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June 23, 2025

WBBA Broadband Development Congress Shanghai 2025 | Smarter Infrastructure: Converging AI and Broadband

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Shanghai, June 19 — The World Broadband Association (WBBA) successfully convened the 2025 Broadband Development Congress in Shanghai, spotlighting the theme: “Smarter Infrastructure: Converging AI and Broadband.” This global congress brought together industry leaders, world-renowned experts, and leading scholars to explore how artificial intelligence, and broadband innovation can jointly power the next chapter of the digital economy.

 

Global Vision, Industry Leadership

The congress opened with keynote addresses from Dr Zhengmao Li, Chairman of the Board, WBBA; Vivek Badrinath, Director General, GSMA; Dr Houlin Zhao, Chairman of Advisory Committee, WBBA and former Secretary-General, ITU; and Ruiwen Ke, Executive Director, Chairman and CEO, China Telecom.

Distinguished speakers such as David Wang, Executive Director, Huawei; Ronan de Renesse, Vice President, Telecom Research, Omdia; Hongtao Lyu, Deputy GM of Construction and Development Department,  China Unicom; Bill Huang, Founder & CEO of Dataa Robotics; and Dr Jiawei Shao, Research Scientist, China Telecom AI Research Institute, delivered insightful presentations on the convergence of AI and broadband.

 

Highlights & Strategic Insights

Dr Zhengmao Li shared key milestones from WBBA’s first half of 2025, including expanded board elections and the formal establishment of an Advisory Committee. He reaffirmed WBBA’s commitment to openness, inclusivity, and global collaboration—strengthening its role as a bridge for international cooperation in building a robust, intelligent digital infrastructure.

Vivek Badrinath emphasized that smarter infrastructure requires not only innovation but also strong investment and supportive regulatory frameworks. He highlighted the aligned missions of GSMA and WBBA, underscoring their intent to collaborate broadly and deeply to ensure the AI revolution benefits the entire industry ecosystem.

Dr Houlin Zhao introduced the strategic role of the Advisory Committee, pledging it would serve as a think tank for WBBA’s growth. He also officially appointed two new advisors: Boris Koprivnikar, former Deputy Prime Minister of Slovenia, and Brahima Sanou, former Director of the ITU Telecommunication Development Bureau.

Ruiwen Ke articulated China Telecom’s vision for AI and broadband as core pillars of future societal progress. He called for global cooperation through WBBA to promote secure, fair, and innovation-driven AI development, while sharing China Telecom’s own practices of cloud-network integration, industry empowerment, and AI governance.

 

Industry Innovation & Technological Frontiers

Dr Ronan de Renesse explored the evolving synergies between AI and broadband, presenting a strategic framework and real-world use cases to help operators turn AI-powered networks into profitable ventures.

David Wang outlined Huawei’s “All Intelligence” strategy in the era of general-purpose AI, showcasing its Ultra-Broadband (UBB) solutions and expressing a desire to collaborate globally to seize new AI-driven growth opportunities.

Hongtao Lyu introduced China Unicom’s dual-focus approach: “Network for AI” and “AI for Network.” He reaffirmed Unicom’s dedication to advancing AI-broadband integration through WBBA, while expanding cooperation with global standards bodies such as ITU, 3GPP, and GSMA.

Bill Huang described how large language models are catalysing a new AI revolution, enabling end-to-end embodied intelligence in humanoid robots—hailed as the third computing platform after PCs and smartphones. He showcased HARIX OS and a new “learn by demonstration” programming paradigm, aimed at accelerating the intelligent robotics ecosystem.

Dr Jiawei Shao unveiled AI Flow, an intelligent interconnection technology powered by family-based AI models. Designed to overcome device constraints and cloud latency, AI Flow supports collaborative edge-cloud intelligence, aiming to realize “AI Without Borders.”

 

Deep-Dive Panel Discussion

In a high-impact panel session, Martin Creaner, Director General, WBBA, Ziping Liu, Deputy Secretary General, Asia Pacific Telecommuity, Darius Delgado, Chief Commercial Officer, Globe Telecom, Benton Gong, CIO, Head of Technology and Operations, DBS Bank China, and Peter Hu, Vice President, GM of Wireline Marketing, ZTE discussed how AI can drive value creation, promote cross-sector collaboration, and reshape the future of telecom and enterprise operations.

 

New Industry White Papers Released

Three white papers were unveiled at the event:

  • Expanding Advanced Fixed Broadband Networks for All
  • Circular Economies and the Evolution of Fixed Broadband
  • Beyond Broadband: Revolutionizing CPN Connectivity

 

These publications explore how technologies such as Wi-Fi 7, FTTR, deterministic networking, and AI are reshaping the broadband landscape—offering actionable guidance for the future of fixed network development.

