Road beyond 5G: Architecting the future of networks for 2030

At the Voice&Data Telecom Leadership Forum 2025, the spotlight turned to what lies ahead after 5G, with a thought-provoking panel discussion titled “Beyond 5G: Architecting the Networks of the Future.” The session brought together industry leaders and policy thinkers to address how telecom networks must evolve to serve the demands of the next decade.

Jaideep Ghosh, former partner, KPMG India, set the stage with a sharp opening.  5G is still maturing in many markets, including India. it’s critical to think about what comes next, because network evolution is no longer linear; it’s exponential.

 Why Beyond 5G, Now?

The panel opened by addressing a fundamental question: why start envisioning the future when the present—5G—is still unfolding?

Dharmender Khajuria, Head – Network Partnership at Bharti Airtel, emphasised expanding on the device ecosystem. he noted that continuous advancements in handsets and connected devices will drive network progress forward, making this evolution an ongoing journey rather than a one-time upgrade. This means network innovation must account for increasingly complex demands and higher performance benchmarks.

Crucially, Khajuria stressed that the future of networks is not just about incremental speed improvements. Instead, network evolution has become exponential, driven by the need for new functionalities that enable immersive experiences and autonomous operations across industries. This shift calls for rethinking the fundamental design of networks to keep pace with the accelerating growth of emerging use cases.

Sukhjit Singh, Director Technical & CTO at AT&T Global Network Services India, agreed on the criticality of 5G adoption globally. He noted, “The speed, latency, and application integration must come together. However, enterprise use cases for 5G still face challenges in adoption.”

Adding to this, Dr Sidharth Shukla, Vice Chair of the Spectrum Group at Bharat 6G Alliance and former TRAI Joint Advisor, explained that although 5G has proliferated to cover nearly 99% of the country, its real potential lies beyond just mobile broadband. "We have yet to fully tap into machine-to-machine communications, which are crucial for Industry 4.0 and digital twin technologies," he said.

He introduced the concept of Enterprise 5G as the next frontier, emphasizing the integration of AI algorithms with 5.5G, which is expected to arrive soon. Additionally, he mentioned Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTN) merging satellite and terrestrial communication as a key milestone before 6G’s arrival.

Network intelligence and cloud-native architectures

Jaideep Ghosh brought the conversation towards the increasing importance of cloud and network intelligence in the future telecom landscape.

Building on this, Sukhjit Singh reflected on telecom’s historical capital-intensive nature but highlighted how software-driven innovations are enabling a paradigm shift. "AI, automation, and data science are transforming network optimisation, making processes more efficient and flexible," he said.

Sudakshina Laha extended this discussion to the Radio Access Network (RAN), emphasising the growing role of software-defined approaches and virtualisation in network evolution.

Addressing further technical shifts, Dharmender Khajuria discussed future network design. He outlined how cores, IoT integration, and software-led orchestration will underpin networks beyond 5G and into 6G. "We are looking at hyperlocalisation through dynamic network slicing and expect partnerships to be critical for success," he noted.

Learning from defence: The software and AI connection

Stepping in with a unique perspective, Dr Sidharth Shukla drew parallels between telecom network evolution and defence technologies. He shared historical insights into how software and AI have transformed modern warfare from hardware-centric models to software-defined intelligence.

He suggested that telecom networks are now following a similar trajectory, moving towards fully programmable, AI-enabled, and software-driven networks that can adapt in real time to customer needs and environmental challenges.

A call to co-create

The session closed on a note of collaboration. The panel unanimously agreed that the networks of 2030 cannot be built in silos. It will take a confluence of operators, tech providers, policymakers, and academia to build agile, intelligent, secure, and green networks, not just for India, but for the world.

TLF 2024’s Beyond 5G session wasn’t just forward-looking—it was a clarion call to start shaping the future today.