By Hamza Alamoosh, Director, Network Architecture, Carrier, EMEA, at Corning Optical Communications
The last decade promised great digital innovations such as virtual worlds where people would work, socialize, and learn online. Most of these visions never came to fruition. Limited bandwidth, insufficient computing power, costly devices, privacy concerns, cybersecurity issues, and liability risks stalled them.
However, AI is different. Unlike virtual ecosystems, which have proven difficult to realise, AI is tangible and quantifiable, and is set to transform the way we live, work, and govern. It is already bringing about transformative change, impacting industries and society in ways that virtual worlds could not. Those nations and corporations that invest in AI today will dominate the next wave of innovation.
Infrastructure and Energy for the AI Era
AI cannot thrive without infrastructure. Fibre-optic networks and 5G roll-out are accelerating, but demand will soon outpace supply. Density, attenuation, and latency are now defining factors, not footnotes. Telecom operators must evolve from service providers into the very backbone of intelligence, linking and building data centres while powering AI on a large scale.
In addition, the availability of energy has become a most pressing concern. Data centres consume vast quantities of power, and effectively scaling AI will require the use of affordable, sustainable energy sources to meet unprecedented demand. The ability to balance power density and attenuation while ensuring efficient energy usage will determine which players can remain competitive in this new AI era.
Getting It Right Will Make or Break the Future of Countries
GPU performance is doubling every 18 months, creating an intelligence surplus. AI is ready to run at a scale never seen before. Yet access is uneven. Wealthy nations and corporations pouring resources into AI will plough ahead, while others fall behind. AI is no longer just technology; it defines economic and geopolitical power.
Policy and regulation will shape adoption. Privacy, cybersecurity, and liability are critical, but bureaucratic delays could stall progress or create new risks. The countries that get this right will not only control the technology. They will define the rules of the AI era.
The Democratisation of Intelligence Will Boost Infrastructure Expansion
Just as smartphones forced networks to expand, AI is pushing infrastructure to its limits. 5G and eventually 6G networks will be stressed by democratized AI usage. Children today interact seamlessly with ChatGPT, Siri, and Grok. Tomorrow, AI will be sitting at the heart of daily life. The “AI brain” must move closer to users, driving unprecedented demand for connectivity and compute.
Telecom operators have a unique edge: rights of way, central office locations, networks to build on, and an existing customer base. Those who leverage these assets will become indispensable partners in the AI ecosystem. The challenge is transforming infrastructure into intelligence at scale, ready to serve a generation that expects instantaneous AI access.
Boldly Go… or Fall Behind
Fifty-five years ago, Corning scientists reduced fibre optics attenuation from 1,000 dB/km to 17 dB/km. Today, we are approaching 0.1 dB/km, and the next wave of innovation promises even more dramatic breakthroughs. AI is reaching a similar inflection point: abundant computing power, smarter networks, and infrastructure designed for large-scale use will make mass adoption inevitable. However, while innovations in fibre and AI infrastructure are setting the scene, they alone will not be enough to overcome the challenges that are currently impeding the adoption of AI. Only bold investment in AI infrastructure spanning bandwidth, computing power, energy and regulatory frameworks will be critical to unlocking AI’s transformative potential and ensuring global competitiveness.
The internet became essential because the necessary infrastructure was built before its potential for monetisation was clear. AI is following the same path. Economic opportunities will emerge, yet the ultimate applications are still unknown. What is clear is that the world of tomorrow will be determined by the actions taken today. Those who hesitate will watch from the sidelines as AI reshapes society, economies, and global power.
