Connecting the AI Economy: What AI means for UK fibre and network infrastructure

Wednesday 11th November 2026, 10.30 – 12.30

Organisers: ISPA & Xantaro

Date: Wednesday 11th November

Time: 10:30 – 12:30

Network Lunch: 12.30 – 14.00, Venue Tbd

Location: Clarity, Zetland House, 5-25 Scrutton St., EC2A 4HJ

About the Event

The conversation about AI is usually a conversation about data centres, chips, and compute. But almost every AI service – from large-scale model training to everyday business tools – depends on the networks connecting them. As the UK pursues its ambition to become an AI leader through AI Growth Zones, expanding data centre capacity, and adopting AI across the public and private sectors, the fibre and network infrastructure built and operated by ISPA members is an essential, yet often overlooked, part of the story.

The mix of AI workloads is rapidly evolving. While training remains focused in large, power-dense facilities, AI inference is growing significantly, scaling across regional data centres, enterprise environments, and devices. This shift brings practical challenges around latency, interconnection, and compute placement, while new data centre projects face power grid and connectivity constraints. At the same time, operators are turning to automation and predictive maintenance to reduce costs and boost resilience, while navigating energy prices, power grid access, UK data sovereignty, and evolving security threats.

To explore what this means in practice, ISPA is partnering with Xantaro for an open, member-led roundtable and networking lunch on Wednesday 11th November. Bringing together CTOs, network strategy leads, and operations and product leaders across the membership, this interactive session offers a platform to compare notes on preparing for AI-driven demand, deploying AI in network operations, and unlocking commercial opportunities for the digital infrastructure sector.

Registration and Enquiries

Attendance is welcome for ISPA members in roles covering network strategy, operations, technology and product, though places are strictly limited to foster an open, collaborative discussion. All delegates will be welcome to join ISPA and Xantaro for a lunch directly following the event.

To reserve your place or enquire about the roundtable, please email Krystian Heald at krystian@ispa.org.uk.

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