India, April 16 -- For years, telecom operators have powered the digital economy without capturing a proportionate share of its value. That old imbalance is now being questioned again. In the World Economic Forum's recent paper, The Strategic Role of Telecom Providers Across the AI Value Chain, developed in collaboration with Accenture, the argument is that telecom is no longer only asking how AI can improve efficiency inside the business. It is also being pushed to rethink what role it can play across the wider AI economy.

In a conversation with Dataquest, Dr Boris Maurer, Senior Managing Director and Global Communications and Media Industry Lead at Accenture, expands on that shift. He argues that AI and geopolitics are playing to telec...