Capacity Europe 2026 Agenda

This keynote examines where AI ambition is delivering results in connectivity & network infra, by unpacking revenue opportunities, board priorities, and the constraints around talent, productisation, partnerships, CapEx and regulation, driving sustainable growth outcomes.

AI is reshaping fibre demand across training hubs, inference and edge networks. This panel examines fast‑track corridor builds, dark fibre strategies, investment choices, network design and early engagement with customers.

Neoclouds began as GPU stopgaps, but sustainable economics require moving up the AI stack. This case study This case study explores how telco partnerships unlock scale, talent and route‑to‑market against hyperscaler competition.

Format: Attendees self-select one of 3 tables. A dedicated moderator (senior operator, panellist or independent chair) runs each table for 20-30 minutes.

• Who Pays for AI Networks? Hubs, Inference and the Edge
• Building AI Corridors: Where Are the Real Capacity Bottlenecks?
• Carrier Relevance in the AI Stack: Where Is the Defensible Value?

Networks are increasingly intelligent, but most organisations struggle to turn visibility into control. This session explores how digital twins and operational data can drive real automation, accelerate scaling decisions, cut costs and improve customer experience.

Legacy networks are blocking automation as customer expectations accelerate. This panel examines fixes, AI agents, integration trade-offs, and who wins or loses as operators chase NaaS, edge and AI revenue.

• Why Has NaaS Not Taken Off: Legacy Tech, Culture, or Risk?
• Does NaaS Sell Alone, or Only When Bundled with Edge, Cloud and Security?
• Who Actually Makes Automation Work: Integrators or OSS/BSS Vendors?

Telcos bring connectivity, scale and trust to AI‑as‑a‑service. This presentation explores how strategic partnerships help carriers move up the stack, unlock new revenue and differentiate against hyperscalers.

AI monetisation is shifting from infrastructure to outcomes. This panel explores where AI sits in the service stack, how it is productised through APIs and managed services, and which models customers will pay for.

• Who owns the AI Relationship: Telcos, Platforms, or Partners?
• Where Does AI Actually Sit in the Telco Stack?
• Selling Intelligence, Not Infrastructure: What Will Customers Pay For?

Can aligning data centres, long-haul fibre and cloud unlock new revenue models, accelerate service delivery, and determine which players will dominate the next phase of digital infrastructure?

For the first time, Europe’s colocation providers, carriers and internet exchanges share a stage, debating joint ventures, shared models, network convergence, AI delivery, and revenue opportunities across digital infrastructure stack.

Attendees self-select one of 3 tables. A dedicated moderator (senior operator, panellist or independent chair) runs each table for 20-30 minutes.

• All Under One Roof: Does Europe Need Fully Integrated ‘Fibre & Data Center’ Hubs?
• Is Convergence the Cure for Capacity Constraints?
• Who Owns the Future: Telcos, Cloud Giants, or Neutral Hosts?

Europe’s AI ambitions face a fundamental question: can the grid cope? This talk explores securing power, grid access, renewables, and solutions from utilities and energy partners to meet rising demand.

Power constraints now gate data centre growth. Hear how energy providers, hyperscalers and operators secure grid access, deploy on-site power, scale renewables, and keep Europe’s digital expansion on track future.

• The New Power Play: Should Data Centres Become Energy Producers
• Crunching the Kilowatts: How to Secure Grid Access Faster?
• Beyond Greenwashing: Real Steps to Embed Sustainability in AI Infrastructure

From Dublin to Frankfurt, projects face red tape and community pushback. This session explores permitting reform, policy alignment, and how to reduce delays while building trust to enable critical infrastructure.

Europe’s fragmented planning rules and rising opposition are slowing data centres, fibre and energy projects. Who takes the lead to fix approvals, align communities and unblock infrastructure deployment across Europe?

• Community Benefit or Box-Ticking: What really wins local support?
• United Front: Can industry convergence solve the social licence problem?
• Design Together or Fail Separately: Which early decisions make or break a project?

What does the next chapter of European fibre coverage look like? A data-led overview of deployment velocity, investment flows, M&A activity & the emerging gap between coverage and adoption.

As Europe's fibre market matures, the focus is shifting from network build to long-term value creation. From incumbents and wholesale networks to altnets, this panel explores how fibre assets are being assessed, what drives value in today's market, and where investors see the greatest opportunity.

