This high-level discussion brings together heads of government and regulatory affairs from a telco, data centre operator, fiberco and towerco to examine the evolving regulatory landscape across APAC. The panel will explore: 

• Policies & frameworks that work: Which regulations and government initiatives have most effectively advanced both business objectives and national digitalisation agendas, and which could be replicated across other markets? 

• Constructive engagement: Examples of where meaningful dialogue between industry and government has led to tangible improvements in infrastructure rollout, investment incentives and market competition. 

• Persistent roadblocks: Identifying policies, approval processes, or market structures that hinder progress and limit connectivity potential. 

• Unified industry voice: How telcos, towercos, fibrecos and data centre operators can work together to present cohesive policy recommendations that accelerate digital infrastructure deployment and bridge the digital divide. 

By bringing diverse yet interdependent segments of the digital infrastructure ecosystem into one conversation, this session will uncover actionable ways to align regulation with the region’s connectivity ambitions. 

In this interactive session, delegates will join parallel breakout roundtables, each dedicated to a key APAC market. Led by local experts and industry peers, these discussions will explore the country’s latest market dynamics, evolving regulatory environment, and emerging growth opportunities. Participants will share insights on common challenges, examine investment prospects, and connect with potential partners active in the same market. Whether you’re seeking policy clarity, market intelligence, or strategic alliances, these focused country tables provide a unique forum to gain actionable insights and build relationships that can accelerate your presence in the region. 

Country roundtables include: 

• India 

• Indonesia 

• Malaysia 

• Philippines 

• Thailand 

• Vietnam 

The telecom industry has spent the past two decades in recurring CapEx waves - 2G, 3G, 4G, and now 5G, each bringing an intense infrastructure build followed by a lull. But are we now entering a different era?  

Whilst developing markets continue to show strong growth in mobile traffic, data growth in more developed countries is slowing. Globally, operator CapEx-to-revenue ratios are falling, raising the question: have we reached peak investment in access networks?  

• In which countries is data traffic showing strong growth and where are there signs of tapering off? 

• Will late-5G markets mirror the growth trajectories of early adopters like South Korea and Singapore, or chart their own course based on unique economic and usage dynamics? 

• Will the much hyped 5G use cases materialise and translate into increased traffic volumes?  

• Will the AI traffic explosion in data centre interconnect translate across to access networks? 

• What do operator financial disclosures reveal about spending patterns and if the old model is ending, what does this means for telco strategy, vendor demand, and infrastructure investors? 

As telcos seek to optimise costs and accelerate coverage, a range of strategies, from M&A and national roaming to wholesale open-access networks, spectrum sharing, active sharing, joint ventures, and infraco partnership, have emerged. Each approach aims to reduce redundant infrastructure, optimise capex and opex, and deliver better network outcomes for the end consumer. This panel explores the range and effectiveness of these initiatives: 

• How effectively have sharing and collaboration strategies met financial targets? 

• To what extent have they advanced broader strategic objectives such as network reach, service quality, and market competitiveness? 

• What have been some of the key challenges faced and what has the industry learned?  

• Which models are likely to play a more material role in the future telco market? 

As MNOs face intensifying financial pressures, the dynamics between MNOs and tower companies are entering a new phase. Tower leases represent one of the largest, and fastest-growing, operational expenditures for telcos, often outpacing revenue growth. While long-term contracts provide stability, questions are mounting around whether the current cost structures are sustainable in the long run. This session explores how these critical relationships can evolve to meet changing commercial realities.  

• What alternatives or hybrid models might emerge to align incentives more closely?  

• How can towercos deliver flexible, cost-efficient solutions while maintaining investor confidence and business resilience?  

• Drawing on global case studies, including renegotiated lease models, active sharing arrangements, and co-investment structure, how can both parties adapt to forge more collaborative, future-proof partnerships 

As cities become smarter and more connected, the foundation of digital transformation lies in reimagining the infrastructure that powers it. This session explores the evolving business models, partnerships and technology advances driving next-generation networks. 

• What does “good” look like in the interplay between infracos, telcos, municipalities, utilities and other stakeholders – what examples are we seeing across the region? 

• How are permitting restrictions driving innovation in infrastructure design and partnerships?  

• What strategies are proving effective in optimising ground lease and site deployment costs? 

• How can digital infrastructure serve alternative customer bases and use cases and drive growth for digital infra investors?  

Rural and remote connectivity in Asia-Pacific remains a challenge despite the region’s rapid digital growth. How can new technologies, business models and policy frameworks effectively address the issue? What regional success stories and progress exists?  

• Geographic dispersion, monsoon climates and disaster-prone areas - what are APAC’s unique challenges and pain points? 

• What are operator roadmaps for FTTP, mobile and FWA in currently underserved areas? 

• What innovations exist in low cost, quick to deploy cell sites? 

• How can backhaul requirements be met more effectively? E-band 

• What business models are capabilities are required to deploy and manage remote infrastructure effectively? 

• How are LEO constellations materially changing views on how the connectivity gap should and will be addressed? 

• Innovative financing models: the role for universal service funds, DFIs and private capital? 

