WBBA Broadband Development Congress Shanghai 2025 | Smarter Infrastructure: Converging AI and Broadband
SHANGHAI, June 23, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The World Broadband Association (WBBA) successfully convened the 2025 Broadband Development Congress in Shanghai, spotlighting the theme: "Smarter Infrastructure: Converging AI and Broadband." This global congress brought together industry leaders, world-renowned experts, and leading scholars to explore how artificial intelligence, and broadband innovation can jointly power the next chapter of the digital economy.
Global Vision, Industry Leadership
The congress opened with keynote addresses from Dr Zhengmao Li, Chairman of the Board, WBBA; Vivek Badrinath, Director General, GSMA; Dr Houlin Zhao, Chairman of Advisory Committee, WBBA and former Secretary-General, ITU; and Ruiwen Ke, Executive Director, Chairman and CEO, China Telecom.
Distinguished speakers such as David Wang, Executive Director, Huawei; Ronan de Renesse, Vice President, Telecom Research, Omdia; Hongtao Lyu, Deputy GM of Construction and Development Department, China Unicom; Bill Huang, Founder & CEO of Dataa Robotics; and Dr Jiawei Shao, Research Scientist, China Telecom AI Research Institute, delivered insightful presentations on the convergence of AI and broadband.
Highlights & Strategic Insights
Dr Zhengmao Li shared key milestones from WBBA's first half of 2025, including expanded board elections and the formal establishment of an Advisory Committee. He reaffirmed WBBA's commitment to openness, inclusivity, and global collaboration—strengthening its role as a bridge for international cooperation in building a robust, intelligent digital infrastructure.
Vivek Badrinath emphasized that smarter infrastructure requires not only innovation but also strong investment and supportive regulatory frameworks. He highlighted the aligned missions of GSMA and WBBA, underscoring their intent to collaborate broadly and deeply to ensure the AI revolution benefits the entire industry ecosystem.
Dr Houlin Zhao introduced the strategic role of the Advisory Committee, pledging it would serve as a think tank for WBBA's growth. He also officially appointed two new advisors: Boris Koprivnikar, former Deputy Prime Minister of Slovenia, and Brahima Sanou, former Director of the ITU Telecommunication Development Bureau.
Ruiwen Ke articulated China Telecom's vision for AI and broadband as core pillars of future societal progress. He called for global cooperation through WBBA to promote secure, fair, and innovation-driven AI development, while sharing China Telecom's own practices of cloud-network integration, industry empowerment, and AI governance.
Industry Innovation & Technological Frontiers
Dr Ronan de Renesse explored the evolving synergies between AI and broadband, presenting a strategic framework and real-world use cases to help operators turn AI-powered networks into profitable ventures.
David Wang outlined Huawei's "All Intelligence" strategy in the era of general-purpose AI, showcasing its Ultra-Broadband (UBB) solutions and expressing a desire to collaborate globally to seize new AI-driven growth opportunities.
Hongtao Lyu introduced China Unicom's dual-focus approach: "Network for AI" and "AI for Network." He reaffirmed Unicom's dedication to advancing AI-broadband integration through WBBA, while expanding cooperation with global standards bodies such as ITU, 3GPP, and GSMA.
Bill Huang described how large language models are catalysing a new AI revolution, enabling end-to-end embodied intelligence in humanoid robots—hailed as the third computing platform after PCs and smartphones. He showcased HARIX OS and a new "learn by demonstration" programming paradigm, aimed at accelerating the intelligent robotics ecosystem.
Dr Jiawei Shao unveiled AI Flow, an intelligent interconnection technology powered by family-based AI models. Designed to overcome device constraints and cloud latency, AI Flow supports collaborative edge-cloud intelligence, aiming to realize "AI Without Borders."
Deep-Dive Panel Discussion
In a high-impact panel session, Martin Creaner, Director General, WBBA, Ziping Liu, Deputy Secretary General, Asia Pacific Telecommuity, Darius Delgado, Chief Commercial Officer, Globe Telecom, Benton Gong, CIO, Head of Technology and Operations, DBS Bank China, and Peter Hu, Vice President, GM of Wireline Marketing, ZTE discussed how AI can drive value creation, promote cross-sector collaboration, and reshape the future of telecom and enterprise operations.
New Industry White Papers Released
Three white papers were unveiled at the event:
- Expanding Advanced Fixed Broadband Networks for All
- Circular Economies and the Evolution of Fixed Broadband
- Beyond Broadband: Revolutionizing CPN Connectivity
These publications explore how technologies such as Wi-Fi 7, FTTR, deterministic networking, and AI are reshaping the broadband landscape—offering actionable guidance for the future of fixed network development.
Building the Future of Global Cloud-Network Broadband
This landmark conference gathered the world's most influential voices from across the broadband and cloud-networking sectors to exchange ideas, ignite innovation, and foster strategic partnerships. Together, participants laid the groundwork for an intelligent, integrated, and inclusive digital future.
About WBBA
The World Broadband Association (WBBA) is a global, industry-led, multilateral, and non-profit organization headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. With over 170 members—including China Telecom, China Unicom, Swisscom, and Huawei—WBBA is committed to guiding the future of cloud-network broadband through collaboration and innovation.
In 2024, WBBA launched the Cloud-Network Broadband Excellence Awards, recognizing trailblazers driving innovation and transformation across network infrastructure, AI, and beyond. This year's awards are now open for submissions, with the prestigious ceremony to be held in October in Paris during WBBA's Annual Flagship Conference. Industry leaders are warmly invited to join the celebration and help shape the next era of broadband excellence.