As consolidation accelerates, this panel explores which strategies deliver stability and scale, what live deals reveal about the endgame, and how restructuring can protect infrastructure investment while still generating returns.

• Is the adoption gap (homes connected vs active subscribers) the defining challenge of this decade?
• How is M&A reshaping the competitive dynamic in metro markets?
• Where are the most attractive white-space opportunities remaining in European metro fibre?

As build peaks and losses mount, this session examines how fibre operators shift from rollout to returns, cutting capital intensity, lifting ARPU, and delivering sustainable EBITDA through wholesale models.

Europe’s AI ambitions risk stalling without new fibre backbones. This panel explores why core fibre lags demand, how it constrains data centres and AI clusters, and what investment, policy and partnership models unlock growth.

• Future of Data Centre Fibre.
• Why has core fibre been overlooked, and how do we shift investment priorities?
• How can fibre connectivity enable truly distributed AI ecosystems?
• What practical steps are needed to accelerate deployment? Planning reform/Supply Chain/Collaboration models?

EU policy can unlock metro fibre or stall it. This talk maps where public and private capital is flowing, where rules create friction, and what investors need from DG CONNECT.

• Spotlight 1: Turk Telekom: How Next‑Generation 6G Collaboration Will Redefine Europe’s Digital Infrastructure
• Spotlight 2: Vodafone: A strategic infrastructure investment with industry-wide implications
• Spotlight 3: A landmark network expansion opening new connectivity pathways
• Spotlight 4: Marlink How do satellite technologies work and how to choose the right one for your customers?

• How are investors reassessing IRR expectations as penetration rates are challenging in some markets?
• What role should the EU Gigabit Infrastructure Act and state aid frameworks play in bridging white spots?
• How are debt structures, IRUs, and wholesale agreements evolving to de-risk metro buildouts?

Alongside the main programme, we’re launching The Outlook, a premium environment for high-level discussion, deal making and closed-door collaboration.

Hosting:

• Digital Infra Leaders’ Summit (invitation only)
• Global Critical Infra Summit (new for 2026), tackling security, resilience and geopolitics in a world where infrastructure is now strategic
• Curated networking from private receptions to community meetups

Beyond the agenda: Where the real conversations happen

Capacity Europe is built as a festival, not just a conference.

Expect pockets of activity across the venue, from hosted happy hours and stage receptions to private dinners, partner meetups and late-night parties.

It’s continuous, high-energy networking, designed to move conversations forward and turn introductions into commercial outcomes.

This is an application-only session, available to registered attendees of Capacity Europe. Places are limited to 100 senior delegates from network operators/cloud infrastructure owners, government and regulation, cloud/hyperscale/neocloud providers. To register your interest, contact liss.boothandford@techoraco.com

What level of resilience should critical networks deliver in 2026? As infrastructure failures become more costly, this keynote explores rising resilience standards, supply-chain expectations, and why resilience is now a strategic necessity rather than a cost centre.

Geopolitical risk, hybrid warfare and physical exposure
As cyber, physical, climate and hybrid threats converge, this panel explores Europe’s resilience gaps, evolving security responsibilities, and whether governments and operators are prepared for the realities of critical infrastructure protection.

Resilience by design: securing Europe’s connectivity routes
As subsea cables, fibre networks and supply chains face growing risks, this panel explores Europe’s infrastructure vulnerabilities, ownership of resilience, and whether investment is keeping pace with emerging threats.

Where should critical infrastructure live?
As data centres concentrate computing power, this panel explores emerging concentration risks, climate exposure and whether distributed models, including subsea, airborne and orbital infrastructure, can deliver greater resilience for critical digital infrastructure.

Network design is no longer driven by efficiency alone. Security mandates, national sovereignty and geopolitical risk now dictate where, how and with whom digital infrastructure is built. So, who really gets to shape Europe’s digital future?

Security, resilience and sovereignty are reshaping how networks are routed, located and interconnected, driving higher costs and trade-offs across fibre, datacentres and subsea as operators balance risk, speed and returns.

• What Has to Stay Local, and What Can Stay Global?
• Is Route Redundancy Insurance or Overengineering?
• Are Interconnection Choices Creating Hidden Risk?

As demand for resilient hybrid networks grows, this panel examines satellite–terrestrial partnerships, addressing last-mile gaps, mobile backhaul, interoperability challenges, evolving low-latency tech, and secure, scalable collaboration models for operators worldwide.

