The recent International Telecoms Week (ITW) conference in Washington DC and Houlihan Lokey ONE Conference in Chicago brought together service providers and investors to discuss where the industry is heading—and where the real value lies. While emerging tech buzzwords often dominate the agenda at many events, this year’s conversations centered around practicality, performance, and presence in the markets that matter.
Here are the top insights we walked away with:
1. Bandwidth Demand Is Booming—Everywhere
The universal theme? An insatiable thirst for bandwidth. Whether it was during partner meetings, corridor conversations, or panel discussions, everyone echoed the same reality: demand from both enterprise and small business customers continues to surge, fueled by hybrid work, cloud migration, and data-intensive applications.
New fiber builds and data center developments are still going strong, but the real question on everyone’s mind is:
“Who can reliably deliver high-quality, affordable bandwidth—now and at scale?”
That’s where service providers like Stratus Networks stand out. With deep regional reach and a high-performance private fiber backbone, we’re helping close the last-mile gap with real solutions—not just promises.
2. Execution Over Hype: AI Wasn’t the Star of the Show
In contrast to many recent tech events, AI had a surprisingly muted presence. Aside from a few niche panels, it wasn’t front and center in booths, marketing materials, or customer conversations.
The focus? Getting real things built. Infrastructure, service quality, and responsiveness were the top priorities for decision-makers—not theoretical use cases.
At Stratus, this aligns with how we operate. While AI has a place in network optimization and analytics – and is a real driver of bandwidth – our customers of all sizes care most about what’s built, supported, and maintained today—and that’s where we excel.
3. Bridging the Gap: Serving the Full Commercial Market
A recurring observation from the conferences was fragmentation in service coverage. Many providers target either enterprise clients or small businesses—rarely both. In too many markets, small businesses are left to choose between outdated telephone-based services or mass-market cable.
Stratus is changing that narrative. Our ability to serve everything from corner stores to Fortune 100 enterprises isn’t just unique—it’s vital. Because when capital is deployed to build fiber in a community, maximum ROI comes from inclusive service models that drive adoption and utilization across the entire commercial market.
This dual-market focus isn’t easy—but it’s the only way to ensure that infrastructure investments do the most good and continue to scale sustainably.
Final Thought: Real Infrastructure Needs Real Partners
What we heard at ITW and Houlihan Lokey was clear: the market rewards partners who show up, build smart, and serve broadly.
At Stratus, we’re proud to be that kind of partner—clear, connected, and committed. From suburban main streets to Fortune 100 campuses, we’re delivering scalable bandwidth, responsive service, and long-term value.