KPMG in India, the Knowledge Partner of India Mobile Congress 2025, has unveiled a comprehensive thought leadership report titled “From Automation to Autonomy: Reimagining Telecom with Agentic AI”. The report, released by Shri Jyotiraditya M. Scindia, Minister of Communications and Minister of Development of North Eastern Region, explores how agentic AI — autonomous AI systems acting on behalf of humans — can revolutionize the telecom sector by enabling intelligent networks, predictive maintenance, hyper-personalized customer engagement, and real-time service orchestration.
India leads the global telecom growth story with over 1.2 billion mobile subscribers and approximately 800 million broadband users, providing unmatched scale and rich data for AI innovation. Average mobile data consumption has surged to nearly 32 GB per month per user, among the highest globally, while the sector’s financial health is improving, with average revenue per user (ARPU) rising to INR 174.46 per month and wireless data revenues growing 15.5% annually to INR 2.15 trillion in FY24–25.
The report emphasizes that while India’s telecom sector shows robust growth, it faces challenges including the complexity of integrating autonomous AI systems, the need for strong AI governance, and the imperative to upskill workforces to collaborate effectively with intelligent agents. Despite these hurdles, the industry is making significant progress through strategic investments, policy frameworks, and ecosystem collaborations.
According to KPMG, 97% of telcos are adopting or assessing AI, with 49% already embedding it into daily operations. While Generative AI primarily supports human decision-making, Agentic AI autonomously manages self-healing networks, predictive churn management, and hyper-personalized customer experiences. Investment priorities are clear: 65% of global telecom operators plan to increase AI spending in 2025, focusing on AI-ready infrastructure and workforce upskilling. India’s edge lies in its massive scale, rich data ecosystems — including over 18 billion UPI transactions monthly — supportive policy reforms, and a vibrant AI startup community, making it a natural testbed for large-scale adoption.
KPMG’s report introduces the Agentic AI Stack for Indian Telcos, a six-layer model covering customer experience, network intelligence, orchestration, data integration, and governance, designed to guide operators from traditional networks toward intelligent, autonomous systems. Current adoption trends show that half of telecom companies have implemented their first GenAI use case, and business leaders are planning to invest USD 25 million in new tech talent and USD 24 million in customer experience initiatives over the next 12 months.
Looking ahead, KPMG recommends that telecom operators scale AI pilots to enterprise-wide deployments with AI-ready infrastructure and skilled teams, while policymakers should create agile regulations and governance frameworks to enable safe and responsible AI innovation. Collaboration among startups, academia, and industry partners is critical to building an inclusive and intelligent telecom ecosystem.
“Agentic AI is more than a technological advancement — it is a strategic paradigm shift that empowers telecom operators to move from reactive to autonomous systems,” said Akhilesh Tuteja, Partner & National Leader – Technology, Media and Telecommunications (TMT), KPMG in India. “This transformation will unlock new levels of operational efficiency, customer personalization, and revenue growth. India’s unparalleled scale, data richness, and innovation ecosystem uniquely position it to lead the global telecom AI revolution.”
Purushothaman K.G., Telecom Sector Head, KPMG in India, added, “Successfully adopting agentic AI demands a fundamental revisit of operating models, technology stacks, and platform architecture — alongside workforce capabilities and governance frameworks. Our report outlines a strategic roadmap for Indian telcos to evolve from pilot initiatives to enterprise-scale AI deployment, enabling intelligent, autonomous networks that deliver enhanced customer experiences and sustainable business outcomes in a fast-changing digital environment.”
The report lays out a phased roadmap for telcos, emphasizing foundational pilots, enterprise-scale deployment, and collaborative action across industry, government, and startups to build intelligent, inclusive, and resilient telecom systems capable of meeting the demands of the future digital economy.
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