Deutsche Telekom is pushing back on a familiar network investment story. The operator says artificial intelligence will not force extra mobile uplink spending soon.
The message came from Dhananjay Mirchandani, senior VP for group controlling and incoming CFO. He said the company sees no need beyond its current radio access network roadmap.
“I cannot recall a single conversation in which Alex Jenbar [CTO of Telekom Deutschland] … or somebody else approached us and said, ‘in addition to whatever we currently have on our roadmaps for RAN modernization, that there is an incremental requirement for an investment to be able to prepare ourselves for additional uplink/AI-related traffic.’”
That statement does not dismiss AI traffic. Instead, it narrows the financial question. Deutsche Telekom expects planned upgrades to handle demand.
This matters because vendors often present AI as a major traffic turning point. Smart glasses, robots, wearables, and AI agents may upload more data. These devices send voice, images, prompts, and sensor information to cloud systems.
Traditionally, mobile networks carried far more downlink traffic. Users streamed video, browsed websites, and downloaded apps. AI could change that balance over time.
However, current data remains more measured. Ericsson found uplink growth outpaced downlink growth at 43 of 55 operators in 2025. Yet collaboration apps, cloud storage, and user content drove much of that growth.
So, the central question is timing. AI may lift uplink demand later. But operators may not need a separate spending wave today.
Deutsche Telekom plans to address this through modernization. Its network program already includes RAN upgrades and equipment changes. The company is replacing Huawei equipment with Nokia Open RAN at about 3,000 German sites by 2027.
That program gives the operator more flexibility. Features like uplink carrier aggregation and uplink MIMO can raise capacity. In simple terms, they help phones use network resources more efficiently.
Deutsche Telekom also keeps its capital spending discipline intact. Its guidance targets investments near 21% of service revenues in 2027. The company did not change that framework at its AI Investor Day.
At the same time, Deutsche Telekom remains ambitious on AI. It targets about €800 million in B2B AI revenue by 2030. It also expects €2.5 billion in AI and automation savings by 2030.
CEO Tim Höttges has also promoted inference data centers inside telecom infrastructure. These sites process AI tasks closer to users. That can reduce delays and improve response times.
Meanwhile, T-Mobile US follows a similar path. CTO John Saw has highlighted 5G-Advanced uplink features. But the carrier also reports no major AI traffic pressure yet.
Other carriers frame the issue differently. AT&T has focused more openly on stronger upstream capacity. Its spectrum and radio choices reflect that position.
For now, Deutsche Telekom sends a clear signal. AI is central to its business strategy. But AI uplink traffic has not yet justified extra mobile network capex.
