Artificial intelligence is reshaping our daily lives faster than almost any technology before it.

Whereas the internet before it helped us to shop, consume content and research, AI is helping us create, build and digest information at an unprecedented rate.

Businesses are fundamentally rethinking how they operate around it, roles are being redesigned, and workers are under pressure to adapt or fall behind.

In September 2026, RETN surveyed 2,000 consumers across the United States, Europe, and Asia, 54% said they would be significantly affected within a few days if AI services disappeared.

With worldwide AI spending forecast to reach $2.59 trillion in 2026, this dependence is fuelling unprecedented investment in data centres – and consumers have noticed: 53% named AI tools as the biggest driver of new data-centre construction. Big Tech companies have signed agreements that extend five to ten years into the future, committing around $2 trillion to new capacity. 

However, the technology doesn’t rely on data centres alone. It depends on four connected parts: the data centres where models are trained and run, the power that feeds them, the carriers whose networks move the traffic, and the people and businesses using it.

As an independent provider with a network spanning Europe, Asia, and North America, RETN is seeing new opportunities emerge in locations where connectivity is still developing, alongside growing investment in long-haul routes to connect the next generation of digital infrastructure with users.