Network automation with AI will be the main investment and implementation priority for telecommunications companies during 2026. This trend aligns with sector reports from Omdia and the Broadband Forum, which highlight that 97% of service providers see AI as a fundamental tool for predictive maintenance and pattern analysis in the connected home. Colin Grealish, Product Director at Motive, states that operators are adopting AI to manage the user experience in real time. The original research was conducted by Liberty Communications for Motive among participants in the global technology industry. According to a survey conducted by Motive at the Network X 2025 conference in Paris, 37% of attendees identified this technology as their strategic axis for the next 12 months, driven by the need to achieve superior service levels and more accurate diagnostics. The study's findings indicate that 38% of providers consider AI-based customer service and diagnostics as the greatest opportunity to accelerate their digital transformation. The current portfolio of solutions leverages generative AI and agents to enable operators to act on data instantly and at scale. This situation is consistent with data from the TM Forum, where 62% of communication service providers (CSPs) reported limited or no progress in the financial measurement of their AI investments over the past year. In this context, Grealish explains that the strategic partnership to introduce automation into network diagnostics and service orchestration is allowing technology implementations to be connected with tangible results. Predictive maintenance and AI-based customer service emerge as the main investment drivers for broadband service providers. According to the executive, the goal transcends operational efficiency, seeking to understand how customers experience networks proactively to generate a real competitive advantage through autonomous operations. The challenge of return on investment (ROI) Despite the institutional commitment to network automation with AI, the industry faces difficulties in quantifying the economic benefits. Only 22% of those surveyed claim they can currently demonstrate a measurable ROI.
