The following summary has been condensed for length and readability. To listen to the full discussion, click here. This episode is sponsored by intelegrate and VETRO FiberMap.
Broadband is entering a new era where fiber infrastructure, artificial intelligence (AI), and digital sovereignty are becoming strategic advantages. In this episode of The Broadband Bunch, Martin Creaner, Director General of the World Broadband Association (WBBA), explains why network operators have an opportunity to move beyond connectivity and become partners in the AI economy.
For years, broadband providers have focused on expanding coverage, increasing speeds, and improving reliability. Those priorities remain essential, but the conversation is changing. AI workloads, cloud computing, and growing concerns around digital sovereignty are creating new demands for high-performance broadband networks.
According to Creaner, operators that invest in fiber, embrace AI strategically, and prepare for agentic technologies will be better positioned to capture new revenue opportunities over the next decade.
After decades dominated by mobile innovation, Creaner believes the industry is entering a period where fixed broadband once again becomes the foundation of digital infrastructure.
Emerging technologies such as AI, robotics, cloud computing, immersive applications, and ultra-high-definition video all require reliable, low-latency connectivity. Fiber provides the bandwidth and performance necessary to support these workloads.
While mobile networks continue to play an important role, Creaner argues that the next generation of digital services will depend on high-quality fixed broadband infrastructure.
Founded in 2021, the World Broadband Association was created to give the global fixed broadband industry a unified voice similar to what the GSMA provides for the mobile ecosystem.
Today, the WBBA focuses on helping governments, operators, investors, and technology providers understand where broadband is headed through research and industry collaboration.
Its current initiatives include:
Creaner explains that fiber remains an attractive long-term investment because infrastructure can deliver value for decades. However, successful investments depend on more than simply deploying fiber.
Investors are increasingly evaluating:
In many markets, the challenge isn’t building networks—it’s ensuring enough customers adopt the services to create strong returns on investment.
The WBBA publishes several global indices that help governments and operators evaluate broadband readiness and investment opportunities.
These include:
These benchmarks provide valuable insight into where countries and cities are succeeding—and where additional investment is needed.
Creaner has spent years writing about digital transformation in telecommunications, but he believes AI is fundamentally reshaping that conversation.
Rather than affecting only automation, AI is influencing nearly every aspect of telecommunications, including:
He argues that telecommunications providers must prepare not only for AI tools but also for an emerging agentic economy, where AI agents complete increasingly complex tasks with minimal human involvement.
Creaner believes the industry is currently experiencing an AI investment bubble fueled by massive spending on GPUs and data centers before sustainable business models have fully emerged.
Rather than expecting a sudden collapse, he predicts a gradual market correction over the next several years as organizations shift their focus from infrastructure spending to developing profitable AI services. Once stronger business models emerge, investment is likely to accelerate again.
His perspective encourages broadband providers to remain optimistic about AI while making thoughtful, long-term investment decisions.
As governments and enterprises seek greater control over where data is stored and how AI services are delivered, telecommunications providers are well positioned to become trusted partners.
Creaner believes operators can play a larger role by offering:
Rather than competing directly with hyperscale cloud providers, broadband operators may increasingly serve as trusted intermediaries that deliver secure, compliant infrastructure to enterprise customers.
Creaner leaves operators with three clear priorities:
These trends are reshaping telecommunications, and operators that act early may be better positioned to lead the next phase of broadband innovation.
The World Broadband Association is a global nonprofit organization focused on advancing fixed broadband through research, collaboration, investment guidance, and industry standards.
Fiber delivers the bandwidth, reliability, and low latency needed to support AI, cloud computing, robotics, gaming, and future digital applications.
Digital sovereignty refers to giving governments and organizations greater control over their data, cloud infrastructure, and AI services, often through trusted national or regional providers.
Agentic AI refers to AI systems that can make decisions and complete multi-step tasks with limited human intervention, creating new opportunities and challenges for broadband providers.
Broadband providers own and operate the infrastructure that AI depends on. As demand grows for secure connectivity, sovereign cloud services, and high-performance fiber networks, operators have an opportunity to expand beyond traditional connectivity services.
© 2026 Enhanced Telecommunications.
