Telecom-Backed Holograms Signal Imminent Shift in Live Communication Tech

EY’s latest telecom risk report warns that unchecked generative AI adoption could expose global telecom infrastructure—including undersea cable networks—to escalating cyber threats and regulatory backlash.

As generative AI accelerates across telecommunications, a new report from EY Global brings a sobering assessment: AI governance is now one of the industry’s top systemic risks. EY’s 2025 Telecom Risk Radar, released this January, lists AI misuse, cyber-physical threats, and talent shortages among the ten most pressing challenges facing global telcos. Notably, 57% of surveyed telecom executives expressed concern that AI could become a direct vector for cyber-attacks on physical infrastructure—especially high-value assets such as undersea cable systems and edge data centers. These fears are compounded by gaps in ethical AI oversight, with most operators still lacking centralized governance frameworks capable of regulating generative AI’s deployment at industrial scale.

The report indicates that while telecom firms are rapidly embedding AI into operational automation—from predictive maintenance to network optimization—many are doing so without a concurrent rise in accountability measures. This imbalance poses significant compliance risks as regulatory agencies worldwide begin to tighten disclosure and audit expectations surrounding AI model usage. EY’s findings suggest that failure to integrate AI governance early in deployment cycles could result in fragmented oversight, exposing networks to both internal lapses and external exploitation. Complicating matters, the persistent talent shortage in AI ethics and cybersecurity limits many telcos' capacity to implement meaningful controls.

In the broader compliance and governance landscape, the EY report acts as both a diagnostic and a warning. For telecom stakeholders, the message is clear: AI innovation cannot outpace its guardrails. The path forward lies in aligning technical ambition with industrial-grade governance—before vulnerabilities scale beyond control. In 2025, the most resilient telecom operators will not be those who deploy AI the fastest—but those who deploy it the most responsibly.