Telcos to Invest $17B in AI Security by 2028
AI Security Becomes Central to Telecom Transformation
According to Juniper Research, global telecom operators are projected to invest $17 billion in AI-driven security solutions by 2028. The investment is a strategic one, as it represents a move towards utilizing AI for B2B revenue in the areas of private 5G, edge computing, and network slicing.
As there is diversification beyond traditional consumer offerings, the growing complexity and scale of enterprise services have made AI-based threat detection, anomaly monitoring, and zero-trust frameworks essential. The technologies help in faster real-time responses to cyber threats and misconfigurations.
Private 5G and Edge Services Drive AI Security Demand
The report stresses that private 5G networks-provided for manufacturing, logistics, and healthcare-are vulnerable due to custom configurations and device density. Operators are hence expected to have AI deployment for the proactive monitoring of such networks, incident-response automation, and uninterrupted service maintenance.
In the same way, since edge computing infrastructure is often situated at the customer premises, it greatly increases the attack surface and calls for threat analytics of a higher order. AI security tools that adapt to context and user behavior are fast emerging as critical enablers of telco competitiveness.
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B2B Growth Hinges on Security Trust
As stated in Juniper’s report, one must infer that the growth of the B2B telco market will increasingly revolve around security assurance. Thus, to benefit from industrial IoT, smart cities, and AI-powered enterprise application uptake, the operators must guarantee resilient, low-latency, and secure networks.
Here, AI security is both a redoubtable safeguard and a strategic enabler of growth-generating trust, quality delivery, and support for next-gen digital infrastructure.
