IMC 2025 gave its verdict: Connectivity alone won’t drive growth, but AI platforms will

The model of providing faster network connectivity is no longer a growth engine for the telco industry. India Mobile World Congress (IMC) 2025 made it clear to telco leaders: future growth, data residency, resilience, and control over AI workloads won’t lie in faster pipes, but in intelligently orchestrating the services built on top of platforms.

IMC 2025 also highlighted India’s drive to indigenize networks, telcos’ expansion beyond networks into adjacent businesses, and the rise of sovereignty as a core design choice. These themes are part of the government’s “build from India, build for the world” vision, validated by the launch of India’s first fully indigenous 4G network and 5G-ready stack, marking a clear push for self-reliance and innovation. HFS Research was on site to track the key trends shaping this transformation.

Moving beyond pipes to platforms is now a telco imperative

The consumer segment accounts for 70%–80% of traditional telco revenue, but the willingness to pay has hit a ceiling. Customers expect faster speeds but are reluctant to pay extra, even as telcos continue to invest significantly in 5G rollouts, fibre, fixed wireless, satellite, and 5G Advanced networks. While telcos have built the “pipes” for the information age, they’re yet to extract a commensurate level of value. In many cases, a streaming subscription (built on top of data and infra created by telcos) would cost the customer more than the data plan (a revenue source for telcos) that is used to stream it on.

To monetize beyond connectivity, telcos must unlock the value of the data they hold. With AI, sovereign data centers, and new network orchestration capabilities, they may finally be able to move beyond networks and drive hyper-personalized experiences, stronger security, and rich digital interactions. This lets them shift from a one-to-many model to tailored services that offer value over commodity.

Rakuten Japan exemplifies this shift. By leveraging data and insights across its ecosystem, it cross-sold more services through its sister companies. Mobile subscribers now spend significantly more on its marketplace than non-subscribers and use more of its travel and financial services. While Rakuten’s advantage stems from its broader ecosystem, the lesson is the same for all: growth comes from orchestrating data and services across an ecosystem, not just running the network.

Sovereignty and self-reliance are becoming core differentiators

While geopolitical impacts on data privacy and supply chains have made enterprises tense, India has positioned itself well by striking a balance between large big tech investments (Google’s US$15 billion announcement of its first AI hub in the country) and homegrown solutions. The latter includes the indigenous 4G network and 5G-ready stack as well as Airtel’s Sovereign Cloud that enables small and mid-sized enterprises (SEMs) to host their infrastructure entirely in India to ensure data and metadata residency.

These debates around sovereignty are not unique to the country. As trade barriers rise and trust becomes a premium, enterprises across the world are rethinking where and how their data resides. So the next wave of digital infrastructure will likely prioritize localized clouds and private 5G networks, focusing on both compliance and enhanced control and resilience.

Telcos worldwide can learn from India’s strategy on escaping single-digit growth

Core networks are essential, but depending on them alone limits growth. A decisive pivot to B2B platforms, industry-specific services, and sovereign infrastructure can help telcos rise above single-digit growth.

India’s evolving telecom landscape shows how this shift can happen under intense constraints. Indian telcos operate with some of the world’s lowest ARPUs while still deploying advanced 5G networks and preparing for 6G. However, they’re pushed to diversify far more aggressively than many global peers in order to grow. Airtel, for instance, has taken the lead by expanding into cyber fraud prevention, fintech lending, and a sovereign cloud offering aimed at India’s fast-growing SME segment. Jio is making parallel moves by leveraging its ecosystem, building one of India’s largest streaming platforms through JioHotstar, partnering with Meta to commercialize enterprise AI services, and scaling AI-ready data centre capacity.

While we’re yet to see if these adjacencies can deliver at scale, the strategic direction is unmistakable. India is creating a blueprint for how telcos worldwide can diversify, compete with hyperscalers, and build platform-native growth models even under economic pressure.

The Bottom Line: Doubling down on AI initiatives, sovereignty, and self-reliance is key to moving beyond networks.

Telcos must stop thinking like utilities and start acting like experience platforms. If they don’t monetize data, orchestrate services, and build on sovereign foundations, someone else will on their pipes. IMC 2025 showed that India is willing to make significant strides across manufacturing, new telco services, and sovereign offerings. While telcos must monetize data and sovereign infrastructure, enterprises should push for data residency, resilience, and control over AI workloads.