AT&T says AI inference is lifting enterprise edge demand in 2026

AT&T said at Cisco Live 2026 that AI inference is driving renewed enterprise interest in edge compute for the first time in 10 years.

TL;DR

• AT&T's Andy Foerstner told Fierce at Cisco Live 2026 that enterprises are starting to show interest in edge compute again.
• Foerstner said AI inference is the main factor behind the renewed demand.
• AT&T also said it remains unclear where enterprise compute workloads should live.

AT&T's Andy Foerstner told Fierce at Cisco Live 2026 that enterprise demand for edge compute is reappearing after about 10 years of limited momentum. He said AI inference is the reason enterprises are revisiting edge deployments.

Foerstner said the main open question is where compute should be placed. He said it is still unclear whether enterprise workloads should run at the edge or in another location.

The comments were reported by Fierce Network from Cisco Live 2026. The source description did not provide deployment figures, customer numbers, countries, or product names beyond AT&T, Cisco Live 2026, and AI inference.

Related questions

• What did AT&T say is driving enterprise edge compute demand in 2026?
• Who at AT&T commented on enterprise edge compute at Cisco Live 2026?
• What uncertainty did AT&T identify around enterprise compute placement?