Government officials, international standards bodies and the region’s leading telecom operators gathered in Bangkok on Tuesday (July 14) for the inaugural Broadband Development Summit APAC 2026, the first regional event of its kind convened under the banner of the World Broadband Association (WBBA).
Held under the theme “AI-Powered Connectivity: APAC Innovation for Accelerated Impact,” the summit set out to build regional consensus on how broadband, computing and cross-border digital infrastructure should evolve as AI reshapes demand on the region’s networks.
The gathering drew representation from the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), Thailand’s National Board of the Digital Economy and Society, the WBBA, the Internet Architecture Board (IAB), the Fiber Network Council Asia-Pacific (FNCAP), the World WLAN Application Alliance (WAA), the Network Infrastructure Development Alliance (NIDA), the ITU-WG1 Working Group and the IPv6 Council Expert Committee.
They were joined on stage and on the sidelines by operators from across the region — Telkomsel, XLSmart, Surge, Globe Telecom, AIS, China Mobile International and HKT — alongside industry partners including Huawei. Across a single day of sessions, the conversation kept returning to a handful of themes: AI-driven network upgrades, broadband infrastructure build-out, target-network evolution, network-computing convergence, cross-border connectivity, and the standards and ecosystem work needed to support all of it, according to a statement on Tuesday.
“To seize the opportunities of the AI era, we call on the industry to accelerate broadband evolution, advance computing-network synergy, and strengthen the cross-border connectivity. Together, let us build faster, smarter, and greener digital infrastructure for Asia-Pacific,” said Denny Deng, President of Asia Pacific Carrier Business, Huawei.
“High-speed broadband is no longer just about ‘getting online’ — it is the vital infrastructure upon which the entire AI revolution is being built. We view AI not merely as a tool, but as a primary engine for national competitiveness and a catalyst for improving the quality of life for all,” said Wetang Phuangsup, Secretary-General, the National Board of the Digital Economy and Society, Thailand.
“Three initiatives define the road to 2030. We must close the quality divide so the value of broadband reaches everyone. We must build AI-ready networks — 10G access, 800GE cores, intelligence end to end. And we must do it together, through shared standards,” added Martin Creaner, Director General of WBBA.
Across the sessions, a consistent view emerged: artificial intelligence is pushing the digital economy into a new, more intelligent phase, and network infrastructure is shifting accordingly — from delivering connectivity to delivering intelligent connectivity.
Speakers pointed to the deepening convergence of broadband, IP, computing and cross-border digital infrastructure as the foundation that will need to support AI application innovation, industrial digitalisation and closer regional coordination in the years ahead. The consensus in the room was that closing the gap between today’s networks and that future will require closer alignment on standards, sustained technical and commercial innovation, and deeper ecosystem collaboration — pushing broadband networks to become faster, smarter, greener and more secure.
At the summit, the WBBA officially launched the AI-Net Certification, a globally recognized benchmark in the data communications sector dedicated to countries and operators worldwide. The WBBA noted that the critical metrics for evaluating modern digital infrastructure now fall into three pillars: national policy guidance, collaborative industrial ecosystems, and the intelligence density of network infrastructure.
Based on this authoritative evaluation framework, XLSmart was named the first AI-Net Champion, and Indonesia became one of the first countries globally where an operator has achieved this certification, bolstered by its national Net5.5G strategic roadmap released last year and forward-looking industrial deployment.
In another high-profile segment, WBBA Director General Martin Creaner presented the WBBA Gigacity Certification to KOMDIGI (Indonesia), PT Solusi Sinergi Digital Tbk (SURGE), Telkomsel, AIS, TRUE, HKT, and Globe. Representing some of Asia-Pacific’s leading broadband pioneers, these certifications set regional benchmarks, showcase best practices, and inspire more cities and operators across the region to accelerate digital transformation and build the Gigacities of tomorrow.
A call to region
The summit closed with a joint call to action: as AI opens new opportunities across the region, governments, international organizations, operators and industry partners should deepen open collaboration — building standards together, innovating together, and sharing ecosystems together.
Delegates were urged to accelerate the coordinated development of broadband, computing and cross-border digital infrastructure, and to drive deeper convergence across cloud, network, compute, intelligence and security, in service of an open, secure, intelligent and green digital connectivity ecosystem.
The ambition, organizers said, is a new generation of digital infrastructure built for what comes next — one that gives sustained momentum to high-quality digital growth across Asia-Pacific, and moves the region closer to a future defined by intelligent connectivity, open collaboration and shared prosperity.