UK and India sign MoU to deploy AI in telecoms to combat cross-border digital fraud

The UK government and the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) signed a Memorandum of Understanding on September 14, 2026, to cooperate on artificial intelligence-enabled telecoms approaches to online fraud, scams and harms, the British High Commission New Delhi announced on September 15, 2026.

MoU Framework and AI Scope

The MoU establishes a framework under which the two telecoms industries will exchange learning and knowledge and build engagement around the key digital fraud-related issues affecting India and the UK. It sets out how the industries can apply the latest technologies and approaches alongside recent advancements in AI, which the announcement describes as transforming how networks are designed, managed and secured across the digital economy.

The High Commission said the agreement is intended to strengthen fraud resilience in both countries by making industry central to the response to a global problem. It described digital fraud as a growing transnational organised crime that requires close co-ordination between governments and industry, and said the collaboration will bring together experts from the UK and India to make the digital ecosystem safer and more trusted. Fraud is not confined by borders, it added.

Statements From Mellor and Kochhar

“We are living through an extraordinary period of technological change,” Ben Mellor, Acting British High Commissioner to India, said in the announcement, adding that AI is transforming the way communication networks are designed and secured. He said industry partners play a central role in protecting citizens, businesses and institutions from harmful actors, making close collaboration between governments and industry essential. The agreement, he said, reflects a shared UK-India commitment to address emerging challenges where telecommunications and digital security meet.

Lt. Gen. Dr. SP Kochhar, Director General of COAI, said India’s next phase of connectivity must be intelligent, secure, resilient and citizen-centric. He said telecom networks would increasingly operate as AI-enabled systems in their own right rather than only supporting AI workloads, capable of optimising performance, strengthening security, improving service quality and protecting consumers from emerging digital risks. The agreement, he said, underscores the importance of trusted international collaboration in shaping the future of digital connectivity.

COAI said in a post on X published on September 14, 2026, that the MoU signed at CO.AI 2026 marked an important step towards stronger cooperation on AI, digital connectivity, digital trust and responsible technology-led innovation. The association said the partnership reinforces a shared commitment to building a trusted, resilient and future-ready digital ecosystem, and its post tagged India’s Department of Telecommunications, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, the Ministry of Electronics and IT, UK in India, Cisco India and HPE India.

UK Fraud Figures and Domestic Strategy

The announcement set the agreement against UK fraud figures. More than two-thirds of fraud cases in the UK have an international element, making fraud a global problem with significant cross-border activity. Fraud against individuals and businesses is the largest reported crime type in England and Wales and cost the economy £14.4 billion in 2023 to 2024.

The UK has committed to investing over £250 million between 2026 and 2029 to deliver a new Fraud Strategy aimed at combating fraud against individuals and businesses. The strategy includes an Online Crime Centre, launched in April 2026, that brings together specialists from government, the police, intelligence agencies, banks, mobile networks and major technology firms to drive co-ordinated action against fraud, alongside a Telecoms Fraud Charter intended to drive industry adoption of AI and a new Report Fraud service. The High Commission said the UK government is focused on reducing crime and boosting economic growth.

Technology Security Initiative and Vision 2035

The High Commission said the partnership strengthens commitments under the Technology Security Initiative (TSI) and UK-India Vision 2035 to ensure that technological innovation, including the development and adoption of AI, strengthens rather than undermines trust in digital services, and that these initiatives will allow the UK and India to shape the future of advanced communication and AI technologies domestically and worldwide.

The signing took place alongside a CO.AI (Communications and AI) panel discussion, which the announcement described as the first formal collaboration between the UK and COAI, with representatives from industry, the Government of India and the British High Commission. Attendees included the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, the Department of Telecommunications, Vodafone, Jio Infocomm and Bharti Airtel.

Under the 2024 Technology Security Initiative, the two countries are developing the UK-India Connectivity and Innovation Centre and the UK-India Joint Centre for AI.