Despite headlines warning of a global capacity squeeze, unprecedented infrastructure investments are driving massive network growth and route diversity. This session explores current market constraints along with the latest bandwidth, infrastructure, and pricing data to provide a realistic outlook on European supply and demand.

Hyperscalers and global crises are reshaping Europe’s subsea connectivity and exposing its fragility. This discussion charts how new partnerships, diversified routes and sovereignty moves can safeguard Europe’s vital undersea lifelines against capacity bottlenecks and geopolitical shocks.

• Can Trust Be Productised at the Service Layer?
• Who Owns Failure in Automated, Secure‑by‑Default Services?
• Scaling Trust Without Slowing Innovation

• Hyperscalers or Homegrown: Who Should Control Europe’s Critical Cables?
• One Cut from Chaos: Does Europe Have Enough Route Resilience?
• Edge vs. Atlantic – Will Distributed AI Ease Global Traffic or Exacerbate It?

As digital services scale, identity and authentication move to the service layer. This presentation explores how trust‑based services become a new revenue layer, creating differentiation, compliance and enterprise confidence.

Enterprises judge connectivity on experience, not price. This panel explores how operators use automation and network intelligence to deliver cloud‑like CX, faster provisioning and transparency without driving up operating costs.

• Trust as a Product: Where Do Operators Actually Win?
• Network Trust or App Identity: Who Owns Authentication?
• From Compliance to Commercial: Can Identity Scale and Pay?

 

Voice is becoming an AI‑driven, high‑value service, but fraud is accelerating. This discussion explores how operators integrate identity, analytics and CX data to monetise voice beyond minutes while protecting customers.

• Can Voice Stop Being a Commodity and Start Making Money Again?
• Fighting AI with AI: How Do Operators Win the Voice Fraud Arms Race?
• Who Owns Trusted Voice: Networks, Platforms or Applications?

Building Europe’s AI-ready digital infrastructure will cost hundreds of billions by 2030. This session examines who funds it, from private capital to public support, and how models make projects bankable.

AI infrastructure demands unprecedented capital amid uncertain returns. Financiers and operators reveal deal structures, risk strategies, green financing, incentives, and what conditions will unlock investment to sustain Europe’s digital growth.

• Is Europe’s AI infrastructure boom an investor’s dream or a bubble?
• Public Money, Private Projects: What role should governments play?
• New Models for New Builds: From JVs to hyperscaler pre-deals

As AI services boom, Europe must decide where compute sits. This session examines latency, sovereignty and power proximity, showing how policy and customer demand are redrawing Europe’s data centre geography.

Europe’s landscape is decentralising. This panel examines emerging AI hubs, edge growth, and how policy, sovereignty and latency shape location decisions, and who will host Europe’s billion-euro AI factories.

• Core vs Edge: Which workloads go where?
• Nordics vs FLAP: Is cheap power beating low latency?
• Sovereignty: Real concern or red herring?

The AI gold rush is straining global supply chains, from GPUs to power transformers. This session explores critical shortages, risks to Europe’s buildout, and how companies mitigate ongoing delays today.

Rapid build collides with shortages of power equipment, chips and cooling. This panel shares supplier and operator strategies, from standardisation to alternative sourcing, to keep Europe’s infrastructure projects on track.

• GPUs, switches, and the elephant in the room: which shortage hurts most?
• Europe’s Dependency Dilemma: Can we build resilience into our supply chains?
• Speed vs. Spec: Should we build fast or wait for the best tech?

AI demand is outpacing supply, making speed critical. This panel reveals how builders and customers compress timelines through design coordination, demand forecasting and early procurement to gain competitive advantage.

The switch-off of legacy copper networks is becoming one of the most significant transformations in European telecoms. This session explores the lessons emerging from leading markets, the barriers operators continue to face, and how network owners are preparing for future demand.

As copper networks are retired across Europe, operators are investing in the next generation of connectivity. From fibre expansion and migration strategies to innovations such as hollow core fibre and advanced optical networks, this panel explores how leading markets are modernising infrastructure and preparing for future demand.

• Who Gets Left Behind in Copper Switch‑Off, and Who Is Responsible?
• What Actually Speeds Migration: Regulation, Incentives or Pain?
• Which Nordic Lessons Travel, and Which Don’t?

