Dr SP Kochhar urges network upgrades amid India's AI boom
India's AI boom is about to push our internet and mobile networks to their limits, said lieutenant general Dr SP Kochhar, director general of the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI).
At the India Mobile Congress 2026, he explained that telecom companies need to seriously upgrade their "pipes" (think: bigger, faster data channels) so everyone can keep up with the surge in uploads and downloads that AI apps demand.
Kochhar urges more spectrum, lower costs
Right now, there isn't enough spectrum (the invisible lanes our data travels on), which makes things tricky for rolling out better 5G.
Kochhar urged for more spectrum in key bands and called for lower costs so telecoms can actually afford these upgrades.
He also highlighted how new rules are needed to tackle AI-related cyber risks and stressed building local infrastructure to help keep India's data safe and future-ready.