Reshaping Network Value for New Growth in the AI Era

During Network X 2026, the World Broadband Association (WBBA) hosted the Broadband Development Congress (BDC) in Vienna. At the congress, Bob Chen, President of Huawei Optical Business Product Line, delivered a keynote speech titled “Reshaping Network Value for New Growth in the AI Era.” He emphasized the necessity of shifting network construction concepts in the AI era based on three “R”s–Rebuilding network architecture, Reshaping business model, and Redefining network O&M–to reshape network value and achieve new growth.

Bob Chen mentioned that, looking back over the past three decades, every boom in services–from voice and the Internet to video–has relied on network support. Today, AI is developing at a rapid pace. Large AI models now feature nearly 10 trillion parameters, and token consumption has surged nearly 50-fold over the past year. In the AI era, the objects, frequency, and quality of network connections have all undergone dramatic shifts. The entire industry must rethink how to reshape network value.

Chen pointed out that the most crucial element in reshaping network value is shifting network construction philosophy: network planning and building must center around AI service demands and AIDC layouts, while AI technology should be adopted to elevate O&M capabilities. This can be summarized into three “R”s. Rebuild network architecture: transitioning from traditional administrative region-centered networks to AIDC-centered networks. Reshape business model: for enterprise, upgrading from selling bandwidth alone to selling “bandwidth + latency + reliability”, along with integrated computing-network services; and for home broadband: evolving from providing pure broadband connectivity to whole-home networking, and ultimately smart home experiences. Redefine network O&M: evolving from traditional semi-automated operations toward full-lifecycle intelligence.

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Rebuild Network Architecture

In the past, networks were structured around administrative regions, divided into national backbone, provincial backbone, and metro networks. With the rise of AI, the number of AIDCs has grown nearly 10-fold, and traffic volume is no longer determined by population, but by computing power.

Take Zhongwei, China as an example: in the past, its traffic accounted for only about 0.1% of China’s total. Today, Zhongwei has become one of China’s eight national computing hubs, with its intelligent computing traffic accounting for over 10% of the country’s total bandwidth, making it a core node in the AIDC interconnect network. Similar cases are taking place worldwide.

Therefore, network architecture must shift from being administrative region-centered to AIDC-centered. Networks should be organized into hierarchical layers around Core DCs, Regional DCs, and Edge DCs. Direct one-hop mesh connections between DCs enable deterministic 1-5-20 ms latency circles and rapid time-to-market.

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Reshape Business Model

For enterprise segment, as AI accelerates, enterprise production models are transforming. For instance, an AI industrial design firm in China uses AI rendering to drastically shorten production cycles, and real-time AI rendering demands latency below 2 milliseconds. To capitalize on such opportunities, operators can upgrade private lines from a single dimension of bandwidth to multi-dimensional offerings: “Bandwidth + Latency + Reliability.” Powered by OXC, ASON, and Quantum Encryption, networks can deliver deterministic latency, high reliability, and top security, significantly boosting private line value. Furthermore, leveraging computing platforms, operators can evolve from selling networks to selling “Network + Computing + Model/Application”, delivering integrated computing-network services.

For home broadband segment, operators can upgrade from providing basic broadband connections to the “One Fiber, One Network, One Home” strategy: One Network refers to delivering high-quality whole-home Wi-Fi with FTTR or Wi-Fi Mesh. One Home means providing rich smart applications powered by home AI terminals and AI agents. In addition, home AI agents are reshaping home broadband interaction models–allowing users to interact in real time, and control home networks through simple voice commands.

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Redefine Network O&M

In the AI era, end-to-end intelligence across planning, construction, maintenance, optimization, and operation must be realized through network element intelligence, network intelligence, and service intelligence. For example, most home network complaints stem from Wi-Fi issues. Today, AI Wi-Fi tuning automatically identifies interference sources and types, making real-time adjustments to transmit power and other parameters–boosting Wi-Fi speeds by approximately 20% in interference environments.

Second, for AI energy saving, previously, network equipment ran at full capacity regardless of traffic levels, consuming unnecessary substantial power. Now, intelligent traffic analysis enables smart dynamic power adjustments for OLT chassis and line cards, reducing total device energy consumption by over 20%.

Last, for intelligent fault self-healing, home broadband troubleshooting is categorized into three tiers. Self-Healing: Air-interface issues like roaming failures are automatically fixed by O&M AI agents. Remote O&M: Configuration parameter issues are processed remotely at the NOC with AI agent assistance. On-Site Visits: Physical fiber connection issues are precisely localized with O&M Copilot assistance.

“Facing the AI era, we must shift our philosophy to Rebuild network architecture, Reshape business model, and Redefine network O&M,” Bob Chen concluded. “Through these three ‘R’s, we can reshape UBB network value and jointly move towards new growth in the AI era!”

Source : Huawei