“Wireless infrastructure is really AI infrastructure.” This was a main theme repeated by several panelists, including Crown Castle (NYSE: CCI) COO Cathy Piche and Verizon (NYSE: VZ) CTO/SVP Strategy and Tech Enablement Yago Tenorio at WIA’s “Building the AI Future” event Wednesday in Washington, D.C.
Looking at the big picture, Qualcomm (NASDAQ: QCOM) SVP/Spectrum Policy and Regulatory Counsel John Kuzin said, “AI infrastructure is absolutely critical. No one plugs in anything anymore when you want to connect to the web.” He emphasized that “from Qualcomm’s perspective, it’s absolutely critical to have advanced network infrastructure to support the growth of AI.”
“Yago referred to the AI revolution,” said SBA Communications (NASDAQ: SBAC) EVP/Chief Administrative Officer and General Counsel John Koenig. “AI is another use case for mobile computing. It needs a delivery mechanism and that’s what wireless infrastructure is. You need an enabler for the AI boom and that is wireless connectivity.”
Koenig continued, “We are seeing more now in the AI ecosystem but there will be more to come, especially while spectrum is limited now. There’s going to be more tower sites.” He said wireless use is predicted to “more than double by 2030. That’s going to require more infrastructure.”
Asked how the FCC sees the future, FCC Senior Counsel and Chief AI Officer Arpan Sura discussed Chairman Carr’s Build America plan. Three pillars of the plan are: unleashing infrastructure builds, restoring America’s leadership in wireless and reducing red tape. “This is sorely needed,” Sura said, “You need data centers, towers, [and] energy.”
Citing BEAD and the Chips Act, Sura called them examples of “regulatory sclerosis,” where “we were not able to build things.” He singled out NEPA, for example, “Rules like NEPA were supposed to be a narrow category, [which has] become a hot bed for abuse in recent years, slowing down infrastructure projects.” Sura explained that’s why the FCC has begun overhauling its NEPA regulations “to come in line more of what Congress assigned to us.”
The panelists were asked what else the industry should discuss concerning AI. SBA’s Koenig said, “We’re not talking enough about the delivery mechanism AI will need.” He also mentioned the need for an AI-ready workforce, noting “the workforce in telecom is very specialized. We need to continue to train that workforce. They’re building and climbing towers and AI has the ability to make them safer.”
“The rest of the world knows today where they will be deploying 6G systems. In the U.S., we have bands we’re looking at. That work needs to start already,” said Qualcomm’s Kuzin. He also cited the need to know what federal agencies will be operating in those bands.
“Now the hard work begins. We know what the goal is. Now, we have to do it.” Kuzin said it’s “underappreciated just how hard that work will be in order to deploy by 2030.” Sura said AI standards are still being developed and AI “will be baked into 6G,” causing a “huge spike in mobile traffic.”
Matt Pearl, the Director of the Strategic Technologies Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), was also on the panel. WIA SVP/Government Affairs and Chief Strategy Officer Mike Saperstein moderated.
By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief