Keynote Address: Building the Nervous System of a Thinking Economy

Keynote Address: Building the Nervous System of a Thinking Economy

Good morning,

As some of you might know, I spent 12 years as an adjunct professor, and I gave a lecture at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business on “What’s Your Business Model?”. (G1A-1)

This is a question that becomes critically important during periods of paradigm shifts, such as we are now seeing with the emergence of Artificial Intelligence and Quantum Computing.

To help illustrate this, I showed the Chicago business students the following clip from the movie, “The Founder” with Michael Keaton who plays Ray Kroc, the founder of McDonalds. In the scene I’m going to show you, Ray Kroc (Michael Keaton) is struggling as his McDonald’s restaurants are taking off but the in…

Ray Croc’s epiphany is not just a story about the past – it’s a preview of what matters now…

Over the past 25 years, we have been on a mission to connect every home with Fiber and by the end of this decade – just a few short years away. We will accomplish this mission. You, the people and companies represented in this room are the people quite literally shaping the future of connectivity.

For years, we’ve talked about fiber connectivity as:

· Homes passed.

· Homes connected.

· Locations served.

And yes, that all still matters.

But that language? It’s no longer sufficient for the moment we are in.

Because there’s been a seismic shift.

We are no longer just in an Information Economy.

We are entering a Thinking Economy.

Where value isn’t created by access to information.

…Thinking is.

· How fast you understand.

· How well you decide.

· And how quickly you act.

and acting on it instantly.

Which is why we aren’t just building a network.

We are building the nervous system of a Thinking Economy.

A Nervous System

A nervous system does three (3) things: It senses… It transmits… And it enables intelligent response.

That is exactly what fiber is becoming in the age of artificial intelligence.

And to understand the scale of this shift, we need to look at the numbers—and what they really mean.

The First System: Connecting the Nation

Over the past five (5) years, the United States has passed 45.9M homes with fiber, bringing us to more than 100M homes passed.

Over the next 5-yrs, we will connect another 60M unique homes with fiber.

In 2025 alone, we passed 11.8M homes, breaking the previous year’s record.

We will beat that record again this year.

Our research estimates that the Total Addressable Market for Fiber-To-The-Home in the U.S. will be in the range of 130M homes, when you include multiple passings.

And it not just large Tier 1 providers deploying fiber.

It’s…

Regional providers.

New entrants

Cable operators.

Rural telcos.

Electric Coops.

Municipal providers.

Together they account for 40% of fiber deployment last year – and that number is growing.

new fiber provider entrants and 71 fiber providers doubling their footprint in the past 6 months.

This isn’t incremental growth.

It’s one of the largest infrastructure expansions in modern American history.

And over 90% of the growth is being driven by private capital. (G2H)

AT&T, Verizon, Brightspeed, T-Mobile, Ziply, Google Fiber, Altafiber, C-Spire and a growing ecosystem of private equity-backed providers are deploying fiber at scale—racing toward a future where fiber reaches nearly every home and business.

AT&T alone is targeting 60 million-plus fiber locations by 2030, effectively doubling its footprint.

Why? Because fiber investment pays off.

It grows marketshare.

Increases ARPU.

Reduces OpEx.

Lowers carbon impact.

Increases service attachment.

And, most importantly, it future-proofs the network.

This is the first layer of the nervous system: Connectivity – everywhere.

The Second System is Connecting Intelligence

But at the same time, something even bigger is happening.

One that is redefining what fiber must do.

Artificial intelligence.

Today, Microsoft, Amazon, Google, and Meta are investing roughly $370 billion a year in AI infrastructure.

Meta alone has announced a $600 billion multi-year investment in U.S. AI infrastructure, alongside multi-billion-dollar commitments specifically for fiber and optical systems.

This is where fiber moves from “important”… to indispensable.

Because without fiber, Artificial Intelligence fails.

AI requires:

· Low latency for real-time inference

· Massive bandwidth for model training

· Resilient interconnection between hyperscale data centers

To support this, we will need:

3x more hyperscale data center capacity

And 3x more total fiber deployed.

This is the second layer of the nervous system: Intelligence – everywhere.

The Convergence: One System

Now here is the moment we are in –

These are not two separate systems.

They are converging into one.

The same fiber that connects a rural home… is part of the system that connects AI data centers.

The trench down a neighborhood street… is part of the same system enabling real-time intelligence.

The same capital markets funding FTTH expansion… are now fueling AI-driven network densification.

This is the system the economy uses to think.

An integrated whole nervous system.

As we move From Connectivity to Cognition, everything changes.

We are no longer optimizing networks just for speed.

We are optimizing them for intelligence in motion.

Because in a Thinking Economy, moving information is not enough.

You have to move intelligence—instantly, reliably, and at scale.

Who is Building this Nervous System?

Everyone in this room.

· Telecom operators expanding fiber-to-the-home

· Hyperscalers building AI data center campuses

· Infrastructure firms deploying middle-mile and long-haul fiber

· Manufacturers scaling optical systems and fiber capacity

Industries that were once separate, are converging.

The shared foundation.

The connective tissue between connectivity and computation.

What Is At Stake

Moments like this are rare.

Think electrification… the interstate highway system… the early internet.

But this is different.

Because this time, we are not just building infrastructure for movement.

We are building infrastructure for Thinking.

And what we build now, will determine who leads – and who falls behind.

The Challenge Ahead

Let’s be clear: building a nervous system is not easy.

We face real constraints:

· Power availability for data centers

· Supply chain bottlenecks

· Workforce shortages—over 200,000 additional workers needed in fiber deployment alone

· Faster permitting and smarter policy

And perhaps most importantly—

The need to ensure this nervous system is inclusive.

Because a nervous system that doesn’t reach everyone, limits the intelligence of the whole.

Wiring Intelligence Into the Economy

So, when we talk about the “State of Fiber,” we need to take a new look at what we are doing.

We are not just connecting people.

We are connecting intelligence.

We are not just supporting the economy. We are enabling it to think.

We are not just laying fiber.

We are lighting up intelligence into every home, every business, every system.

We are building the nervous system of a thinking world.

And the speed, resilience, and reach of that system will define what is possible in the decades ahead.

Lightyears Ahead

That’s why this year’s theme matters.

Lightyears Ahead.

Because this isn’t about incremental progress. It’s about building a system that leaps.

Because when you build the nervous system of a Thinking Economy,

you don’t move slightly ahead.

You move light years ahead.

This week at FiberConnect 2026, we will explore what that means.

From AI.

To telehealth.

To agriculture.

To entertainment.

To policy.

Closing with our AI and Emerging Tech Infrastructure Summit, featuring an opening keynote from my favorite Quantum physicist, Dr. Michio Kaku.

Fiber Connect 2026 is where the conversation expands.

Where we enable what comes next.

Where we begin to build the nervous system of a thinking world.

And where we answer the question – what becomes possible when that nervous system is fully alive.

Have an incredible week.

Thank you.