{"slug": "t-mobile-us-not-seeing-ai-derived-traffic-yet", "title": "T-Mobile US not seeing AI-derived traffic … yet", "summary": "T-Mobile US has not yet seen any AI-derived traffic on its mobile network, CTO John Saw said during the carrier's second-quarter earnings call, noting that current AI traffic is confined to wireline networks and data centers. Saw added that the carrier is prepared for future AI traffic growth with 5G-Advanced technologies and spectrum resources, while CEO Srini Gopalan highlighted physical AI and 6G as future drivers.", "body_md": "T-Mobile US has yet to see any actual AI-derived traffic on its mobile network, though the carrier’s management remains bullish on the network’s ability to handle growing data traffic.\n\nT-Mobile US CTO John Saw noted during the carrier’s second quarter earnings call that current AI-derived traffic is focused on “model training, large-scale agentic automations, and heavy backend automations,” with most of those “confined to wireline transport networks and massive data centers.”\n\n“This type of compute we have not seen putting a material strain on mobile networks,” Saw said. “We have not seen any surge in mobile traffic due to AI.”\n\nSaw did add that “if AI traffic continues to grow, especially with the growth of physical AI, I think we are more than prepared and we have sufficient runway to continue to invest in our capacity.”\n\nThat runway is paved with T-Mobile US’ [deepening pool of spectrum resources](https://www.sdxcentral.com/news/t-mobile-us-2g-network-shut-down-is-nigh-really/), its installation of some of the [more advanced 5G technologies](https://www.sdxcentral.com/news/t-mobile-us-teases-bigger-fiber-appetite-flexes-5g-advanced-update/), and the carrier’s [expanding fiber footprint](https://www.sdxcentral.com/news/t-mobile-us-projects-modest-fiber-growth/).\n\n“Remember, we rolled out 5G-Advance recently and are the only operator to do that, and one of the reasons why we did that is that is we want to improve the uplink performance, especially with the potential surge in AI mobile traffic soon,” Saw explained. “With 5G-Advance we have been able to improve uplink performance with uplink carrier aggregation, uplink MIMO [multiple-input, multiple-output], transmit switching, all that is actually in preparation for not just giving our customers with phones a better experience but also better uplink for future AI traffic that we expect to be seeing soon.”\n\n*SDxCentral* recently covered that AI-related uplink challenge as part of [feature report](https://www.sdxcentral.com/resources/sdxcentral-magazine-issue-1/).\n\nT-Mobile US CEO Srini Gopalan did quickly interject following Saw’s comments, noting that while the carrier has indeed not yet seen an AI-related surge, “we look forward to seeing it because our network's more prepared than anyone else.”\n\nGopalan [had previously touted physical AI](https://www.sdxcentral.com/news/t-mobile-us-ceo-stakes-carriers-6g-leadership-goal/) as a future driver of mobile network traffic. Those systems are designed to bring together different AI platforms to help in the development of physical items like autonomous vehicles and robots, which Gopala noted that sets the stage for the next iteration of AI in the real world and a specific reliance on 6G network technology.\n\n“I think there's a piece of moving away from ChatGPT as the fundamental form of AI to actually automation and robotics,” Gopolan said during an investor conference late last year. “Now, to make that happen, you need low-latency connections between the robot or the device and the network. Only 6G can give you that.”\n\nGopalan furthered that notion by stating 6G architecture plans are targeting so-called “edge AI,” which is the deployment of physical infrastructure at a network edge “that's not just capable of processing bits and bytes, but that's also capable of processing tokens.”\n\n“This has been talked about for a while, but with 6G it becomes real,” Gopalan said, adding, “that opens up some fascinating new revenue opportunities. … To have robots actually functioning, to have factories automated … you need a network that can deliver physical AI, a network that's low latency enough, and a network that can process not just bits and bytes, but also tokens.”\n\n## No AI yet, but FWA traffic remains manageable\n\nWhile AI traffic remains to be seen, T-Mobile US is continuing to see strong demand for its 5G-based fixed-wireless access (FWA) service that it has positioned as a robust competitor to rival fiber efforts.\n\nThe carrier has supported this service through what it terms a “fallow spectrum” model in which it sells FWA connections based on excess network capacity. However, analysts have questioned the ability for T-Mobile US to continue supporting a significant portion of its network traffic coming from that service, which typically generates less revenue than the carrier’s traditional handset-based connections.\n\nGopalan last year told an investor conference that the carrier’s FWA customers [were consuming an average of 580 gigabytes (GB) per month](https://www.sdxcentral.com/news/t-mobile-us-5g-based-fwa-consumption-explodes/) of data through that service. That was a significant increase from the approximately 450 GB of month [they were averaging two years ago](https://www.sdxcentral.com/news/t-mobile-us-5g-test-aims-to-boost-fwa-capacity-enterprise-focus/), further highlighting ongoing investor concerns over the ability for operators to maintain network quality in the face of surging FWA demand.\n\nGopalan during the latest earnings call countered a question about that service consuming a disproportionate amount of network resources compared with the financial return on that service.\n\n“Yes, FWA does consume a fair amount of our capacity, but this is where the numerator-denominator issue comes in,” Gopalan extoled. “It consumes a fair amount of our traffic today, which is not the same thing as a fair amount of our capacity, because our capacity is several times multiple of the traffic that we hold today, so we feel very comfortable with where we are with FWA today.”\n\nThat comfort level moving forward will rest with some new names in new places.\n\nThe carrier [earlier this month announced](https://www.sdxcentral.com/news/t-mobile-us-outlines-executive-reshuffle-as-mike-katz-steps-down/) that chief business and product officer Mike Katz will depart the carrier later this year. Katz will be replaced by former AT&T veteran Chris Sambar, who will take on the title of chief enterprise officer. Analysts noted this is a big win for T-Mobile US, citing Sambar’s extensive history at AT&T.\n\n“Chris Sambar joining T-Mobile as chief enterprise officer is the most underreported hire of the quarter,” Recon Analytics Founder Roger Entner [posted on LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7484882981975752704/). “He was a lead architect of FirstNet at AT&T, one of the most complex government wireless deployments ever executed. T-Mobile's enterprise business currently holds roughly 10% market share in federal and mid-market segments, concentrated heavily in microbusiness where the product still looks more like a consumer offer than a true enterprise solution. Sambar's ceiling here is enormous precisely because the floor was so low when his predecessors were celebrating ‘record quarters.’”\n\nOne of those “predecessors” is André Almeida, who has served as chief broadband, enterprise, and emerging business officer, a role that has been modified to chief marketing, brand, and broadband officer. This will see Almeida work with [recently promoted COO Jon Freier](https://www.sdxcentral.com/news/t-mobile-us-elevates-jon-freier-to-coo-amidst-ai-and-6g-focus/) to oversee the carrier's consumer wireless and broadband businesses.", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/t-mobile-us-not-seeing-ai-derived-traffic-yet", "canonical_source": "https://www.sdxcentral.com/news/t-mobile-us-not-seeing-ai-derived-traffic-yet/", "published_at": "2026-07-24 14:25:25+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-07-24 14:41:56.756283+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["artificial-intelligence", "ai-infrastructure", "ai-policy"], "entities": ["T-Mobile US", "John Saw", "Srini Gopalan", "5G-Advanced", "6G"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/t-mobile-us-not-seeing-ai-derived-traffic-yet", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/t-mobile-us-not-seeing-ai-derived-traffic-yet.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/t-mobile-us-not-seeing-ai-derived-traffic-yet.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/t-mobile-us-not-seeing-ai-derived-traffic-yet.jsonld"}}