A new report from the Capgemini Research Institute suggests many operators are struggling to deliver measurable business outcomes for enterprise customers
As enterprises accelerate digital transformation, telecom operators are facing growing pressure to move beyond connectivity and deliver measurable business outcomes. Yet a new report from the Capgemini Research Institute suggests many operators are struggling to meet those expectations.
The study, The B2B pulse for telcos: Six strategic imperatives to win in connectivity and beyond, finds that while 74% of enterprises expect telecom providers to be accountable for business outcomes, only 39% believe their operators actually drive growth. The gap highlights broader challenges around business models, ecosystem partnerships and emerging technologies like AI, network APIs, and non-terrestrial networks (NTN).
In this Q&A, Arun Santhanam, business unit head for telco, media, and entertainment at Capgemini, discusses where operators are falling short, where new revenue models are emerging, and what telecom providers must change to stay relevant in the enterprise AI era.
Q: Your research shows 74% of enterprises want telcos accountable for business outcomes, yet only 39% believe operators actually drive growth. Where are operators falling short?
Santhanam: The 35-point gap reveals that this is fundamentally a business model and organizational challenge, not a technology problem.
Three interconnected failures are at play. First, telcos aren’t delivering customized solutions. While 69% of enterprises expect tailored solutions and 64% demand industry expertise, only 37% say their telco consistently delivers.
Second, there’s an accountability gap. Enterprises want outcome-based partnerships where telcos guarantee results and share risks through new commercial models, however, most operators aren’t structured for this yet.
Third, organizational silos remain a barrier. Enterprises encounter fragmented experiences across network, IT, and security teams with no unified accountability. They need one trusted partner to orchestrate across all functions.
The technology exists. What’s missing is the business model and organizational structure to deliver it. At the core of this structural challenge is how operators define success in B2B markets. Operators who move away from measuring their B2B success through the lens of counting SIM card sales would have a much larger success.
Q: Your report positions telcos as “ecosystem orchestrators,” but enterprises still look to hyperscalers for AI and cloud leadership. Can operators realistically lead the ecosystem?
Santhanam: Operators won’t lead the cloud or AI stack. What’s interesting is that 70% of enterprises don’t want a single vendor to do everything. They want one trusted partner orchestrating across multiple best-of-breed providers, all bound by unified service level agreements (SLAs) and single accountability.
This is where telcos have genuine competitive advantages. They possess national infrastructure, geographic edge distribution, regulatory relationships built over decades, and enterprise trust that hyperscalers simply can’t replicate.
The operators that will differentiate themselves are those that embrace an orchestrator role. They’ll coordinate cloud, security, system integrators, and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) into integrated solutions with clear accountability.
Q: Enterprises increasingly see network APIs and slicing as paths to new revenue. Which monetization models are actually emerging — and which remain hype?
Santhanam: Security and fraud prevention are where we see the strongest traction. Network-based security APIs deliver 41% reduction in live scams and 44% fewer fraud losses in financial services. When you can demonstrate that level of business impact, enterprises will pay, and this category is scaling rapidly because the ROI is transparent and immediate.
Beyond that, the market is beginning to shift toward service bundle-based network APIs that combine capabilities like quality on demand with other API categories. These bundled offerings, enabled by advances in network slicing, are early but show promise as enterprises seek more integrated solutions rather than point APIs.
Revenue-share models with independent software vendors are also emerging alongside these. Distributing APIs through partner developer bases creates network effects and longer-term value but still requires ecosystem maturity.
Where we see hype is in ultra-low-latency and edge computing APIs. Most enterprises aren’t architecturally ready to leverage these at scale yet, so the ROI remains unclear. Our recommendation is to focus first on pain-point solving where ROI is transparent and immediate.
Q: Enterprises want telcos involved in AI platforms and edge deployments, yet most believe operators lag tech companies in AI capability. What must change?
Santhanam: Seventy-two percent of enterprises believe telcos lag hyperscalers in AI. That perception is accurate, but there’s a clear strategic path forward.
Rather than competing on general-purpose AI, telcos should focus on sovereign AI for regulated industries, such as banking, healthcare, and government, where they have defensible advantages around compliance and data residency.
Build GPU as a Service at the edge, where network proximity creates genuine differentiation for low-latency inference in autonomous vehicles and manufacturing.
Executing this strategy requires collaboration. Partner with hyperscalers to co-develop industry-specific solutions rather than building proprietary AI stacks. This approach, where telcos provide infrastructure and sovereignty while hyperscalers provide AI depth, unlocks mutual advantage and satisfied enterprise customers.
Q: More than half of enterprises are exploring NTN connectivity, yet many believe telcos lack maturity. What needs to happen for NTN to move from pilot to mainstream?
Santhanam: Fifty-five percent of enterprises explore NTN, but 66% question telco maturity. That credibility gap blocks mainstream adoption and stems from three interconnected challenges.
First, technical maturity remains unproven. Seamless satellite-to-terrestrial handoffs and guaranteed SLAs aren’t reliable enough for mission-critical applications yet. Enterprises won’t risk operational continuity until the technology proves itself at an enterprise scale.
Second, commercial clarity is missing. 49% of enterprises don’t know their telco offers NTN, and pricing models are opaque. Enterprises need transparent pricing relative to terrestrial networks and clear business cases for their specific vertical, whether agriculture, logistics, or energy.
Third, proven reference deployments are lacking. Enterprises won’t adopt without seeing commercial success stories in their industry.
To reach mainstream adoption, telcos must establish standardized NTN pricing, move beyond pilots to proven deployments in key verticals, deliver integrated terrestrial-NTN solutions with redundancy across networks, and provide enterprise-grade SLAs. The operators that succeed will emphasize NTN’s business value of expanding coverage to remote areas and providing network resilience, rather than just its technical capabilities.
Q: If you had to pick one strategic imperative that will separate telecom winners from laggards by 2030, what would it be?
Santhanam: Operationalize AI transformation across the entire business, not just as a service offering. Seventy-eight percent of enterprises expect AI-driven, self-healing networks. Winners will embed AI across their operating model, including autonomous networks, predictive maintenance, and real-time optimization, fundamentally transforming internal operations.
This delivers two advantages: dramatically improved operational efficiency and genuine credibility. When enterprises see telcos operating as AI-native organizations internally, they believe telcos can deliver AI solutions externally.
Operators that don’t embed AI across their operations will struggle to convince enterprises they’re capable AI partners. Those that genuinely transform into AI-driven organizations will differentiate and lead the market by 2030.
Editor’s note: This interview has been lightly edited for clarity and length.