Sabotage threats have pushed fibre into the frontline of national security. This session examines how operators are rethinking network design, protection and preparedness as metro fibre is treated as critical infrastructure.

As fibre is classified as critical infrastructure, operators face new resilience, security and compliance demands. This panel explores what CNI‑grade networks require, where gaps exist, and how investment is justified when value remains invisible.

• Beyond Compliance: What Does Real Metro Resilience Look Like?
• Who Knows What, When? Making Threat Intelligence Actionable
• Who Pays for Resilience When Customers Don’t See It?

As Europe’s fibre rollout matures, the industry’s focus is shifting from extending coverage to creating greater business value. This session explores how connected infrastructure and collaborative ecosystems are enabling business growth, innovation and long-term commercial sustainability, setting the strategic context for the panel discussion on what commercially successful fibre businesses will look like beyond Tier One markets.

Outside major metros, fibre economics tighten fast. This panel explores how operators make secondary markets viable, which deployment and wholesale models succeed, and when public subsidy remains essential.

• Smart Subsidy or Market Distortion? What Actually Delivers Coverage
• Building Fibre for Lower Density: Which Deployment Models Really Cut Cost?
• Fibre, FWA or Both? Making the Economics Work Outside Core Metros

AI, new traffic patterns and accelerating compute demand are reshaping digital infrastructure economics. This closing panel examines which revenue pools will grow or shrink, how investment priorities will shift, and where operators, platforms and investors must position now to win the next three years.

EUROPE

Delegates discussion groups, chosen in advance via a short survey. Each group is facilitated and works through a specific topic, chosen from the below:  Prosperity & Place  Environment & Neighbours  C …

The data centre industry does not have a perception problem. It has a behaviour problem. This presentation addresses three things:   Rethinking behavioural change and our ability to influence it  How …

Delegates return to their groups. Facilitators introduce a second provocation informed by the presentation: how does your topic area connect to the cultural shift the industry needs to make?

A leading communications professional shares what effective industry storytelling looks like in practice. Not theory, not aspiration: the specific choices that determine whether a message reaches and …

The final working session for each group. Groups move from diagnosis to action, identifying the core commitment their topic area should contribute to the outputs of the session.

A journalist who covers the sector speaks candidly about how the industry reads from the outside. What drives negative coverage, what responsible engagement looks like from a press perspective, and wh …

Each group presents their draft commitment to the full room. The chair synthesises the outputs live, with contributions visible to all delegates. This is an open working session: language can be chall …

Chair closes. The key takeaways are confirmed as a post-event publication. Next steps communicated: how the outputs will be shared, who will be credited, and how the work continues beyond October.

A curated space where telco product leads and innovators pressure‑test roadmaps, evaluate emerging business models and monetisation strategies and form the partnerships that generate new revenues and solve customer pain points. Join the Dragons’ Den, demos and roundtables at GrowthX -

Apply to speak or showcase your solution by contacting marketing@capacitymedia.com

Meet the group at reception, enjoy light refreshments, and prepare for an exciting day exploring digital infrastructure. 

Practical tips on introducing yourself to employers, building confidence, creating a strong LinkedIn profile, and making meaningful connections when meeting companies throughout the day. 

Senior leaders from Netflix, Meta and TikTok discuss the career journeys that led them to some of the world's most sought-after technology companies, and why roles in telecoms and digital infrastructu …

Dedicated time to visit exhibition stands, speak with employers, meet speakers, explore career opportunities and build professional connections across the industry. 

Explore opportunities in business, marketing, project management, finance and operations.  From securing major deals to managing global projects, discover the diverse careers shaping the digital world …

How do you power AI? Protect global networks from cyber threats? Keep billions of people connected? 

Students select one interactive discussion hosted by industry professionals.

You use Amazon Prime, TikTok, Instagram and AI tools every day… but who builds and runs the networks behind them? Meet the people responsible for keeping the world connected and discover the surprisin …

From AI and cloud computing to gaming and content platforms, explore some of the fastest-growing areas in technology and the skills employers are looking for. 

Not sure what comes next after school? Hear from people who followed different routes into successful careers and ask your questions in an informal setting. 

Explore opportunities in business, marketing, project management, finance and operations. 

Recent graduates and apprentices share their experiences joining the industry, what they learned during their first roles, and advice for students considering similar career paths. 

Explore the new career opportunities emerging from the AI revolution and the skills employers will need in the future.