 5G, we were able to monetize, and even today, it's sometimes I would say the question mark. But I think over the period, we have found some ways and means to serve the customer, especially the high traffic. 5G is very efficient compared to 4G, so we call it [inaudible 00:02:35] 5G because in the 5G is lower, but at the same time, to get the money from the end consumer for the services which are being given on 5G, it's still a big question mark. If the consumer is consuming more services, then we are hoping that 5G monetization could be possible further. So therefore, yes, there's a hope to monetize, but still, there's a challenge.
Diana Goovaerts:
So Masum, I want to throw one your way. What is separating the operators who are successfully monetizing network investments and generating new revenue and adding subscribers from the ones who are still struggling with this?
Masum Mir:
In the operator community and telecom industry, we have been in a cycle. It's an investment cycle tied into G, and every G cycle, we put massive amount of investment and we try to monetize. Operators who has been just working on that cycle is actually struggling, but the operators who are focused on the end outcome, either serving more customers at scale or going after net new revenue opportunity, has been succeeding.
Diana Goovaerts:
We've been seeing the pattern of AI traffic shifting from training to inferencing. How quickly do you see inferencing growing into a potential revenue maker?
Jagbir Singh:
I think it's too early to say, but the way the AI traffic is multiplying every day, every week, every month, then having the centralized data center and serving the need of the consumer from the centralized data centers is going to be tough. But I think after the AI coming in, the edge story might be stronger, because the consumer needs the experience which is inferencing should be the local inferencing as much as possible in a given cluster, given towns, given area, given state, and at the same time, being served at the low latency, faster manner and without compromising any service quality. So yet to come, but I think the future point of view looks like if the traffic of AI continue to grow this way, then the edge inferencing could be the reality.
Diana Goovaerts:
And Masum, what is Cisco's take on this?
Masum Mir:
Inferencing at the edge is not a question of when and how. It is happening, this is where the frontier is moving. The true question is who is going to extract the biggest value of this edge inferencing and diffusion of AI to mass market? Both large enterprises and service providers have the unique opportunity, especially the service provider have the unique opportunity to serve this market and actively participate in this monetization, because they have the real estate, they have the proximity, they have the trust of the consumer as a large enterprise to capitalize on this value chain, but we have to think differently. We have to act now.