Capgemini’s latest B2B Pulse finds 74% of enterprise customers expect telcos to drive business outcomes, but only 39% say their provider delivers top-line growth
Enterprise customers are demanding far more than connectivity from their telecoms providers, according to the 2026 edition of Capgemini Research Institute’s B2B Pulse, which draws on a survey of 1,100 organisations across 13 countries and 13 industries, alongside more than 15 executive interviews.
The headline gap is stark. While 74% of organisations expect their telco to be accountable for business outcomes like revenue growth and operational efficiency, only 39% say their current provider drives top-line results. Similarly, 74% want a strategic partner for digital transformation, but just 41% believe their telco adds value beyond connectivity, and only 44% see them as a comprehensive digital services enabler.
Appetite for more tailored, industry-aware services is intensifying. Some 69% expect solutions tailored to their needs, 64% want demonstrable market understanding, and 77% believe telcos should show a strong grasp of sector-specific workflows. Yet only 37% say their telco consistently delivers the solutions required, and just 41% believe providers offer sufficient scalability for complex digital demands.
Willingness to pay is rising: 65% now prefer customised services even at a premium, up from 57% in 2024, and 78% say bundled services are a priority. However, only 34% believe current bundles address operational or strategic challenges effectively.
Orchestration is key
The report also highlights growing expectations around ecosystem orchestration. Some 65% of organisations believe telcos should integrate IT, systems integration and industry expertise across partner ecosystems, while 70% expect them to collaborate rather than compete with hyperscalers and other technology providers. Two-thirds (67%) want collaboration to build robust network API ecosystems, and 61% expect telcos to orchestrate partners to support AI and GenAI adoption. In practice, only 35% say their telco acts as a true end-to-end orchestrator.
Network innovation is moving up the agenda. More than half (53%) of organisations are already using connectivity services like SD-WAN, private 5G, network APIs and slicing. Enhanced 5G services are set to attract investment from 70% of respondents over the next one to two years, up from 62% in 2024.
Non-terrestrial networks (NTNs) are gaining traction, with 61% seeing them as a route to new markets and 55% actively exploring NTN-based connectivity. Yet only 17% report that their current telco offers NTN services, and 66% perceive limited maturity in this area. To be fair to telcos, the latter begets the former.
Programmable networks are also emerging as revenue enablers. Among organisations using or planning to use network APIs, 69% believe they can unlock new revenue opportunities, and 65% seek guidance from telcos on compliance, security and data privacy. Network slicing is viewed as central to advanced 5G strategies, with 69% of those implementing or planning slicing expecting gains in efficiency, security and service customisation.
AI investment growing
AI investment plans are accelerating according to the report. This comes as the tech giants plot to burn $700 billion this year alone on AI. Meanwhile, as Gizmodo reports, Goldman Sachs chief economist Jan Hatzius, said in an interview with the Atlantic Council that AI investment spending has had “basically zero” contribution to the US GDP growth in 2025.
To understand why companies are enticed to invest in AI, the bank gave further insight this week: “Job losses in AI-affected industries have been visible but moderate,” Goldman Sachs economist Pierfrancesco Mei wrote in a new note. “AI-driven displacement could raise the unemployment rate slightly in 2026, with upside risks from faster adoption and larger displacement.”
Cap reckons that over the next two years, 84% plan to invest in AI/ML services, 81% in data analytics, 76% in AI-as-a-service platforms and 70% in AI factory or GPU-as-a-service models. Organisations expect intelligent, AI-driven networks (80%) and ultra-low latency, high-bandwidth connectivity (75%) as foundational enablers. However, 72% say their telco lags hyperscalers and tech-native firms in AI and cloud capabilities. Given the spending power of the tech giants which have vacuumed up every memory chip due to be made in 2026 already, this is a somewhat moot point.
The telcos have long been accused of not wanting net neutrality but some might argue that cloud neutrality and search/AI neutrality would do far more to help lower overall costs in the industry. Telcos must wonder about the irony of communities forcing data centre developers to cover their own costs to mitigate fast-rising electricity bills, for example.
Sovereignty an obvious one
Trust and sovereignty are also shaping decisions. Within two years, 52% plan to invest in sovereign cloud and 42% in sovereign AI, while 76% expect to invest in AI-driven cybersecurity. Yet satisfaction with telcos’ AI/GenAI-driven cybersecurity stands at just 51%. Customer experience remains a weak spot. While 64% deem seamless CX essential, 65% find the buying process too complex, up from 51% in 2024, and billing transparency remains the leading pain point for 65% of organisations.
Capgemini argues that incremental change will not be enough. Telcos must “choose their battleground” by prioritising high-value plays aligned to core strengths, operationalise ecosystem orchestration rather than simply sign partnerships, and embed AI across both internal operations and customer journeys. It also calls for sovereign and secure digital capabilities to be treated as a differentiator, not a compliance exercise, and for operators to build solution-oriented talent able to sell and deliver integrated outcomes.
Without these shifts, the report warns, telcos risk being relegated to commodity connectivity providers as hyperscalers and tech-native firms capture the higher-value layers of the enterprise stack.
