The INCOMPAS Policy Summit 2025: shaping the future of digital infrastructure

The INCOMPAS Policy Summit 2025 brought together industry leaders, policymakers and technology experts to discuss the future of communications and infrastructure in the United States. With artificial intelligence (AI) driving explosive growth in data needs, the event focused on data centers, energy demands, permitting reform and spectrum policy, all key areas for maintaining digital innovation. This year’s summit was particularly significant as it marked the first with the new Federal Communications Commission (FCC) leadership, who used the platform to outline their priorities and vision for the industry.

Not surprisingly, AI is fueling an unprecedented demand for data center capacity, which is expected to grow five to six times by 2030. With global energy consumption projected to rise by 4.58% this year, driven by data centers, whose electricity usage has increased from 1% to 4.58% worldwide, a 358% jump, it’s clear why data center connectivity and power access have become focal points for both fiber networks and energy grids. As data processing needs surge, the industry is investing billions of dollars in scaling infrastructure to accommodate the growth in volume and meet the demands of AI. The industry is facing the challenge of balancing sustainability with expansion. Discussions are increasingly focused on integrating alternative energy sources, such as solar, wind and nuclear power, to meet the growing energy demands driven by AI and data centers. This approach aims to ensure sustainable growth while addressing limitations in traditional power supply and reducing environmental impact. 

Regulatory delays remain a major hurdle for infrastructure deployment, and leaders such as Rep. Bob Latta (R-OH), Chairman, House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy, and Rep. John Joyce (R-PA), Vice Chairman, House Energy and Commerce Committee, stressed the need to streamline and standardize permitting to accelerate timelines and reduce costs. By eliminating redundant regulations and improving efficiency, it can help ensure faster project completion. Alongside permitting concerns, spectrum policy took center stage. The summit highlighted the need for bipartisan cooperation to optimize spectrum allocation and maintain U.S. leadership in wireless broadband access and applications. 

Fortunately, iconectiv supports communications service providers (CSPs) and data centers through TruOps Common Language, which helps identify optimal locations by providing valuable insights into the middle-mile infrastructure of various areas, enabling strategic placement of new data centers and network infrastructure. By using Common Language CLEI Codes, CSPs and data centers can identify individual pieces of equipment to measure their energy consumption, which can be used to assess and optimize equipment placement for better energy efficiency. 

In addition, using Common Language to register assets ensures that their attributes are accurately documented and exchanged in the telecom ecosystem’s preferred format. The Common Language registry ensures that decision makers see not only all currently available assets, but also forthcoming ones such as data center and middle mile infrastructure expansions, making it easier to identify optimal locations for new buildouts. 

The INCOMPAS Policy Summit reinforced the urgent need for strategic investment and policy reform to support continued digital innovation. Industry leaders and policymakers addressed key roadblocks, including the need for permitting reform, greater coordination between federal, state and local entities to accelerate broadband and AI infrastructure development, reducing energy consumption in data centers and securing more spectrum.