AN: The future

Chair: Aaron Boasman Patel, VP, Knowledge & Innovation, TM Forum 

9:30 – 9:45 
AN economics: The cost and revenue impact for CSPs 

• Latest TM Forum research identifying the current and expected economic impact of adopting autonomous networks 
• Split across CAPEX, OPEX, and Revenue implications 
• Granularity on where financial returns are being proven today, and where telcos need to see impact by 2030 
• Recommendations on how to develop the business case for autonomous network investments 

Mark Newman, Chief Analyst, TM Forum

9:45 – 10:05 
Engineering the AI-native telecom operator 

• Exploring how AI-native architectures are reshaping telecom operations today 
• Using AIOps to coordinate increasingly complex multi-domain environments with greater speed, resilience and operational consistency 
• Deploying AI-enabled operational architectures combining legacy environments with cloud-native capabilities  
• Moving towards the next phase of AN, with co-ordinated AI agents simultaneously optimizing network performance, CX and operational efficiency  

Kei Takeshita, Lead AI Engineer, Network Operations Lead Architect, NTT DOCOMO

10:05–10:25 
Interview: The hidden blocker to Level 4 autonomy: Why data is the real network bottleneck 

• Demonstrating how autonomous networks are improving operational efficiency while creating new opportunities for service innovation and differentiated customer experiences  
• Sharing lessons from scaling autonomous capabilities across multiple operational domains using TM Forum standards and open architectures 
• Examining how business value is being measured through operational efficiency, customer outcomes and sustainability rather than automation metrics alone 
• Looking ahead to the next generation of AI-enabled operational capabilities 

Dr. Tomek Gerszberg, Group Head of Future Networks, Axiata 

10:25 – 10:45 
How to eat the elephant called ‘AN’ 

• We may talk about AN being a ‘north star’ but what can we do now to improve our legacy networks? 
• Are agents glorified workflow automations, or are we really delivering any value out of them?  
• Should you build an agentic platform for fasttracking the deployment of agents? 
• Why Telstra has built an agentic platform to facilitate deployment rather than building agents from scratch 

Karthik Kannan, Lead - Made In Telstra Engineering, Telstra
 
10:45–11:00 
Quantum & autonomous networks: Building the next generation of intelligent telecom 

• What quantum technologies could mean for the evolution of autonomous networks and 6G 
• Exploring QKD, QRNG and post-quantum approaches as networks become increasingly software-driven and autonomous 
• Where quantum computing and agentic AI could enhance network optimization, spectrum utilization and decision-making 
• What CSPs should be doing now to build practical quantum capabilities, and where the real opportunities lie 

Rajesh Kumar Sharma, DGM, Jio Platforms 
 
11:00 – 11:30
Leadership panel: Scaling autonomy across the business 

• How is Level 4 changing the role of the CTO, CNO and CIO?  
• Which organizational changes have had the greatest impact on scaling autonomous operations across the business?  
• How are operators building trust in AI among engineers, executives and boards?  
• What leadership lessons have emerged from moving autonomy from innovation programs into day-to-day operations? 

Panelists include:
Volkan Sevindik, CTO, Starhub

Please note that all details and timings are provisional and may be subject to change.