TRAI Hosts Pre-Summit Event On AI In Telecommunication

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), in collaboration with the Software Technology Parks of India (STPI), has organised a Pre-Summit Event of the India – AI Impact Summit 2026 on the theme “AI in Telecommunication” at the STPI Conference Facility in East Kidwai Nagar, New Delhi. The event brought together senior officials and representatives from telecom service providers, OEMs, startups and research institutions to deliberate on how Artificial Intelligence (AI) is reshaping the future of telecom networks, service delivery and customer engagement. The programme served as a platform to showcase real-world use cases, policy considerations and implementation challenges as India transitions towards an AI-augmented digital infrastructure.

The event commenced with a ceremonial lamp lighting by Shri Anil Kumar Lahoti Chairman, TRAI Shri Ritu Ranjan Mittar, Member, TRAI; Dr. M. P. Tangirala, Member, TRAI; Shri Atul Kumar Chaudhary, Secretary, TRAI; Shri Arvind Kumar, Director General, STPI; and Professor Rajat Moona, Director, IIT Gandhinagar. In his opening remarks, Shri Arvind Kumar, Director General, STPI, emphasized the importance of building AI-led innovation ecosystems that connect startups, academia and industry. He noted, “What we once referred to as a simple pipe has now transformed into an intelligent pipe.” He also highlighted that the upcoming India AI Impact Summit 2026 will offer a holistic and future-facing framework for responsible and impactful AI adoption. Following this, Shri Atul Kumar Chaudhary, Secretary, TRAI, highlighted the growing importance of AI in enhancing quality of service and underlined the need for regulatory frameworks that encourage innovation while ensuring ethical safeguards and consumer protection.

Delivering the Chief Guest Address, Shri Anil Kumar Lahoti, Chairman, TRAI, stated that Artificial Intelligence is a key enabler for the next phase of India’s telecom evolution, offering opportunities to deliver intelligent, adaptive and trusted services across the ecosystem. He noted that “AI is no longer a futuristic idea for telecom—it is now a foundational capability. From network automation to spam detection, AI is already shaping how telecom services are delivered and experienced at scale. The way we design, govern and deploy AI will determine whether it remains trusted, inclusive and resilient in the future.” He further emphasized that AI applications must be guided by the principles of transparency, accountability and fairness, aligned with the national vision of digital empowerment.

The inaugural session concluded with the presentation of mementoes and a group photograph of the dignitaries, followed by a vote of thanks by Shri Sameer Gupta, Advisor, TRAI. Special addresses were delivered by Ms. Kavita Bhatia, Scientist ‘G’, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY); Lt. Gen. Dr. S. P. Kochhar, Director General, Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI); Dr. Rajkumar Upadhyay, Chief Executive Officer, C-DOT; and Professor Rajat Moona, Director, IIT Gandhinagar. The speakers noted the increasing integration of AI across telecom value chains and called for greater collaboration on secure deployment, indigenous AI research and capacity building to support future-ready networks.

The technical deliberations included focused discussions on AI-driven telecom networks, chaired by Shri Ritu Ranjan Mittar, Member, TRAI, who also delivered the opening remarks. The discussions examined how AI-enabled predictive maintenance, traffic optimisation and anomaly detection are enabling telecom operators to move from reactive to predictive and self-healing network operations across India’s expanding 5G and fibre-based infrastructure. Speakers from leading telecom service providers, OEMs, academic institutions and startups shared use cases on intelligent network slicing, behavioural analytics for fraud prevention and AI-native architectures designed to enhance performance, reliability, security and regulatory compliance.

Deliberations on responsible AI in telecom services were chaired by Dr. M. P. Tangirala, Member, TRAI, who set the context for discussions on the ethical and accountable use of AI. The session focused on how AI-driven analytics, recommendation engines and behavioural insights are being leveraged to improve customer engagement through customised mobile plans, smart data packs and targeted offers. Participants also discussed AI-based mechanisms for detecting and blocking spam calls, filtering unsolicited communications and enabling safe content curation for telecom-integrated platforms, while emphasizing the importance of transparency, data privacy, consumer trust and minimising false positives in AI-driven systems.

The event witnessed participation from industry leaders, startups, telecom engineers and AI practitioners, who shared strategic insights and technical practices that inform the future trajectory of AI adoption across India’s telecom sector. The sessions concluded with the presentation of plant saplings to all speakers and group photographs.

The deliberations from this Pre-Summit Event will contribute to the upcoming India AI Impact Summit 2026, reinforcing India’s commitment to building intelligent, secure and consumer-focused digital networks powered by Artificial Intelligence.