The golden age of major tower M&A is drawing to a close across much of the globe, new builds are slowing, and lease rates are under pressure. MNO consolidation, active sharing, and high interest rates are squeezing margins, while towerco investors hesitate to back bold diversification. In this session, we explore how towercos can shift from passive rent collectors to active value creators in this new, more mature world: 

• What are the unmet needs or pain points of MNOs that towercos could address? 

• Which adjacencies meet the risk and reward profiles for investors? 

• What opportunities could changes in network architecture unlock? 

• Are there alternative customer bases that could contribute to significant growth? 

Natural disasters are a persistent threat across many telecom markets, typhoons in the Philippines, earthquakes in Indonesia, floods in Bangladesh, wildfires in Australia. For telcos, resilience is no longer just about redundancy; it’s about designing networks, operations, and partnerships that can withstand and rapidly recover from extreme events. This session explores practical strategies to harden infrastructure, ensure business continuity, and restore services quickly when disaster strikes—while balancing costs, regulatory requirements, and community needs. We’ll showcase lessons learned from operators that have successfully navigated major outages and examine emerging technologies that can make networks “disaster-ready” from the outset. Key talking points 

• Integrating disaster modelling into network planning and AI-driven outage detection  

• Infrastructure hardening techniques and power resilience 

• Alignment with national disaster preparedness frameworks and leveraging USFs for resilience 

• Rapid recovery capabilities: COWs, satellite coverage and roaming agreements 

Power remains one of the biggest operational challenges and costs for mobile networks in off-grid and poor-grid locations, especially across rural Asia and parts of Southeast Asia and the Pacific. This session explores what operational excellence looks like in managing energy at the cell site level, and how innovation, digitalisation, and new business models are helping operators and towercos address power-related pain points. 

• How is more energy-efficient equipment (including low-power radios and rectifiers), advanced battery technologies, and renewable integration reshaping site design? 

• What new highs are being reached in terms of remote monitoring, predictive maintenance, and AI/ML-driven energy optimisation? 

• How are partnerships with ESCOs evolving across the region? 

• To what extent can joint digitalisation-electrification initiatives play a role through better better engagement between the telecom, power and government sectors? 

The war in Ukraine triggered an unprecedented energy crisis across Europe, sending electricity prices soaring and exposing telecom operators to severe and unexpected cost shocks. The impact on telco balance sheets was material, forcing executives to reassess risk exposure, renegotiate contracts, and accelerate energy resilience strategies. While APAC markets have not experienced the same uniform scale of disruption, regional volatility driven by fuel shortages, extreme weather, and rising LNG and coal prices is placing upward pressure on energy costs. 

• What can the APAC telecom sector learn from Europe's experience around the strategic importance of energy procurement, the role of hedging, and the urgency of diversifying power sources? 

• Are rising energy costs coupled with escalating resiliency requirements necessitating increased deployment of on-site back-up power solutions? 

• To what extent is energy management is evolving from a back-office function to a board-level imperative? 

• To what extent are ESG objectives still front and centre in energy decisions? 

AI is racing ahead, and every sector is exploring how it can reshape the way they work. For telcos and infrastructure players, its potential to revolutionise operations is undeniable, yet the industry still lacks a unified view on where the technology can yield most value. In this session, four compelling case studies will bring AI’s role to life, showcasing real-world applications that drive efficiency, cut costs and deliver added value.  

• Network simulation and planning  

• Driving infrastructure sharing and revenue generation 

• Streamlining workflows and processes 

Open RAN is poised to reshape not only the vendor landscape but also the broader investment model for mobile networks. This session explores how Open RAN could democratise the network stack, shift financial responsibilities across the ecosystem, and catalyse new partnerships between MNOs, towercos, vendors, and neutral hosts. 

• To what extent will Open RAN will gain widespread traction globally or remain a niche strategy shaped by specific market dynamics, regulatory environments, and operator priorities. 

• How does the Open RAN movement open the door to new players (such as towercos) taking on capital investments traditionally made by MNOs (e.g. RRU and fronthaul) and reduce capex duplication 

• What is the appetite of MNOs and towercos for this change and what could the financial model look like? 

• Who is best placed to play an orchestration role, bringing together the various network components  

As 5G demand grows and indoor data usage continues to dominate, the in-building connectivity market is approaching a critical inflection point. This session will explore how the commercial and technical models for in-building solutions (IBS) are evolving across the globe. 

• Will enterprises increasingly fund their own systems to ensure quality coverage?  

• Are mobile network operators showing greater openness to sharing infrastructure inside buildings?  

• What role can regulators and industry bodies play through policies, frameworks, and technical specifications to accelerate deployment? 

• To what extend does the in-building neutral host model resonate with digital infra investors? 

With heightened interest rates, an escalating cost base and competitive pressures squeezing margins, optimising opex has become mission-critical for telcos, infracos, and their partners. This session explores the biggest opex cost drivers in the crosshairs over board room tables, and lays out the key strategies being put in place to reduce spend without compromising performance. 

Key discussion points 

• From real estate and leases, to field operations and software licensing - what are the most significant opex costs? 

• Where can savings most readily be made? 

• What will be the role of new technologies and AI? 

• What partnerships and business models are under review? 

• What are the opex reduction targets for the year ahead?