Telco in 20 Ep 131 - Two takes on telco’s biggest bets for 2026 (Dean Bubley)
MWC26 in Barcelona is right around the corner, and the telco industry is already buzzing about what will unfold at the Fira. Four big themes will dominate this year’s event: AI-driven networks, network APIs, AI data centers, and regulation. But which of these present real opportunities for telecom, and which are expensive distractions or even potential minefields?
For this episode, I’m joined by Dean Bubley, founder and director of Disruptive Analysis. He and I give our takes on what telcos should prioritize in the coming year, where the real obstacles lie, and what it will take to win in 2026.
Listen now to hear:
- Where operators should start with AI implementation [04:00];
- The network API strategy that everyone is missing [06:24];
- Why telcos will struggle to compete on AI infrastructure [10:02]; and
- How a regulation-first mindset could lead to more missed opportunities [13:35].
Links and Resources:
- Read Benedict Evans’ “AI Eats the World” report, which discusses hyperscaler investment strategies and the risks of under-investing in AI.
- Check out McKinsey & Company’s report predicting that network APIs have a $300 billion dollar revenue potential, and its follow up piece, The future of telcos: Mapping the routes to renewed success.
- Learn more about Twilio’s developer ecosystem with 10 million developers generating almost $5 billion in revenue.
- Check out some of telco’s biggest AI infrastructure investments in 2025: SK Telecom’s AI data center expansion, Deutsche Telekom’s AI factory partnership with NVIDIA, and Verizon’s GPU cloud and enterprise workload initiatives.
- Listen to Telco in 20 episode 105, NVIDIA’s vision for AI and the RAN, to learn about NVIDIA's approach to AI-RAN and monetizing network infrastructure.
- Want to see what moving fast with AI actually looks like? Come find me at MWC26 in Barcelona, running March 2-5. Totogi will be showing off BSS Magic, a way to transform your telco without having to actually transform your systems. Connect with me on LinkedIn or X @TelcoDR to set up a time to meet.
- Dean shared his favorite passport stamp—Palau’s jellyfish and Palau Pledge, an environmental commitment visitors sign upon arrival. But passport stamps may soon be a thing of the past as the EU and other countries shift to digital border systems.
- Want to hear more from Dean? He’ll be joined by Andrew Collinson at TelecomTV’s Unthinkable Lab: Agentic AI + Telecoms APIs = ? event on January 15 in London.
- Check out this episode on our YouTube channel.
- You can find the episode transcript here.
Wanna talk AI and public cloud? Telco execs, set up a meeting with our team to learn how to tap the immense business value it can bring.
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This week’s guest
Dean Bubley is the founder of Disruptive Analysis, an independent technology industry analyst and consulting firm based in London. He also jointly runs the Disruptive 6G initiative and is a convener of the 6G Reset forum and the Unthinkable Lab project. An outspoken analyst and futurist with over 25 years of experience, he specializes in mobile/telecoms fields, with an eye on broader technological, governmental, and societal contexts. He is one of the leading market observers and forecasters covering 5G, 6G, Wi-Fi, voice & network AI, spectrum & broadband policy, edge/cloud compute, enterprise private networks, IoT, new telecom business models, and voice/video communications.
Podcast Credits
- Executive Producer and Host: Danielle Rios, TelcoDR
- Senior Producer: Lindsay Grubb, TillCo Media
- Senior Editor/Brand Manager: Alisa Jenkins, Springboard Marketing
- Audio Editor: Andrew Condell
- Supervising Producer: Amanda Avery
- Associate Producer: Kriselda Dionisio
- Music: Dyami Wilson
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