In a major step toward shaping the future of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in telecommunications, the third meeting of the ITU-T Focus Group on AI-Native for Telecommunication Networks (FG-AINN) was inaugurated today in New Delhi. The three-day event is organized by the Telecommunication Engineering Centre (TEC), the technical arm of India’s Department of Telecommunications (DoT), under the aegis of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).
During the opening session, Sanjeev Bidwai, Member (T), Digital Communications Commission (DCC), emphasized that AI-Native Networks (AI-NN) represent a paradigm shift in telecom network design, offering intelligent orchestration across domains. He noted the increasing role of AI in 3GPP standards, and highlighted India’s active efforts in this space—including ‘Bharat Gen’, the country’s first indigenously developed, government-funded Multimodal Large Language Model (LLM) for Indian languages. He also spotlighted AI-based innovations by IITs and C-DOT, such as network automation and digital twin technologies.
Bidwai stressed the importance of ensuring AI is deployed in an ethical, inclusive, and secure manner, calling for explainability, digital sovereignty, and evolved regulatory frameworks to guide AI adoption.
In a video message, Seizo Onoe, Director of the ITU’s Telecommunication Standardization Bureau, highlighted the transformative potential of AI-native networks to deliver next-generation performance through intelligent automation, self-management, and real-time optimization.
Atsuko Okuda, ITU Regional Director for Asia-Pacific, emphasized the region’s role as a hub for digital innovation. She underscored that AI-native networks will be key to enabling smart, secure, and agile communication systems, and called for global collaboration to power use cases in smart cities, healthcare, and education while narrowing the digital divide.
India also used the platform to seek support from ITU member states for its bid to
- Host the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference in 2030 (PP-30),
- Continue as a member of the ITU Council (2027–2031), and
- Support the candidacy of M. Revathi, nominated as the first woman and first Regional candidate for Director of the ITU Radiocommunication Bureau (2027–2030).
The event saw participation from key figures including Niraj Verma, Administrator (DBN); Rudra Narayan Palai and Deb Kumar Chakrabarty, Members (Designate), DoT; Shubhendu Tiwari, Advisor (Technology); Dr. Rajkumar Upadhyay, CEO of C-DOT; Tripti Saxena, Senior DDG, TEC; alongside top academicians, technologists, and industry leaders from India and abroad.
This international gathering marks a significant milestone in global efforts to define AI-native telecommunication networks, paving the way for intelligent, adaptive, and efficient network infrastructure. The ongoing work of FG-AINN will play a crucial role in setting the technical and ethical foundations for the next era of global connectivity.
