Artificial Intelligence in Telecommunications by 2050: A Conceptual AI-CTE Foresight Framework

This paper extends the Comprehensive Techno-Economic (CTE) Model by introducing Artificial Intelligence (AI) as a cross-cutting dimension that will define telecom system performance by 2050. The proposed AI-CTE framework formalizes AI-driven impacts on the Technical, Business, and Environmental layers, emphasizing autonomous network operation, predictive resource orchestration, AI-native service generation, and compliance with emerging governance requirements. AI maturity indices, long-term telecom trend extrapolations (1990–2023), and system dynamics simulations are integrated to quantify effects on spectral efficiency, energy per bit, CAPEX/OPEX distribution, and revenue trajectories. Three scenarios—Incremental AI Adoption, Transformative AI Ecosystems, and Disruptive AI Dominance — are evaluated to capture uncertainty in AI evolution and regulatory alignment. New performance indicators, including an AI Resilience Score, an AI Governance Score, a Transparency Index, and an AI Dependency Index, are introduced to assess reliability, ethical compliance, and system sovereignty. The model indicates that AI-augmented intelligence, autonomy, and governance will supersede traditional infrastructure metrics as primary determinants of competitiveness by 2050. CTE Model, Future Trends, Telecommunications, Artificial Intelligence, Industry 5.0.