The broadband industry is standing at a defining moment.

Press Release  - Published - November 20, 2025 - Broadband Forum 

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Speaking during the Broadband Forum Fall Meeting Opening Plenary, Motive Vice President of Product and R&D Jeevithan Muttu highlighted that the broadband industry is standing at a defining moment.

“We have never had access to so much actionable data to strategically utilize, especially now, as the customer tolerance for failure is shrinking and today’s broadband is just expected to work,” Muttu said.

During the presentation, Muttu highlighted five key trends:

1. Home broadband penetration has matured, and subscription growth is flattening
2. There has been a shift from raw speed to value-added services
3. Broadband architecture needs to support intelligence, service agility, and the user experience
4. Speed is no longer a constraint, but optimizing QoE, intelligence, and new applications is a challenge
5. Service differentiation provides a competitive edge

“Innovation happens when everything in the network operates seamlessly,” Muttu advised when talking about the ever-evolving broadband landscape and how innovation has shifted from big sweeping redesigns to focused, incremental improvements and refinement. “It is no longer enough to just meet customer expectations; telecom services must exceed them. For that, it’s imperative we continue to meet cross-functionally with the goal of continually growing as one ecosystem.” 

Motive recently conducted a ‘Telecom Investment Survey’ and found that AI is a core investment priority for network operators. 37% of the 103 respondents advised that they plan to implement AI-driven network automation within the next 12 months. Those top use cases include predictive maintenance, customer usage pattern analysis, improved service delivery, and enhanced customer care and diagnostics. Muttu pointed out that proactive AI is not simply a technology trend: it is becoming a baseline expectation for operational excellence, cost optimization, and customer experience leadership.

Muttu also highlighted the key role that BBF’s Plugfests and the Innovation Demos play in bridging gaps between concept and reality. He pointed to improved data collection as a driver for better customer understanding and emphasized how USP will help network operators unlock and monetize the vast potential AI brings.

“The service providers that don’t rest on their laurels and embrace this paradigm shift to AI-driven network automation will be the ones best positioned to thrive, moving from cost savings to value delivery and increasing the value of the brand itself,” Muttu summarized.