Rising costs and complexity to squeeze operator revenue growth, report says

Autonomous networks are increasingly being positioned as a strategic lever.

As operators grapple with modest revenue growth, the triple threat of 5G rollouts, cloud-native shifts, and AI demand is driving up both operating costs and network complexity, according to a Bain & Company report.

In response, autonomous networks—powered by artificial intelligence-driven controls—are increasingly being positioned as a strategic lever for both cost optimisation and revenue expansion.

The report said one of the key opportunities lies in enabling new digital services built on 5G and intelligent network infrastructure. These include connected-device solutions such as remote monitoring and safety applications.

As the report notes, autonomous networks can help telcos deliver offerings like automatic fall-response systems for the elderly, which rely on real-time responsiveness and network reliability at scale.

At the same time, Asia’s telecom operators are setting the pace globally as telcos in the region have achieved the highest average autonomous maturity scores at 3.56, ahead of peers in the Middle East and Africa, Europe, and Latin America.

Leading operators in the region, including China Mobile and AIS, have been among the most active participants in ANLET assessments and have reported strong results across multiple use cases.

These include network optimisation and fault management, where automation helps reduce downtime and improve service reliability.

Moreover, by embedding autonomy into network operations, operators are creating the conditions to introduce new services that depend on scalable, intelligent networks.

However, the transition is still in its early stages. Whilst leaders in Asia are progressing, most operators globally remain in intermediate stages of autonomy, highlighting both the opportunity and the distance yet to be covered.