en.Wedoany.com Reported - The Fiber Broadband Association has incorporated quantum networks into the infrastructure agenda of the fiber broadband industry. Fiber Connect 2026 completed its main agenda on May 20 in Orlando, Florida, USA. The conference added the AI & Emerging Technology Infrastructure Summit, with an agenda covering AI, quantum networks, hyperscale data centers, and next-generation digital infrastructure.
In pre-conference materials, the Fiber Broadband Association proposed that AI, quantum networks, quantum computing, and hyperscale data centers are transforming the fundamental capability requirements of communication networks. Its "Infrastructure Foundations for AI and Quantum Computing" positions fiber broadband as the critical foundation for next-generation computing, because these new workloads, as they move from proof-of-concept to actual deployment, require higher capacity, lower latency, deterministic reliability, symmetric speeds, and security capabilities. The conference theme "Light Years Ahead" also repositions fiber from traditional access networks into the long-term infrastructure jointly relied upon by communities, enterprises, data centers, and edge computing. For broadband operators, fiber networks are no longer just access channels for homes and businesses, but the承载 platform for future AI inference, quantum communication, smart grids, telemedicine, and industrial digital services.
Chattanooga has become a real-world sample of this agenda. The EPB Quantum official website shows that EPB Quantum provides development and commercialization resources for quantum networks, quantum computing, and quantum sensing, and positions Chattanooga as the first commercially available quantum computing and quantum network hub in the United States. EPB launched the EPB Quantum Network in 2023, the nation's first industry-led, commercially available quantum network, specifically designed to run quantum equipment and applications within existing fiber optic environments.
EPB's quantum network is not an experimental system built separately from urban infrastructure, but is established on top of Chattanooga's long-term fiber and power infrastructure. EPB Quantum introductions show that EPB possesses community-wide internet service up to 25 Gbps, 15,000+ miles of fiber, a 100 Gbps Ethernet core network, 200,000+ advanced meters, 1,400+ automated switches, and 48 Megawatts of energy storage. The EPB Quantum Network is a permanent, commercially available facility designed to allow enterprises and research institutions to develop and test quantum technologies under real network conditions, and to generate and verify entangled photons in a next-generation fiber environment. This architecture gives the Chattanooga quantum network two characteristics: first, it can connect to real city networks, enterprise users, and energy systems; second, it provides a reusable public platform for quantum key distribution, quantum sensing, quantum computing access, and future quantum internet verification.
This year, EPB has also extended the quantum ecosystem to regional collaboration and computing resource construction. Member information released by the Fiber Broadband Association on March 31 shows that EPB has joined the Southeastern Quantum Collaborative as a founding member. This collaborative organization, led by the University of Alabama in Huntsville, brings together universities, enterprises, and research institutions with the goal of advancing quantum information science and real-world applications in the Southeastern United States. Related information also shows that the EPB Quantum Center plans to become the first quantum technology center in the U.S. to offer commercial access to both quantum networks and quantum computing simultaneously, following the completion of the IonQ Forte Enterprise quantum computer, serving Chattanooga and the surrounding 600-square-mile area.
Fiber Connect 2026 incorporating quantum technology into the broadband industry's main agenda indicates that U.S. fiber network construction is shifting from "coverage and speed competition" to "next-generation computing infrastructure competition." The value of the Chattanooga quantum fiber network lies in its ability to push quantum technology from the laboratory to community-level commercial networks, enterprise testing platforms, and regional innovation systems, providing an observable, accessible, and scalable city-level validation foundation for AI and quantum applications.
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