AI will continue to reshape the network landscape in 2026

“As hyperscalers expand their regional footprints and APAC’s subsea systems carry a growing share of the world’s AI traffic, the region’s digital economy will depend on networks that can flex dynamically with the workloads they carry,” says Amajit Gupta, MD & Group CEO, Lightstorm.

AI and cloud consumption in APAC has skyrocketed across industries in 2025, with public cloud investments nearing US$250 billion. According to Amajit Gupta, MD & Group CEO, Lightstorm, the demand for high-density compute has increased pressure on data center interconnects (DCI) and subsea routes.

However, he feels the region’s underlying network capacity, especially in programmability and scalability, has struggled to keep pace.

The digital network infrastructure solutions provider, which has a strong presence across the Asia-Pacific region, caters to the dynamic needs of hyperscalers, cloud-native companies, and large enterprises through its innovative network solutions. In May this year, Lightstorm successfully integrated assets acquired from RTI Cables to enhance its global subsea and terrestrial network.

With, over 75 Tbps of capacity, connectivity across 25+ data centers, and coverage in 7 key markets—Tokyo, Sydney, Brisbane, Guam, Hawaii, Los Angeles, and Singapore, Lightstorm is redefining the high-performance data center connectivity platform for hyperscalers, cloud providers, and enterprises. Yet, Gupta feels the demands of the industry will only increase in 2026.

As such, Gupta shares four trends that he feels will define network connectivity in APAC in 2026.

The first trend is that AI going mainstream will create distributed, high-volume workloads across the Asia Pacific. GenAI has moved from hype to everyday use for both enterprises and individuals, with enterprises integrating AI into content generation, customer interactions, automation, analytics, and decision support. This expansion is driving demand for high-density compute, distributed data access, and hybrid cloud architectures.

“By 2026, Asia Pacific’s growing data center footprint will require networks that can adapt to shifting AI workloads, making elastic, programmable connectivity the need of the hour. The ability to dynamically route traffic, allocate bandwidth, and maintain performance across clouds, edge, edge nodes, and colocation facilities will become a baseline expectation to allow AI to scale without bottlenecks,” said Gupta.

The second trend is subsea strengths will establish the Asia Pacific as a global data backbone, creating a stronger demand for private, security-embedded networks. Gupta pointed out that Singapore already handles over 99%of its international telecom traffic via 26 submarine cables.

Gupta highlighted that the government has committed to doubling its subsea cable landing capacity over the next decade to support data‑intensive, AI-driven applications. He highlighted Lightstorm’s newly launched high‑capacity systems, like the 10,500 km SJC2 cable with 126 Tb/s capacity, are strengthening connectivity links across Singapore, Japan, Hong Kong, and beyond.

“By 2026, this dense subsea mesh will naturally raise expectations for private, isolated pathways and security-baked infrastructure. Growing AI-led and cross-border workloads will reinforce this direction. As subsea expansion accelerates, enterprises will increasingly look for Zero Trust-aligned, resilient connectivity across APAC,” explained Gupta.

The third trend is data center dominance which Gupta believes will position APAC as a regional hub for complex, high-density workloads. According to Moody’s, APAC will account for approximately 40% of global data center capacity by 2030, driven by cloud expansion, AI training needs, and rising digital sovereignty requirements.

“By 2026, this expanding footprint will shift more global workloads into APAC, increasing expectations for low-latency inter-DC corridors, secure high-capacity cross-border routes, and distributed edge locations that bring compute closer to users,” he said.

Lastly, satellite internet is expected to become mainstream and willl expand connectivity and reshape demand patterns across APAC. Gupta pointed out that satellite solutions are moving from niche to widely adopted, complementing fiber for last-mile, rural, maritime, and backup use cases. This shift will accelerate internet penetration across developing markets, unlocking new user bases and creating fresh demand for cloud, content, and digital services.

“By 2026, enterprises will increasingly integrate satellite connectivity into their resiliency strategies, combining terrestrial networks with satellite failover to meet uptime expectations. Governments will also prioritize hybrid satellite–fiber models to bridge digital gaps faster, making multi-path connectivity a core feature of APAC’s evolving network landscape,” he concluded.