Telecom operators are increasingly building their AI strategies on open models, a trend highlighted by NVIDIA’s State of AI in Telecommunications report, which found that 89% of respondents consider open source models and software important to their AI strategy. Open models provide operators with the ability to trust, control and customize AI across critical workloads, from autonomous networks to customer care. NVIDIA offers the Nemotron family of open models, including the 30‑billion‑parameter Nemotron 3 Large Telco Model fine‑tuned by AdaptKey on open source telecom datasets to deliver accuracy gains for telecom‑specific tasks. The company also supplies a full recipe for end‑to‑end fine‑tuning using NVIDIA NeMo open libraries, enabling operators to adapt models to their own operational data. Operators such as SoftBank, AT&T and Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison illustrate how open models can be used to develop telecom‑specific AI capabilities, match workloads to the right combination of performance, cost and control, and adapt intelligence to local languages and cultures. NVIDIA provides an end‑to‑end platform powered by NVIDIA AI Enterprise software and NVIDIA Agent Toolkit, covering data pipelines, model governance, agent orchestration, secure runtimes and simulation, to help operators bring autonomous telecom operations safely into production. The move toward open models aligns with national AI strategies and enables operators to deliver AI services tailored to local languages, industries, regulations and data governance requirements.
Why Telecom Operators Are Building Their AI Strategy on Open Models
Telecom operators are turning to open AI models to gain control, customization and cost advantages across critical workloads such as autonomous networks and customer care. NVIDIA’s State of AI in Telecommunications report shows 89% of respondents consider open source models important. The company offers the Nemotron family, including a 30‑billion‑parameter Nemotron 3 Large Telco Model fine‑tuned for telecom tasks, and provides tools for end‑to‑end fine‑tuning and governance. Operators like SoftBank, AT&T, and Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison use these models to build telecom‑specific AI, local‑language solutions, and secure production pipelines.
Why it matters
The shift to open models enables telecom operators to tailor AI to local regulations, languages and operational needs, reducing reliance on proprietary systems and fostering broader AI adoption across the industry.