A recent Ciena survey of service providers accentuates the anticipated revenue potential of AI-driven network services, with respondents in India among the most confident of the 12 markets surveyed. According to the findings, 67% of Indian service providers strongly agree that AI-driven network services will be a primary driver of revenue growth over the next three to five years.
The research was conducted by Censuswide among 1,200 telecommunications providers, wholesale fiber network operators, and regional service providers across 12 markets, including 100 respondents in India. According to the findings, India service providers identified three priorities: modernizing network infrastructure, delivering more dependable performance for enterprises, and creating new business models around edge computing, cloud connectivity and physical AI.
AI services and MOFN create revenue potential:
- The survey findings indicate broad confidence in AI as a catalyst for revenue growth. Alongside the 67% who strongly agree that AI-driven network services will be a primary driver of new revenue, a further 27% somewhat agree.
- Data center connectivity is also expected to play a larger role. 98% of respondents expect MOFN services to contribute to revenue from connecting distributed AI compute clusters over the next three years, including 48% who see them as a significant contributor.
Network enhancements are key to meet AI-driven demands:
- 93% of respondents in India agree that next-generation optical technology, such as higher-capacity wavelengths and power-efficient coherent optics, is critical to making AI connectivity services more profitable and competitive.
- 88% say optical network upgrades are urgently needed to deliver the reliable, low-latency performance enterprises will expect from premium AI services, including 38% who say major upgrades are needed immediately.
- 94% consider advanced network automation important or absolutely critical to capturing AI-driven opportunities, pointing to the need for networks that can adapt quickly as AI traffic changes.
Edge computing, physical AI and cloud connectivity open new revenue streams:
- Reliable, low-latency performance is believed to be a key differentiator. 96% of respondents say guaranteed low-latency performance is very important or absolutely critical to generating revenue from enterprise edge deployments, while 37% point to stable performance and low jitter as the highest-potential area for premium services.
- Physical AI ecosystems, including autonomous industrial robots, machine vision and remote-control systems, also garnered favorable response. 93% of respondents see moderate or high revenue potential from physical AI for private network and edge computing offerings, while 59% expect it to account for more than 15% of total AI enterprise revenue within five years.
- As enterprises move larger datasets between cloud environments for AI processing, Indian service providers are exploring more flexible commercial models. 58% plan to generate revenue from multi-cloud connectivity management, and 58% also expect revenue from consumption-based bandwidth services.
- Services hosted closer to enterprise users and devices, including GPU-as-a-Service, edge compute, localized AI inference and private wireless, are expected to become meaningful revenue drivers. In India, 88% of respondents expect these services to generate at least 10% of total enterprise revenue over the next three years, including 35% who expect them to account for more than 20%.
“After going through one of the fastest 5G roll outs globally, Indian service providers are now shifting focus to AI infrastructure builds and AI monetization,” said Gautam Billa, Vice President, Solutions Engineering and Chief Technology Officer, Asia Pacific, India and Japan, Ciena. “AI momentum continues to escalate, and the survey findings point to growing confidence in the revenue potential of AI-driven services.”
