Telefónica has tied Level 4 autonomous networking to its 2026-30 Transform & Grow plan, with a target to reach that level in Spain, Brazil and Germany by 2030.
The keyword here is autonomous networking: Telefónica is not talking about isolated automation projects, but about commercial network operations that move toward end-to-end control. That roadmap sits inside Transform & Grow, which has six strategic pillars and includes technology capabilities such as AI and edge computing.
What Telefónica put into the plan
Telefónica says one pillar is built around technology capability upgrades. It includes agentic AI, a push to prioritize return on investment through that approach, and the use of AI to reduce manual interventions.
Andrea Folgueiras, Telefónica’s CTIO, said the operator is aiming for end-to-end automation rather than automating only certain tasks or domains. She also said the work is being treated as an end-to-end process that includes reskilling employees.
Why the Level 4 target matters to operators
Telefónica’s target is specific enough for competitors and suppliers to benchmark against: Level 4 in TM Forum’s six-step taxonomy, not a vague automation ambition. The company is also setting that bar across three named markets, not just in a single pilot network.
That makes the plan easier to measure, and harder to reframe later as a generic digital-transformation slogan.
Telefónica’s market-by-market rollout
Telefónica’s autonomous networking effort is progressing at different rates across multiple markets. Andrea Folgueiras became CTIO at the end of March 2025, succeeding Enrique Blanco, so this roadmap is landing under relatively new network leadership.
Read for autonomous-networking planners
For network strategy teams, Telefónica has now put a date and a taxonomy level on its automation program: Level 4 by 2030 in Spain, Brazil and Germany. That is the kind of target vendors, operators and integrators will use when they compare automation roadmaps.