In a rapidly shifting digital landscape, service providers are rethinking their roles and capabilities. In this conversation with Steve Saunders, AT&T’s Atul Chadha and Wipro’s Lalit Kashyap share how the industry is moving toward “Carrier 2.0”—a model defined by ecosystem partnerships, AI-driven automation, and customer-first strategies.
AT&T emphasizes the importance of flexibility and speed, enabling enterprises to adapt to evolving demands while ensuring maximum ROI. Automation and AI, Kashyap explains, are no longer just efficiency tools—they’re foundational for resiliency, uptime, and predictive performance. At the same time, both leaders highlight the continued role of human oversight, noting that true innovation requires cultural as well as technological transformation.
From modular, AI-enabled architectures to a people-centered approach that balances speed with compassion, the path forward is about more than connectivity—it’s about trust, adaptability, and redefining value in the enterprise market.
Steve Saunders:
Hey, Atul, I have been hearing a lot recently about this concept of Carrier 2.o where service providers, including AT&T actually are using new technologies and even new business models to add value for their customers. How is AT&T going about the process of building a vendor ecosystem which supports in particular the enterprise market?
Atul Chadha:
So Steve AT&T has primarily been a partner's model also, with the core connectivity being our prime. What we've been realizing is that the customers require flexibility. They want automations and fast-paced environment changes to be incorporated into their systems. And there's limited capital for deployment, so maximum ROI comes with partner choices, giving the flexibility to choose, and that is where AT&T is building the ecosystem, where we are bringing in partners who talk about the technology, the ability to change and deploy fast while we look at different changing parameters.
Steve Saunders:
So speed of action, I guess that's something that automation and AI are being touted as helpful for, isn't it?
Lalit Kashyap:
Absolutely vital. They're probably foundational to each of the services and how the operations are conducted. If you look at the network, AI is playing a role today with either predictive performance, closed-loop assurance, right? What you're also witnessing is the corrective actions being driven by AI and automation so that the time or the speed, which Atul highlighted, they are addressed. It's not just about efficiency, it's resiliency. Customers want uptime, right? They want speed. So it absolutely comes together all with AI and automation.
Steve Saunders:
They want it all, right? Both of those technologies have been around for a while, but they're changing so quickly. Atul, how does AT&T deal with the challenge of that rapid level of both development and deployment of automation and AI?
Atul Chadha:
AT&T is always focused on customer experience. Once you have the customer at the forefront of any decision making, everything moves around based on that. The key thing we focused on is data process improvements and the partners who are trying to get those process improvements into actionable items. For us, that allows us to get the best customer experience, which drives the monetary results.
Steve Saunders:
Lalit, from Wipro's point of view, what are the strategies that you are using to sort of enable that service delivery across enterprises in a way which requires that minimal hand holding?
Lalit Kashyap:
I think AI is probably in the post-hype cycle. I think it requires us to reimagine the workflows, the service delivery models, Steve. So that's what we have thought through and we have started implementing. So it's a very modular nature of how we look at processes. The architectures also have to be AI enabled. Lastly, the orchestration has to be related, probably managed by machines and intervened by humans where a customer is going to get impacted by AI or automation not delivering. So it's a very AI driven architecture.
Steve Saunders:
So modular, automated, AI enabled, but still with humans in the loop?
Lalit Kashyap:
It's absolutely human in the loop, and I believe that's the right approach for the time being. We will see how agent tech is going to transform and how it's going to mature to probably maybe make few things very autonomous.
Steve Saunders:
I feel like humans are going to be making a comeback over the next few years when people get a taste of full automation. Do you agree with that?
Atul Chadha:
I think ,Steve, biggest thing, which we believe is to be open, open-minded because at the time when technology is moving fast, if you think about the past and not think about what needs to change, you are always going to be in a problem.
Steve Saunders:
It sounds to me like that's as much cultural as it is technological.
Atul Chadha:
Yes, it's a cultural shift, but culture managed by technology. That's the way I would put it, Steve.
Steve Saunders:
That's really interesting. Atul, you agree that we're not all the way to the end of the road yet as far as working all of this out. Is that fair as well, it's a journey?
Atul Chadha:
Yes, it's a journey. We are at the start of the journey. And Steve, you said it, at some point of time, we will come back to human intervention. But as of now, how are we able to move fast in this changing environment to take benefit of it while keeping the best part, which is respect for individuals, compassion, all together with trying to make decisions which are driven by the data thrown out by the advanced automations.
Steve Saunders:
It's a really interesting equation. We need the substance and trust and reputation of the tier one carrier like AT&T, but others as well around the world, and we need to combine it with the innovation of the big tech universe. But without that balance, the universe becomes disordered.