AI
Thursday 5 February 2026
AI, efficiency
and profit
AI could profoundly affect European telcos’ profitability: the industry has massive capital requirements so small improvements in returns on capital employed (ROCE) and opex can translate into big numbers.
ING says European telcos’ capex was some €50 billion in 2024: in that year, the European Telecommunications Network Operators Association (ETNO) said return on capital employed (ROCE) fell from 9.1% in 2017 to 5.8% in 2022; Kearney reckoned it dropped from 6.7% in 2014 to 5.9% in 2023.
“The European telecommunication sector has among the lowest…ROCE in Europe, alongside the highest capital investment demands. This has resulted in ROCE being below weighted average cost of capital (WACC) for over a decade, impacting total shareholder returns.”
Margherita della Valle, CEO, Vodafone Group, May 2023, earnings call for Annual Report 2023
ING says European telcos’ capex was some €50 billion in 2024: in that year, the European Telecommunications Network Operators Association (ETNO) said return on capital employed (ROCE) fell from 9.1% in 2017 to 5.8% in 2022; Kearney reckoned it dropped from 6.7% in 2014 to 5.9% in 2023.
“The European telecommunication sector has among the lowest…ROCE in Europe, alongside the highest capital investment demands. This has resulted in ROCE being below weighted average cost of capital (WACC) for over a decade, impacting total shareholder returns.”
Margherita della Valle, CEO, Vodafone Group, May 2023, earnings call for Annual Report 2023
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09:30AM | OPENING REMARKS
09:35AM | OPERATOR KEYNOTE
An operator’s point of view
Watch the playback below:
- Where are the biggest immediate savings
- Is AI accelerating progress
- What are the greatest challenges to progress?
Colin Bannon
CTO
BT Business
10:05AM | IN CONVERSATION
A vendor's point of view
Watch the playback below:
- AI for operators, not just consumers
- Why automation is a necessity, not a luxury
- From today to autonomous operations
Alessandro Arrichiello
Sr. Specialist Solution Architect – Telco Center of Excellence
Red Hat
Session sponsor
10:35AM | PANEL DISCUSSION
Where we are today, successes, challenges and future opportunities
Watch the playback below:
- Why do we think it will be different this time in terms of the bottom line?
- What have operators learned so far?
- What are their major areas of activity now?
- Next steps
Moderator: Philip Laidler
Managing Director Consulting
STL Partners
Ahmed Hany
Big Data Chapter Lead
Vodafone
Emmanuel de Hemricourt de Grunne
AI Program Lead
PROXIMUS ADA
Carla Penedo
Executive Director of Cognative Automation
Celfocus
Session sponsor
11:25AM | AUDIENCE Q&A
A chance to put your questions to the speakers
11:30AM | END
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