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ITW 2026, held May 18-21 at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland, brought together global leaders from across the telecom, cloud, digital infrastructure, subsea network, and investment sectors. Across keynotes, panels and networking sessions, industry stakeholders explored how artificial intelligence, infrastructure investment, energy availability and policy considerations are reshaping the future of global connectivity. Throughout the week, operators, hyperscalers, policymakers, and investors discussed strategies for adapting communications networks and digital infrastructure to support rising AI demand, increasing capacity requirements, and the continued evolution of the global digital ecosystem.
Artificial intelligence and infrastructure readiness emerged as a major focus throughout the conference. During the keynote panel “Unleashing the 3 Pillars of AI,” Arno van Huyssteen, VP Global Telecom & AI Service Provider at Nscale, examined how AI is reshaping infrastructure strategies, accelerating demand for compute and connectivity, and influencing investment decisions across telecom and digital infrastructure ecosystems. Discussions explored how operators and infrastructure providers are preparing networks to support increasingly data-intensive workloads as enterprise expectations continue to evolve.
Policy and international coordination also shaped conversations across the Digital Infrastructure Policy & Investment Summit. Anjana Modi, Acting Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Cyberspace and Digital Policy at the U.S. Department of State, discussed the strategic importance of AI innovation and the role digital infrastructure plays in supporting economic competitiveness, national priorities, and long-term resiliency. Broader discussions throughout the summit focused on how governments and industry stakeholders are navigating geopolitical shifts while planning for future infrastructure growth.
Energy supply and infrastructure scaling remained important themes as demand for AI capacity continues to grow. During the panel “Investing in Energy to Power Digital Growth,” Tate Cantrell, Chief Technology Officer at VERNE, highlighted the growing need for reliable energy strategies, grid resiliency, and infrastructure planning to support increasing digital demand. Conversations throughout the session explored how operators are balancing performance expectations with long-term infrastructure readiness as AI workloads continue to expand.
Public perception and permitting challenges surrounding infrastructure deployment also became a major topic of discussion. Ilissa Miller, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of iMiller Public Relations, participated in the panel “Debunking the Data Center Misinformation Dilemma,” where she addressed the role communication, transparency, and community engagement play in navigating permitting processes and addressing misconceptions around digital infrastructure development. The session explored how public trust, land use concerns, and local engagement increasingly shape infrastructure planning and project execution.
Artificial intelligence infrastructure deployment and operational readiness were also explored during the “ITW Meetup: AI & Data Infrastructure” session. Doug Recker, CEO of Duos Edge AI, led discussions around designing fit-for-purpose AI-ready data centers and the infrastructure requirements needed to support growing enterprise demand for low-latency AI workloads. Conversations focused on deployment flexibility, infrastructure readiness, and how operators are preparing environments capable of supporting increasingly distributed AI applications.
Sustainability, operational efficiency, and responsible infrastructure planning also shaped broader agenda discussions. During the panel “Building Responsible Data Centers: Delivering Sustainable Operations at Scale,” Sriram Natarajan, Chief Technology Officer at Hypertec, examined how operators are adapting infrastructure strategies and operational models to improve efficiency while supporting continued digital growth. Discussions explored long-term sustainability planning, infrastructure resilience, and the operational considerations tied to rising compute density requirements across data center environments.
ITW is set to return on May 10-13, 2027 at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland. Information on future events is available through the official ITW website: www.internationaltelecomsweek.com
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TL;DR AI infrastructure planning is shifting from future strategy to immediate execution, with discussions focused on compute demand, interoperability, edge deployment, and the network requirements needed to support increasingly data-intensive workloads. Energy access, power availability, and long-term infrastructure resiliency emerged as critical priorities as operators, policymakers, and investors evaluate how to support rapid digital infrastructure
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ITW 2026, held May 18-21 at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland, brought together global leaders from across the telecom, cloud, digital infrastructure, subsea network, and investment sectors. Across keynotes, panels and networking sessions, industry stakeholders explored how artificial intelligence, infrastructure investment, energy availability and policy considerations are reshaping the future of global connectivity. Throughout the week, operators, hyperscalers, policymakers, and investors discussed strategies for adapting communications networks and digital infrastructure to support rising AI demand, increasing capacity requirements, and the continued evolution of the global digital ecosystem.
Artificial intelligence and infrastructure readiness emerged as a major focus throughout the conference. During the keynote panel “Unleashing the 3 Pillars of AI,” Arno van Huyssteen, VP Global Telecom & AI Service Provider at Nscale, examined how AI is reshaping infrastructure strategies, accelerating demand for compute and connectivity, and influencing investment decisions across telecom and digital infrastructure ecosystems. Discussions explored how operators and infrastructure providers are preparing networks to support increasingly data-intensive workloads as enterprise expectations continue to evolve.
Policy and international coordination also shaped conversations across the Digital Infrastructure Policy & Investment Summit. Anjana Modi, Acting Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Cyberspace and Digital Policy at the U.S. Department of State, discussed the strategic importance of AI innovation and the role digital infrastructure plays in supporting economic competitiveness, national priorities, and long-term resiliency. Broader discussions throughout the summit focused on how governments and industry stakeholders are navigating geopolitical shifts while planning for future infrastructure growth.
Energy supply and infrastructure scaling remained important themes as demand for AI capacity continues to grow. During the panel “Investing in Energy to Power Digital Growth,” Tate Cantrell, Chief Technology Officer at VERNE, highlighted the growing need for reliable energy strategies, grid resiliency, and infrastructure planning to support increasing digital demand. Conversations throughout the session explored how operators are balancing performance expectations with long-term infrastructure readiness as AI workloads continue to expand.
Public perception and permitting challenges surrounding infrastructure deployment also became a major topic of discussion. Ilissa Miller, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of iMiller Public Relations, participated in the panel “Debunking the Data Center Misinformation Dilemma,” where she addressed the role communication, transparency, and community engagement play in navigating permitting processes and addressing misconceptions around digital infrastructure development. The session explored how public trust, land use concerns, and local engagement increasingly shape infrastructure planning and project execution.
Artificial intelligence infrastructure deployment and operational readiness were also explored during the “ITW Meetup: AI & Data Infrastructure” session. Doug Recker, CEO of Duos Edge AI, led discussions around designing fit-for-purpose AI-ready data centers and the infrastructure requirements needed to support growing enterprise demand for low-latency AI workloads. Conversations focused on deployment flexibility, infrastructure readiness, and how operators are preparing environments capable of supporting increasingly distributed AI applications.
Sustainability, operational efficiency, and responsible infrastructure planning also shaped broader agenda discussions. During the panel “Building Responsible Data Centers: Delivering Sustainable Operations at Scale,” Sriram Natarajan, Chief Technology Officer at Hypertec, examined how operators are adapting infrastructure strategies and operational models to improve efficiency while supporting continued digital growth. Discussions explored long-term sustainability planning, infrastructure resilience, and the operational considerations tied to rising compute density requirements across data center environments.
ITW is set to return on May 10-13, 2027 at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland. Information on future events is available through the official ITW website: www.internationaltelecomsweek.com