Future Growth of Digital Infrastructure in 2026 Driven by Demand Signals

How demand and backlog signals are shaping future growth of digital infrastructure in 2026 (American Tower/“AMT” context)

The filings you provided describe 2026 growth momentum as demand-led and increasingly “backlog-like” in two ways: (1) structurally rising throughput/coverage needs for next-gen wireless (6G and earlier 5G-driven capacity upgrades) and (2) rapidly expanding interconnection and AI compute adjacency that creates durable leasing and revenue opportunities in AMT’s tower portfolio and CoreSite platform. Below is how those demand signals are expected to translate into growth shape in 2026.

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1) Wireless demand is rising, and management explicitly links it to near-term investment needs

AMT management frames the industry’s demand outlook in terms of compounding drivers: rising wireless data consumption, accelerating cloud adoption, expanding AI-driven workloads, and generational technology shifts—all described as global, structural, and long duration. ¹

They also quantify the capacity implications: U.S. industry analysts project mobile data traffic will double over the next 5 years, implying the industry must increase network capacity accordingly; management adds that these projections do not fully capture incremental upside from 6G transition and AI-enabled applications. ¹

Why this matters for 2026 growth

Even without providing a numeric “backlog” schedule, the transcript signals that the demand isn’t speculative: it’s tied to ongoing network build and capacity actions by carriers (which, in turn, require more tower/data-center-adjacent infrastructure). AMT’s view is that the demand dynamics translate into increased activity across its tower portfolio via trends toward denser networks and materially higher throughput requirements. ²

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2) AI and 6G are not only additional demand—they change the type of demand (throughput + complexity + interconnection)

Management’s 2026 outlook emphasizes AI as a step-change: “AI investment is exploding,” and AI applications are expected to place meaningfully greater demands on wireless networks in both throughput and complexity. ²

In parallel, AMT connects next-gen communications principles (6G) to operational activity: denser networks, more distributed compute, and higher throughput requirements should increase activity across the tower portfolio. ²

Backlog-like signal: inferencing, cloud on-ramps, and ecosystem buildouts

For CoreSite specifically, management describes a developing “ecosystem demand” that behaves like a pipeline of interconnection work:

• CoreSite is positioned to host customers’ data and interconnect “natively” to cloud on-ramps and inferencing hubs. ³
• The company emphasizes that its revenue is largely from providers interconnected with “5 or more other people,” creating an ecosystem described as “sticky” and more durable through downturns. ³
• Management says “Demand is scaling rapidly” alongside hybrid/multi-cloud deployments and a sharper ramp in AI-driven workloads, including inferencing. ²
• They describe a “clear inflection in interconnection activity” that enhances both profitability and long-term customer relationship durability. ⁴

This is effectively a demand-to-execution bridge: interconnection and AI-related facilities do not just require physical space; they require routing, connectivity, and ecosystem participation—conditions that can generate sustained leasing and high-margin interconnection revenue. ⁴

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3) Europe and emerging markets provide additional 2026 demand momentum via traffic growth and deployment density

Management expects the demand tailwinds to extend internationally, including markets beyond the U.S. ²

Two traffic-growth signals are highlighted:

• Europe: mobile data traffic expected to more than double by end of the decade, expected to drive significant amendment and colocation activity. ²
• Emerging markets: mobile data traffic expected to nearly triple by end of the decade, providing a “long runway” for growth. ²

How this affects 2026 growth shape

These aren’t just long-run narratives; they connect to near-term infrastructure actions (amendment, colocation, and portfolio build/expansion activity). ² Management also notes the business is already outperforming expectations in Europe (upper single-digit growth across the region for “a couple of years,” now moderated into the mid-single-digits, while still “compelling”). ⁵

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4) CoreSite’s demand inflection is framed as a durable trend (not a temporary spike)

The transcript treats interconnection activity as having moved into a higher-growth regime:

• Management states interconnection activity inflected clearly in the quarter, enhancing both platform profitability and long-term customer durability. ⁴
• CoreSite is described as delivering resilient leasing demand while capturing a high-margin interconnection revenue stream. ⁴
• They expect CoreSite to outperform traditional single-tenant hyperscale data center models as demand for interconnected AI-enabled infrastructure grows. ⁴
• Management further says its “conviction” on the platform is stronger after CoreSite meaningfully exceeded expectations and they plan to accelerate CoreSite expansion. ⁴

Backlog-style takeaway for 2026

While the excerpts don’t provide a “CoreSite interconnection backlog” number, the language indicates a pipeline shift: demand is moving faster, and the company attributes that to an ecosystem convergence (connectivity + cloud on-ramps + enterprise + inferencing instances). ⁴⁶

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5) Capacity and “build readiness” are being expanded to convert demand into physical execution

AMT also provides signals that it is preparing the physical bottlenecks that can otherwise cap growth—land, power, and construction lead times.

For CoreSite expansion, management states:

• They had to think longer term about land acquisition, power acquisition, and ordering components, with prior COVID-related supply chain disruption; this led them to take a longer-term view. ⁷
• They have had more construction over the past couple of years than at any time in CoreSite history, and they are more aggressive—buying more land and looking at new market entries (not announced until breakground timing is understood). ⁷
• On held-for-development power capacity, they say last year they had about 287,280 megawatts of development held for development and increased that by 200 megawatts. ⁸

Why this matters for 2026

Demand signals only translate into realized growth when supply-side readiness exists. Here, management highlights expanded development capacity (power and land) and accelerated construction capabilities—precisely the conditions needed to capitalize on the demand/ramp in interconnection and AI workloads. ⁷⁸²

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6) The company reports current-year demand strength through organic growth and data-center performance indicators

A major “realization” signal in the excerpts is reported performance and guidance framing:

• They cite organic growth in towers plus data center property revenue growth of approximately 17% excluding noncash straight-line revenue, attributing this double-digit growth to robust demand for hybrid and multi-cloud installations, accelerating AI-related use cases, and an inflection in interconnection activity. ⁹
• They describe this inflection as the beginning of a durable long-term trend that compounds CoreSite’s competitive moat. ⁹
• They also mention raising outlook due to incremental FX/straight-line tailwinds, but the core demand drivers remain highlighted as well. ¹⁹
• Their capital allocation plan for 2026 includes substantial investment in the data center portfolio: over $700 million in success-based investments to replenish elevated capacity levels, plus land purchases and European new builds (with over 700 new sites planned). ¹⁰

How this ties to backlog signals for 2026

These are the closest “backlog-like” signals provided in the excerpts: rather than quoting backlog dollars, the filings show (a) demand inflection, (b) realized growth in data center property revenue and interconnection activity, and (c) the planned capital deployment meant to meet accelerating throughput/AI-driven workloads. ⁹⁴¹⁰

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Bottom line: What the demand/backlog signals imply for future growth in 2026

Based on the excerpts, the future growth shaping “signals” for 2026 are:

1. Sustained wireless capacity demand driven by data traffic growth, 5G penetration, and emerging 6G/AI upside—expected to translate into more infrastructure activity in towers. ¹²
2. AI-driven workloads (including inferencing) and a rapidly scaling need for interconnection-rich infrastructure, with management describing a clear inflection and increasing durability of customer relationships at CoreSite. ²⁴⁶
3. International traffic growth (Europe and emerging markets) implying ongoing build/colocation/amendment needs that support tower and data-center ecosystem demand beyond the U.S. ²⁵
4. Execution readiness (power/land/capability)—increased development held-for-development power by 200 MW and increased construction activity—designed to ensure the company can convert demand into expansions in 2026. ⁸⁷
5. Observed performance and investment plans that reinforce the demand story: ~17% data center property revenue growth (excluding noncash straight-line revenue) tied to hybrid/multi-cloud, AI use cases, and interconnection inflection; plus >$700M success-based data center investments and 700+ European new sites planned for 2026. ⁹¹⁰

Together, these elements suggest that 2026 growth is being shaped less by a single near-term backlog number and more by a combination of (i) structural demand acceleration and (ii) demonstrated ability—and planned capacity—to serve that demand through 6G-era densification and AI-interconnection workloads. ²⁴¹⁰