 

Building the Future of Global Cloud-Network Broadband

This landmark conference gathered the world’s most influential voices from across the broadband and cloud-networking sectors to exchange ideas, ignite innovation, and foster strategic partnerships. Together, participants laid the groundwork for an intelligent, integrated, and inclusive digital future.

 

About WBBA

The World Broadband Association (WBBA) is a global, industry-led, multilateral, and non-profit organization headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. With over 170 members—including China Telecom, China Unicom, Swisscom, and Huawei—WBBA is committed to guiding the future of cloud-network broadband through collaboration and innovation.

In 2024, WBBA launched the Cloud-Network Broadband Excellence Awards, recognizing trailblazers driving innovation and transformation across network infrastructure, AI, and beyond. This year’s awards are now open for submissions, with the prestigious ceremony to be held in October in Paris during WBBA’s Annual Flagship Conference. Industry leaders are warmly invited to join the celebration and help shape the next era of broadband excellence.

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Key Messages
Key Messages
Recommendations
Recommendations
The Importance of Greater Broadband Investment​
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Key Messages

Advanced cloud technology together with superior end-to-end connectivity can enable a wider and more sophisticated range of applications that can in turn drive greater innovation, efficiency, and wealth.
Both enterprises and broader industry ecosystems are actively looking at broadband’s role in enabling their digital transformation. Most respondents to the WBBA’s Thought Leadership Enterprise Survey stated that they need faster and more reliable internet to run their business applications.
Certainly, in the short to medium term, xDSL, cable modem, fixed-wireless access (FWA), and satellite are all expected to have a role in the delivery of broadband services. However, full-fiber access will always deliver the optimum experience and remains the most sustainable and cost-efficient option.
There is a danger therefore for governments to base their cost-benefit analysis on a national economic view. However, such analysis will miss all the social benefits, as well as the more local economic benefits, that advanced broadband networks can bring. Governments must take all benefits into account, including more localized ones, when creating national broadband policies.
However, future applications will not only need ultra-high-speed services but also ultra-low latency and jitter, with high levels of reliability and consistency if they are to function properly. Countries with networks that are not capable of meeting such criteria will be left behind as the world moves to the next phase of internet applications such as the “metaverse.”
Fiber networks are significantly more environmentally friendly than equivalent copper-based networks, and can help support other green initiatives such as greater working from home, the use of advanced videoconferencing, etc. Fiber-based networks also require less maintenance due to there being less active equipment in the field, and can therefore reduce operators’ operational costs.
With rollout of new access technologies like 5G and Fiber, IPv6 reached more than 30% penetration worldwide (APNIC) and is rapidly growing. IPv6 Enhanced technologies, including segment routing over IPv6, per flow monitoring and AI, enable a multitude of objects and people to be flexibly connected to the proper services, granting end-to-end quality of experience.
Based on the responses from the WBBA Thought Leadership Survey, respondents believed, on average, this coverage could be expanded to approximately 70% through private investment. It is clear that government support will be needed to get to 100%.
However, a lack of data on the available infrastructure, access to key infrastructure such as ducts and in-building networks, and a lack of understanding both internally and externally are also key barriers to further investment.
Respondents to the WBBA survey stated that a reduction in regulatory barriers, greater flexibility in partnership arrangements, copper switch-off regulations, and setting out minimum service standards for network installations, would all take priority over financial support.

Recommendations

All countries must look to maximize the potential of broadband. This means creating long-term national broadband plans that evolve around three basic phases of broadband adoption:

  • Phase 1: Fast deployment of basic connectivity (most likely focusing on wireless technologies)
  • Phase 2: Continued rollout of fixed-broadband access to 100% of premises
  • Phase 3: Continued investment in advanced broadband technologies to move to gigabit societies and beyond.

In order to help facilitate this evolution to advanced broadband networks, government organizations and regulators must consider:

  • Implementing regulatory flexibility, including the removal of outdated or non-essential regulation
  • Introducing flexibility in partnership arrangements; for example, allowing agreements between players, such as co-financing, collaborative models, public-private partnerships, etc.
  • Facilitating deployment through municipality approvals, using existing resources (government buildings, streetlights, ducts, etc.) and sharing infrastructure and facilities, including in-building networks. This should also include other types of utility infrastructure where possible
  • Providing financial assistance through investment support, incentives, and subsidies; e.g., universal service funds
  • Improving access to telecom facilities and physical infrastructure; improving procedures for rights of way and accessing public infrastructure, as well as broadband mapping.
Making the Recommendations a Reality

Operators, enterprises, vendors, regulators, and policy-makers should seek to create a collective voice, to evangelize, advocate, co-create, and partner in the drive toward the provision of ultra-broadband networks and services for all. Organizations such as the WBBA can help by influencing key stakeholders through discussion, education, and promotion. Specifically, the WBBA should aim to:

