e& UAE Announces 2030 Roadmap for Autonomous Networks

e& UAE, one of the leading telecom services companies of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), announced its strategic roadmap for the transition to autonomous networks in the age of artificial intelligence. The white paper titled “The Path to Full Autonomy: e& UAE’s Strategic Blueprint for Network Transformation in the AI Era”, prepared in collaboration with TM Forum, was introduced as part of DTW Ignite 2026 held in Copenhagen.

With this roadmap, e&UAE aims to move from traditional automation to AI-native, intent-driven and closed-loop operations. e& UAE’s strategy aims to transform telecom networks from manual and reactive structures into intelligent systems that self-optimize, self-heal and keep human governance at the center.

5 Key Pillars in Autonomous Networks for the UAE: Autonomous Network DNA

At the center of e& UAE’s autonomous network strategy are 5 key structures defined as “Autonomous Network DNA”. These are listed as cross-domain intelligence, AI-native and vendor-agnostic operations, agentic and open-source supported structure, end-to-end closed-loop automation and customer-focused artificial intelligence.

The company’s roadmap focuses on 4 main business outcomes: increasing operation and maintenance efficiency, improving customer experience, reducing energy consumption and increasing the speed of bringing services to market. e& UAE aims to reach the Level 4 Autonomous Networks level by 2030 and to establish the foundation for Level 5 self-evolving networks after 2030.

More Than 400 AI Use Cases and 160 ML Models

e& UAE’s previously announced AI strategy also reveals the scale of this transformation specific to the UAE. The company has integrated more than 400 artificial intelligence use cases and 160 machine learning models into its operations. These models are used in areas such as network optimization, energy efficiency, fraud prevention, customer experience, facial recognition, voice biometrics and OCR.

e& UAE CTO: “The future of telecom will be shaped by networks that can think, learn and act autonomously”

e& UAE CTO Marwan Bin Shakar stated that the future of telecom will be shaped by “networks that can think, learn and act autonomously.” Bin Shakar stated that they see autonomous networks as a strategic enabler of the AI era and that this transformation carries networks from operational infrastructure to intelligent digital platforms.

TM Forum CTO George Glass emphasized that autonomous networks are at the center of AI-native telecom. Glass stated that the industry must now move from pilot projects to measurable value, drawing attention to the importance of common architecture, open APIs, high-value scenarios and standard evaluation frameworks.