Netcracker Wins TM Forum Open Innovation Catalyst Award for Cutting-Edge Physical AI Monetization

Netcracker, Along with Partners Including AT&T, China Mobile, and OmanTel, Demonstrated How CSPs Can Become the Trusted Intelligence Platform to Scale Physical AI

Netcracker Technology announced today that it has received the 2026 TM Forum Open Innovation Catalyst award during DTW Ignite for an inspiring and innovative project that showcases the vital role CSPs can play in the Physical AI market. The award recognizes the strong collaboration among key ecosystem players, including Netcracker, AT&T, China Mobile, OmanTel and Red Hat.

Physical AI requires intelligence to operate seamlessly across devices, the edge, the network and the cloud. The award spotlights Netcracker and its partners for demonstrating how CSPs can address this challenge and become the trusted orchestration layer for Physical AI at scale. By combining 5G, Edge AI-as-a-Service, service assurance, B2B2X monetization and partner orchestration, CSPs can deliver AI-native services that seamlessly connect intelligence to the physical world. Netcracker played a critical role with its AI-native BSS/OSS platform to deliver autonomous multi-domain operations, manage complex multi-partner workloads and scale flexible B2B2X business models.

The Catalyst project Robotic Dog: AI at the Edge, Sustainable Revenue at Scale showed an example of this in action, whereby a visually impaired user was guided safely through indoor and outdoor environments using real-time sensing, obstacle avoidance, voice interaction, route planning and edge-assisted perception.

“As AI continues to advance, applications that directly enhance lives and help people who might otherwise face significant challenges as they move through the world will create new opportunities for the telecom ecosystem,” said Aaron Boasman-Patel, Vice President, Innovation at TM Forum. “Our judging panel was especially impressed with seeing Physical AI in action in such a meaningful use case that will not only improve conditions for visually impaired individuals but also put CSPs right at the heart of the next major area for growth in telecom.”

“Being part of this exciting and meaningful project alongside key partners has been a very gratifying experience for our team,” said Bob Titus, Chief Technology Officer at Netcracker. “We’re proud to be recognized with this very prestigious award as we help operators take on a new role in the AI value chain, moving beyond connectivity to become trusted enablers of Physical AI and the future telecom ecosystem.”

About Netcracker Technology
Netcracker Technology, a wholly owned subsidiary of NEC Corporation, helps service providers around the world transform and grow in the digital economy. For more than three decades, our innovative AI-native digital platforms, value-focused services and unmatched delivery track record have enabled customers to modernize operations, improve customer experience and accelerate growth. With leadership in key areas including AI-driven operations, monetization, customer engagement, automation, 5G and industry-specific solutions, Netcracker helps service providers accelerate their telco to techco evolution and achieve sustainable business value. To learn more, visit www.netcracker.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261006137520/en/