  • Set out the importance of greater broadband investment, not just for the good of the service provider but for countries as a whole
  • Promote regulatory, legislative, public relations agendas that help advance the interests of members through WBBA publications and live events, highlighting best-practice business models from around the world to remove any “lack of understanding at boardroom level”
  • Influence through research, discussion, and promotion of new potential marketing or naming concepts for fixed broadband to ease mass-market understanding of the different generations of broadband access – hiding technical jargon such as “Mbps,” “latency,” and “jitter” from the customer
  • Through thought leadership, media activity, and live events, continue to make the case for what governments need to recognize and do to close the industry innovation, socioeconomic, and environmental benefit gaps through infrastructure investment
  • Explore through new research the challenges and opportunities arising from changes in the industry structure, addressing its impact on the business and the standardization landscape. This includes aspects of fiber wholesale, the move toward horizontal industry structure with separation of infrastructure and services, and the change of customer relationship to digital
  • Work with stakeholder partners to understand and promote the potential of future applications that will bring new benefits to broadband customers and wider society
  • Develop in-depth thought-leadership research on the new revenue opportunities advanced networks can provide to service providers in both the consumer and enterprise markets
  • Develop and highlight best-practice investment models that show the true return on investment of a full-fiber rollout to both private companies and government organizations
  • Champion the needs of its members to highlight barriers to future investment, creating a platform to enable open discussion between different types of stakeholder to encourage greater cooperation and new partnerships.

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China Telecom Corporation Limited (“China Telecom” or the “Company”, a joint stock limited company incorporated in the People’s Republic of China with limited liability, together with its subsidiaries, collectively the “Group”) is a large-scale and leading integrated intelligent information services operator in the world, providing wireline & mobile telecommunications services, Internet access services, information services and other value-added telecommunications services primarily in the PRC.

As at the end of 2020, the Company had mobile subscribers of about 351 million, wireline broadband subscribers of about 159 million and access lines in service of about 108 million. The Company’s H shares are listed on the Main Board of The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (the “Hong Kong Stock Exchange” or “HKSE”).

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Founded in 1987, Huawei is a leading global provider of information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure and smart devices. We have approximately 197,000 employees and we operate in over 170 countries and regions, serving more than three billion people around the world.

Huawei’s mission is to bring digital to every person, home and organization for a fully connected, intelligent world. To this end, we will: drive ubiquitous connectivity and promote equal access to networks to lay the foundation for the intelligent world; provide the ultimate computing power to deliver ubiquitous cloud and intelligence; build powerful digital platforms to help all industries and organizations become more agile, efficient, and dynamic; redefine user experience with AI, offering consumers more personalized and intelligent experiences across all scenarios, including home, travel, office, entertainment, and fitness & health.

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At Nokia, we create technology that helps the world act together.

The world is facing fundamental challenges. Pressure on the planet is increasing, productivity is stalling and access to opportunity remains stubbornly unequal. Technology is central to the solution.

Through technology leadership and trusted partnerships, we deliver critical networks to help address global issues.  We have the power to bring together the world’s people, machines and devices, sensing and acting in real time at massive scale. Our critical networks go beyond connectivity to enable self-optimizing, intelligent systems both locally and globally.

With our customers we deliver solutions that respond to climate change through more efficient use and re-use of the world’s resources, restore productivity growth by bringing digital to the physical industries it has not yet reached and provide more inclusive access globally to work, healthcare and education.

We create meaningful interactions to drive human progress.

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The technology world as we know it, is changing faster than ever. In a dynamic and complex landscape, the stakes are high, and the challenges and opportunities are real.

At the start of 2020 we formed Omdia by unifying the depth and breadth of expertise from Informa Tech’s legacy research brands: Ovum, IHS Markit Technology, Tractica and Heavy Reading. This empowered us to serve the technology industry like never before.

Today, we help organizations make better technology choices for their business and enable technology innovators to better understand and reach the markets they hope to serve.

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Swisscom is Switzerland’s leading telecom provider and one of its foremost IT companies, headquartered in Ittigen, close to the capital city, Bern. Its subsidiary Fastweb has built up a strong position on the Italian market. Swisscom brooks no compromise when it comes to serving customer needs; it focuses on service and quality and invests massively in the networks of the future.

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Openreach Limited runs the UK’s digital network. We’re the people who connect homes, schools, hospitals, libraries, businesses – large and small, broadcasters and governments to the world. It’s our mission to build the best possible network with the highest quality of service, and make sure that everyone in the UK can be connected. We’re a wholly owned subsidiary of BT Group and our customers are the 650+ communications providers who sell phone, broadband and Ethernet services to homes and businesses.

Openreach is made up of four divisions – service delivery, fibre and network delivery, strategic infrastructure development, and headquarters.

Our 35,000 people are hugely experienced, resourceful and innovative. They tackle complicated engineering problems – from coordinating works with councils, highways agencies, energy suppliers and landowners, to installing and maintaining the complex kit that provides fibre broadband services. They go the extra mile and take on any challenge to build a better, faster and more affordable network that helps our customers stay connected.