TM Forum says telcos must rebuild legacy systems for AI

TM Forum said on May 20, 2026 that telecom operators will not achieve full network autonomy or business transformation by adding AI agents to monolithic legacy systems.

TL;DR

• TM Forum told RCR Wireless News that telcos need to rebuild core systems rather than layer AI agents onto legacy platforms.
• The group said telecom operators are not a special case and should follow broader software and enterprise modernization patterns.
• The comments were published in the second part of an RCR Wireless News discussion on AI and network autonomy.

TM Forum said telecom operators will not reach full network autonomy by placing artificial intelligence tools on top of monolithic legacy systems. The comments appeared in the second half of its discussion with RCR Wireless News, published on May 20, 2026.

TM Forum said telcos are not special cases in the shift to AI-enabled operations and business change. According to the article excerpt, the organization argued that operators must rebuild their systems rather than treat AI as an added layer on existing architecture.

The source frames the discussion around network autonomy and business transformation in telecom. The available text does not provide technical implementation details, named operators, timelines, or specific standards.

Related questions

• What did TM Forum say telcos must do before pursuing full network autonomy with AI?
• Why did TM Forum say AI agents alone will not modernize monolithic telecom systems?
• When did RCR Wireless News publish the second part of its discussion with TM Forum?