Pioneer Cities Lead New Quality Internet Construction, Opening a New Chapter in 2026 Next Generation Networks
[Shenzhen, November 8, 2025] During the 3rd Network Innovation and Development Conference, city representatives from China and overseas, industry experts, and representatives from international organizations gathered to discuss the practical path, challenges, opportunities, and future vision of next-generation networks in pioneer city construction. This event brings together global intelligence to comprehensively showcase the achievements and future blueprints of new Internet pioneer cities, and inject powerful impetus into the digital transformation of global cities.
Chen Gang, Director of Industrial Internet Division of Jiangsu Future Network Group, as a representative of the pioneer cities in China, analyzed the construction path of pioneer cities in China based on the practice of Nanjing. He pointed out that in the era of artificial intelligence, the demand for the construction of "computation, network, and data" has come into being, which is highly in line with the concept of "joint computing, joint data, joint intelligence, and networking" put forward by NIDA. Nanjing deployed computing infrastructure in Jiangbei New District and Yangzhou Yizheng, built a high-quality data system, and built a dedicated network plane to connect the intelligent computing center and general computing center, effectively supporting the implementation of emerging services. At the same time, Nanjing's explorations in high-speed data transmission optimization, trusted data space construction, and government agent applications effectively address the new challenges posed by the AI era to traditional network architecture.
Adolfo Borrero, chairman of the Smart City Committee of AMIC, Spain, shared an overseas perspective. As the largest information and communications technology association in Spain, AMIC integrates 115,000 enterprise resources and has made remarkable achievements in network standardization, smart tourism, and energy efficiency. The standard 178102, led by the company, has become an ISO standard, promoting interoperability and bandwidth improvement in communications systems. He stressed that Spain has established a network of city associations, collaborated with partners in Latin America, focused on cutting-edge directions such as WiFi7 deployment and AI perception convergence, promoted smart city construction with financial guarantee and policy support, and paid attention to the importance of tourism and energy efficiency in smart city development. Its construction concept of "people-oriented and sustainable development" provides an important reference for global and cross-regional collaboration.
During the roundtable discussion, guests from Uzbekistan, Egypt, Indonesia, Spain, and Kazakhstan had an in-depth exchange on "Challenges and Opportunities in the Construction of Next Generation Network Pioneer Cities".
The participants generally agreed that the main challenges they faced included: Digital divide between urban and rural areas, network bandwidth and quality bottlenecks, shortage of high-end skilled personnel, stability and synergy of technical standards and policies, and uncertainty of return on investment. Denny Setiawan, representative of Indonesia, highlighted the twin challenges posed by the island's geography.
On coping strategies, the participants stressed the importance of international cooperation and overall coordination. Ahemd Darwish, a former Egyptian minister, called on developed countries to strengthen cooperation with developing countries, while developing countries should participate more actively in international organizations and dialogues, and proposed solutions for AI agent applications and international talent flow. Ulugbek Azimov, the representative of Uzbekistan, stressed the importance of cross-country collaboration for network deployment. The value of collaboration was confirmed by the fact that the IPv6 penetration rate in Uzbekistan increased from less than 1% to 20%. Adolfo Borrero called for strengthening policy support and urging telecom operators to increase network investment. All parties agreed that sharing experience, collaboratively setting standards, and promoting talent flow and cultivation are key to meeting common challenges and grasping development opportunities.
During the conference, the "Certificate of Next Generation Network Pioneer City Case" was presented to the representatives of cities and institutions that have made outstanding contributions to the construction of the next generation network pioneer city. Representatives receiving this award include China Unicom, Jiangsu Future Network Innovation Research Institute, Beijing Xinertai Technology, Southeast University, Shanghai University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen Smart City Communication Co., Ltd., and Zijinshan Laboratory. The aim is to recognize these cities and institutions for their pioneering practices in network technology innovation, infrastructure upgrade, and smart application implementation, providing valuable lessons for the digital transformation of global cities.
At the end of the conference, under the joint witness of all the guests attending the conference, the launch ceremony of "New Chapter of New Internet Pioneer City 2026" was grandly held. Representatives of Chinese and foreign pioneer cities, international organizations, well-known enterprises, and research institutes took the stage together, symbolizing the gathering of global forces and the joint commitment to continue to deepen exploration and cooperation in the field of next-generation network technologies and pioneer city construction, and to promote the in-depth integration of new Internet technology innovation and urban practices.
Pioneer city construction is the core carrier for the development of the new Internet. Through the collision of Chinese and foreign experiences and the convergence of global wisdom, the conference fully demonstrated the leading role of global pioneer cities in the construction of the next generation Internet. It provides a clear roadmap and strong momentum for collaboration to build a smarter, efficient, inclusive and sustainable city of the future. The fire of practice in pioneer cities is sure to illuminate the path of the global digital future.
