AI and autonomous networks together have immense scope to change telecoms – our new research report finds that fixing things that matter most to customers is an excellent start
Telcos can deploy ‘AI infrastructure’ to fix some fundamentals, to regain lost ground. Telecoms has one of the worst Net Promoter Scores of any industry and in some countries, customers are plagued by spam and scam calls: for example a survey by Age UK in 2024 found almost a fifth of the country’s population over 50 years old, about 4.9 million people, are fearful of answering the phone because of fear of fraud and scams.
Philip Otley, Managing Partner for Telco, Infrastructure, Media & Entertainment at consultancy HTEC, says AI is the solution as “it can bring systematic intelligence directly into network infrastructure rather than [using] bolt-on solutions…[so]…CSPs can reclaim value in communications. This is fundamentally different from previous technology waves that simply increased speed or capacity.”
The Airtel case study is a powerful, pioneering example of this.
Airtel’s world first
Airtel launched the first network-based spam detection solution in late 2024 which automatically alerts customers to potential threats. The anti-fraud system uses AI to analyse network traffic and detect suspicious calls, messages and links in real time. In February 2025, the solution was cited in a World Economic Forum white paper, Artificial intelligence in telecommunications, for, “Processing a staggering 2.5 billion calls and 1.5 billion messages daily, it successfully identified close to 1 million spammers every day within the first two months.
“The duallayered protection system integrates network and IT layers for comprehensive coverage. By analysing caller usage patterns, the AI algorithm flags suspected spam communications, offering immediate protection without user action. This approach ensures enhanced security and privacy for all customers.”
In May 2025, the operator said it had achieved a world first when it implemented a real-time, network-wide block on malicious websites across all communication channels. This includes email, browsers, over-the-top messaging apps like WhatsApp, Telegram, Facebook, Instagram, SMS and more.
Directly integrated into infra
The measures are free of charge to consumers because the fraud detection is directly integrated into Airtel’s mobile and broadband infrastructure. This has massively reduced manual reporting and made customers’ experience more secure: by June 2025 Airtel’s AI-powered anti-fraud measures were cutting customers’ financial losses by nearly 70% and there was a 14.3% drop in overall cybercrime incidents on Airtel’s network.
These finding were validated by data from the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), Ministry of Home Affairs, published in September 2024. Note, the anti-malicious domain service was launched in Haryana circle, which covers most of the State of Haryana in the north-west of India, with nationwide rollout to follow.
The network-based blocking of malicious websites works by Airtel continuously building its proprietary database of fraudulent domains, integrating data from global threat intelligence databases including Mavenir, Openphish, Mindtest, Google and Microsoft. It is updated every 24 hours.
The solution is modular and easy to integrate with telco systems across network and digital interfaces globally, without changes. Another major attribute is its rapid time to value. When a user clicks a link, the domain is mapped against this database. If identified as fraudulent, it is blocked. If the domain is not in Airtel’s database, the operator uses partners’ APIs to assess it based on several risk factors: the system connects users’ interaction signals……
To read the rest of this case study, along with more case studies and examples of how AI in parallel with autonomous networks are being leveraged by:
China Telecom, Comcast, Colt Technology Services, Deutsche Telekom, Fastweb, Google Cloud, Orange and Orange Business, Singtel, SK Telecom, Swisscom, Telefónica, Telenor, Verizon, Virgin Media O2 and Vodafone
Download our new report, for free, now.
