FCGA Summit 2025 – Duba

Dubai, 5th November 2025. Hosted in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, by the Fiber Connect Council MENA, who holds this year’s presidency of the FTTH Councils Global Alliance (FCGA), the summit brought together over 25 senior leaders from the six regional councils forming the platform for two days of networking and discussions over the Smart Cities and differences and commonalities of fiber deployment and adoption at international level.

The summit featured insightful discussions on the future of smart cities, where speakers from Atkins Realis and Salience Consulting emphasized that digital infrastructure forms the backbone of successful smart cities. They also highlighted the challenges of data privacy and the importance of leveraging AI to enhance urban efficiency. Another key focus was the critical role of fiber in AI infrastructure—underlining the message “No Fiber, No AI.” Experts discussed how operators can utilize AI to deliver superior customer experiences, culminating in a panel on The Future of Fiber Optics in the AI Era, covering data centers, fiber sensing, and various fiber applications in AI-driven environments.

The Fiber Connect Council MENA, through its Director General Kholoud Aldorgham, emphasized that the MENA region is no longer merely a participant in the global digital transformation—it is rapidly emerging as a key driver of innovation and intelligent infrastructure. From national AI initiatives to large-scale data centre investments and fiber interconnectivity projects that link cities and continents, the region is actively building the digital backbone of the future.

Gary Bolton, President and CEO of the Fiber Broadband Association in North America presented a view on the major technology innovation tipping points that will be fuelled by critical fiber optic infrastructure. During his discussion, he provided an overview on the progress of the fiber build out in the U.S., including an update on the $42.45B government subsidy funding program for providing broadband connectivity to unserved and underserved communities. Bolton concluded with an outlook for the future and the critical role that fiber will play in the acceleration of next gen technology and the positive impact on generations to come.

Vincent Garneier, Director General of FTTH Council Europe emphasized that Europe is making significant progress towards its goal of gigabit connectivity for all by 2030.

At the end of 2024, full fibre coverage has passed 75% but significant investment are still necessary to reach 100% coverage and, more importantly increase adoption which is today lagging behind. The FTTH Council Europe is advocating for Copper Switch off policies as a key leverage to increase take up and offer better visibility to private investors.

Dr. Andile Ngcaba, President of the Digital Council Africa, presented “Securing Africa’s Digital Future: Sovereignty, AI, and Connectivity,” emphasizing Africa’s urgent need to achieve digital sovereignty. He introduced Sovereign AI, a “Sovereignty as a Service” platform empowering nations to control their data, infrastructure, and AI capabilities locally. The presentation highlighted the importance of robust connectivity and regional collaboration to build a resilient, Pan-African digital ecosystem.

The summit also featured a review of the upcoming FCGA whitepaper on the In-Home Connectivity Study, which is expected to be launched soon on the FCGA website link: www.ftthglobalalliance.org.

More about the FCGA

The FTTH Council Global Alliance (FCGA) is the platform for cooperation of the six regional FTTH Councils: the FTTH Council Europe, the Fiber Broadband Association, the Fiber Broadband Association – LATAM chapter, the Fiber Network Council APAC, the Digital Council Africa and the Fiber Connect Council MENA.

The FCGA offers these powerful, independent organizations unique opportunities to adapt their activities to local market and technology developments and share findings and best practices. Each council is promoting adoption of FTTH in its own region, while the FCGA facilitates global cooperation among these councils by exchanging studies, information, and market developments.

Contact

Kholoud Aldorgham, Director General
Kholoud@fiberconnectmena.org
info@fiberconnectmena.org
https://www.ftthglobalalliance.org/