Morgan Lewis’ Andrew Lipman surfaces the highest developments to look at in 2026 at Metro Join
With the present flooring filled with fiber connectivity gamers, knowledge middle suppliers, and software program of us with all their monetary backers, Metro Join 2026 was a full home.
The keynote periods and panel discussions had been loaded with commentaries and insights, daring predictions, and generally light-hearted banter (“If AI is horny, knowledge facilities are X-rated”) which had been nice on their very own, however additionally they considerably made up for the interminably lengthy wait to get into the venue on Day1.
Andrew Lipman, accomplice and head of telecom observe at Morgan Lewis, a legislation agency, and who’s a few years related to the occasion, set the stage by surfacing essentially the most distinguished developments to look at in 2026.
Lipman stated that 2026 presents an “optimistic macro atmosphere” for broadband. “It seems like President Trump’s aspirational soft-landing story is going on,” he stated. “Our tax construction can also be very favorable for the business with bonus depreciation, R&D tax credit. The antitrust atmosphere is significantly better than it has been.”
BEAD, a $43 billion alternative
Lipman segued to the Broadband Fairness, Entry, and Deployment (BEAD) program — a $42.45 billion federal initiative for pushing broadband entry to underserved areas in the USA — which has remained a subject of a lot hypothesis.
Though funds had been pledged early, BEAD cash was lengthy within the coming. This system suffered a number of bottlenecks, together with delay in deployment of {dollars}, federal approvals, and regulatory hurdles — driving up demand and price of fiber community buildouts.
Lastly, late final 12 months, Louisiana obtained funding approval for $1.36 billion, turning into the primary state to see BEAD infrastructure {dollars}. In February, it disbursed $43 million in BEAD contracts,10% of the $430 million it has signed up to now.
“Lastly, the BEAD cash is beginning to dribble out. Congratulations to Louisiana,” Lipman cheered.
The Nationwide Telecommunications and Data Administration (NTIA) has up to now authorized $23 billion in state awards with $20 billion extra slated to comply with. Based mostly on samples, it seems that in a majority of the places, the cash goes towards fiber. Analysts monitoring BEAD awards discovered that roughly 65% of the places are set for fiber deployments, with satellite tv for pc and glued wi-fi trailing at 21% and 12% respectively.
“The hyperscalers are positively the VIPs of this program,” he continued. “They generate monumental alternative. One hyperscaler exec stated, ‘Our mannequin within the AI race appears to be when you’ve received the cash, spend it’.”
Lipman hopes that mixed with different state broadband applications, like R-Block 2, ACAM 2 and Reconnect, funding might attain an amassed $80 billion to $90 billion.
AI’s one large fallout
AI serves as a significant accelerant for each fiber deployments and knowledge middle constructions. Its surge has pushed up demand for fiber networks and wish for knowledge facilities builds throughout the nation which has created a bottleneck: ability scarcity.
Lipman mirrored, “A shopper instructed me just lately that there’s nobody in the USA below 50 years who is aware of splice cable,” and urged, “We have to do higher coaching. We have to get extra minorities. We have to get extra girls into the workforce.”
M&A continues
2025 was a very good 12 months when it comes to mergers and acquisitions (M&A) with a number of high-profile transactions closing, just like the merger of Constitution and Cox communications, AT&T’s acquisition of Lumen’s fiber division, T-Cellular’s buy of UScellular, and Verizon’s acquisition of Starry.
Lipman predicted the momentum to proceed in 2026 with the present administration being extra supportive of such transactions. “Scale has at all times been actually necessary on this business,” he stated. “We have now a brand new Division of Justice, new FTC, new FCC, way more keen for consolidation than we noticed below the Biden administration. We’re seeing extra offers executed. We’re seeing extra situations. We’re seeing fewer second requests.”
Moreover, he predicted sturdy demand within the fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) market. “Fiber-to-the-home was sizzling final 12 months, stays very large. Within the U.S., it’s a $125 billion market, maybe bigger than some other market…Even right this moment, practically 65% of U.S. houses lack entry to fiber. So, large demand for fiber-to-the-home. I feel we’ll see some adjustments in that sector right this moment,” he stated.
Information facilities face backlash
Addressing the general public backlash over knowledge facilities’ rising energy calls for, Lipman warned buyers and operators to be cautious of the implications.
“What’s the one factor that considerations me, that retains me up at evening, and that’s this percolating concern in native communities, now entering into Congress, nearly regarded as a Luddite method…We’re witnessing some populist sentiment towards knowledge facilities, a lot of which is misfounded, a lot of which isn’t primarily based in actuality. However I feel it’s incumbent on us and it’s incumbent on the business to have a counter message.”
Lipman rounded off the session with the AI supercycle and its “tsunami impact”. Whereas the AI growth has spurred knowledge middle building and fast fiber deployment throughout the nation, he cautioned that companies and banks should look past the hype to make sure their investments are effectively positioned.
The questions we must always all be asking, Lipman stated, are: “Will AI be larger than social media? Will AI be larger than smartphones? And at last, will AI even be larger than hearth?”
He concluded saying that the trick lies in a single’s potential to see clearly separating the parable from the hype.
