Host the Partners: AI Is Growing Up. Are Telcos Keeping Up? Evolving the Playbook for a New Era

The AI era isn't coming; it's already reshaping how networks are built, managed, and monetized. In this session, Kevin Sheehan (Ciena) and Maria Koller (Verizon) move past the hype to tackle the hard questions telcos are facing right now: How does the shift from generative to inference and agentic AI change traffic patterns and network architecture? What does it take to evolve beyond dark fiber and commodity transport into genuine AI delivery infrastructure? From GPU-as-a-service and edge compute to mobility and managed services, this conversation maps out the strategies,  and the real business cases, for turning your network into a profit center in the intelligence economy.