Nvidia highlighted work to help operators rethink dependence on closed AI systems, promoting open-source models to give carriers direct control over network automation and customer workflows.
In a blog, Nvidia stated operators including SoftBank Corp, AT&T and Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison are increasingly deploying open models alongside proprietary systems, explaining they retain full visibility over sensitive network data and can fine-tune models for their specific operational needs.
The move reflects a broader shift across telecommunications.
Nvidia highlighted the findings of its State of AI in Telecommunications 2026 survey in which 89% of operators deemed open-source software critical to their AI strategy, driven in part by independent benchmarks showing open models closing performance gaps in reasoning, coding and autonomous network triage.
Operators are dividing their workloads rather than relying on a single system. Expensive, proprietary models are reserved for complex tasks where closed platforms still hold an edge, while lower-cost open foundation models handle day-to-day operations.
SoftBank used Nvidia’s Nemotron family as the foundation for its Large Telecom Model, employing years of internal operational data.
Rajeev Koodli, principal fellow at SoftBank and SVP of SB Telecom America, explained open models allow it to capitalise on rapid global AI progress and its accumulated network expertise.
AT&T is also taking a multi-model approach. Chief data and AI officer Andy Markus said the goal is to intelligently match “every workload to the right combination of performance, cost and control.”
Nvidia highlighted Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison tailored its open models to Indonesian language and culture.
Paul Krugman is the greatest econ writer in the world, and also a legendary economist. But I sometimes feel that he has a blind spot when it comes to the value of new technologies. In 1998 he famously wrote: The growth of the Internet will slow drastically, as the flaw in ‘Metcalfe’s law’—which states that […]
Mobile World Live brings you our top three picks of the week as European Union (EU) governments pushed for changes to high-risk supplier rules, Nvidia’s chief weighed in on the AI model distillation debate and Poste Italiane boosted its stake in Telecom Italia.
Governments press EU to change high-risk supplier plan
What happened: European governments pushed for amendments to a European Commission (EC) proposal that would require operators to remove network equipment supplied by vendors deemed high risk, according to a draft document seen by Reuters.
Why it matters: Early this year, the EC published a Cybersecurity Act proposal outlining a 36-month phase out for high-risk third-country supplier equipment in mobile networks. However, EU member states have reportedly called for the phase out period to be determined by several factors rather than a fixed deadline, including level of risk, equipment lifespans, compatibility requirements and the availability of alternatives. The proposed rules are expected to affect Chinese vendors Huawei and ZTE.
Mason Hurlocker of Bloomsbury Intelligence and Security Institute (BISI) stated “the reforms carry a range of political, operational, security and economic risks”, adding it is possible the EC narrows its provisions “given industry cost warnings and resistance from some member states to mandatory rip-and-replace obligations”. AGSMA Intelligence report estimated mobile network replacement would cost the industry between €30 billion and €40 billion.
Nvidia chief says AI model distillation is fair competition
What happened: In an interview with CNBC, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said AI model distillation should be treated as competition rather than theft, putting him at odds with US officials over the practice.
Why it matters: Huang said developers are entitled to test competing products, comparing distillation with competitors taking Nvidia chips apart to understand how they work. “That’s called competition,” he apparently said. He further argued the burden is on providers to control access, stating: “if you don’t like people to use your products… disable the service.”
The comments come after US officials accused Chinese AI players of conducting industrial-scale distillation campaigns against US models. Anthropic separately alleged that Chinese companies including Alibaba and DeepSeek used large numbers of accounts and proxy networks to extract capabilities from Claude.
Otis Yi, programme director at digital entertainment platform GashPoint, said “the dispute centres on how those outputs are obtained and whether the model owner has authorised their use”, adding industrial-scale extraction can raise “separate questions about contracts, intellectual property and enforcement”. Mark Seery, founder of consulting and technology advisory firm Bohcay, argued: “Competition matters. So does authorisation.” He noted “the customer does not own the underlying infrastructure”, adding when they exceed agreed rights, “that is not simply “testing a product”; it may be a contractual violation with legal consequences”.
Poste Italiane secures 85% stake in Telecom Italia
What happened: Poste Italiane secured an 85.8% stake in Telecom Italia (TIM) after completing the second and final phase of its public tender offer.
Why it matters: The postal group acquired an additional 65.7% of TIM, building on the 20% stake it acquired last year when it replaced Vivendi as the operator’s largest shareholder. The tender offer, launched in July, valued the transaction at around €13 billion and offered shareholders €1.67 in cash per share.
In March, the company had outlined plans to take TIM private. However, Reuters reported the result leaves Poste well short of the 90% threshold needed to take it private, leaving it to consider other options.
The operator’s board has since acknowledged Poste’s exercise of “direction and coordination” over TIM and its subsidiaries, and approved new rules covering operational governance and information flows between the companies. Alessandro Marchesini, a TIM board member, described the transaction as the closing of an “important financial chapter”, adding, “now the industrial one begins”. He said the focus would shift to “turning the opportunities created by this transaction into projects, collaboration and long-term value”.
When Donald Trump and Xi Jinping met in Washington last week, artificial intelligence was among the issues dividing their countries. Days earlier, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the two sides had agreed to establish a formal AI dialogue, including an incident line, though its protocols had yet to be worked out. The summit produced no […]
Beijing may let its technology giants buy more Nvidia high-end chips, giving the US chip designer a fresh foothold in China and keeping Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) developers tied to its software after months of stalled trade. China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) has asked major domestic companies, including ByteDance, Alibaba and Tencent, […]
One of my fundamental beliefs about the world is that Ramez Naam ought to blog more. Ramez is one of the world’s greatest futurists — he predicted the solar and battery revolutions long before these were widely understood. If you were reading Ramez in 2011, you were able to understand the future of both energy technology and climate change, […]
Nvidia on Wednesday forecast a 70 per cent jump in revenue next fiscal year, underscoring unabated demand for AI computing, while warning about shortages of memory components.
Nvidia on Wednesday forecast a 70 per cent jump in revenue next fiscal year, underscoring unabated demand for AI computing, while warning about shortages of memory components.
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