# The Future of Connectivity: Cisco Testifies Before Senate Commerce Subcommittee on AI-Native Networking > Source: > Published: 2026-08-04 11:17:47+00:00 Artificial intelligence is fundamentally reshaping the landscape of global connectivity, acting as a catalyst for a new, sophisticated “connectivity fabric.” Cisco is building the secure, American-led infrastructure for the AI era. On Thursday July 30, Cisco’s [Bob Everson](https://blogs.cisco.com/author/bob-everson), Chief Architect for Cisco’s Service Provider Mobility team, testified before the Senate Commerce Telecom Subcommittee, highlighting in his [written testimony](https://www.commerce.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/meetings/379d9950-dc84-b1bf-2c6a-ee1ebb42fbe2/Everson_Testimony-7.30.26-Final_d1fc268a-ed9e-42a7-abbe-d52a960f49e1.pdf) and opening statement how AI is redefining networks, how the U.S. should lead through balanced spectrum and American-led tech stack, and how we can define American economic strength and national security for decades to come: **A Shift in Network Traffic Patterns:** AI is fundamentally altering the behavior of data on our networks. Cisco projects that AI-driven campus and branch traffic will surge by 209% over the next three years. Unlike traditional applications, which are largely optimized for downstream content consumption, AI workloads are heavily uplink-intensive and require more complex, two-way communication.**The Unprecedented Demands of AI Agents:** The rise of autonomous AI agents is placing significant strain on legacy infrastructure. Cisco’s internal testing revealed that AI agents generate 450% more traffic per task than human users. To manage this load efficiently, Everson emphasized that edge computing will play an increasingly vital role in reducing infrastructure costs and securing sensitive data.**AI-Native Operations for Machine-Speed Networks:** Managing and securing modern, distributed networks requires leveraging agentic operations—using AI to monitor and manage infrastructure in real time. By identifying faults, predicting threats, and automating responses, this approach allows networks to self-heal and operate at machine speed. **Opening Statement: Bob Everson** Chairman Fischer, Ranking Member Luján, Chairman Cruz, Ranking Member Cantwell, and distinguished Senators, thank you for the invitation to testify. My name is Bob Everson. For 30 years at Cisco, I have worked on the systems powering our nation’s critical networks, and I’ve never seen a shift this consequential. Artificial intelligence is not just another application. It is driving a new connectivity fabric that will help define U.S. economic strength and national security for decades. Today, I will focus on how AI is transforming our networks and how Cisco is using AI to improve them. First, AI is changing not only the volume of network traffic, but the behavior. Cisco measured a fourfold increase in AI inference traffic over eight months. Networks have traditionally been optimized for content flowing downstream. AI is far more two-way and uplink-intensive: prompts, context, sensor data, and agent activity all travel back toward AI models, and the resulting connections are active longer than conventional web transactions. AI agents amplify these effects by operating at software speed. In our testing, an agent generated 450 percent more traffic than a person performing the same task, and roughly 70 percent of that additional traffic was inference. Meeting these demands requires more balanced network designs—greater upstream capacity, resilient paths with end-to-end visibility, stronger security, and quality of service that can tailor the AI traffic. As models become faster, the locations where computing occurs—from centralized clouds to the edge—will increasingly affect performance, cost, and data governance. A network this fast and distributed cannot be operated solely at human pace. Through AgenticOps, Cisco uses AI to support self-healing operations—identifying faults, rerouting traffic, and recovering at machine speed. Our deep network models can distinguish legitimate AI traffic from anomalies, help predict and isolate threats, identify vulnerabilities, and guide operators in deploying patches. AI-native mobile networks can use spectrum and infrastructure more efficiently, adapt in real time, and enable new services. For service providers, this can also turn the network into a platform for growth, opening new revenue streams beyond connectivity through services like inference optimization, edge AI, trusted AI services, and industry-specific solutions. One noteworthy example is integrated sensing and communications, which allows AI to combine radio signals with vision and other inputs so wireless networks can connect devices while also detecting objects and movement—supporting applications such as safer robotics, more efficient buildings, enhanced public safety, and healthcare. Together, these capabilities define a new generation of intelligent, secure, and distributed networks that carry AI, use AI to improve operations, and enable AI-native applications and services—strengthening economic competitiveness and national security. I commend the NTIA for this week’s Call to Action for 6G Leadership and Security, which advances the international cooperation needed to ensure trusted partners shape the 6G future. To sustain U.S. leadership, I offer three policy priorities. First, accelerate the U.S. AI-native stack. Cisco is investing across multiple dimensions of AI-native networking—bringing new capabilities to 5G-Advanced today while building the foundation for 6G. One example of this commitment is AI-WIN—a collaboration among Cisco, NVIDIA, MITRE, ORAN Development Company, Booz Allen, and T-Mobile—which brings AI, compute, and wireless together to create a secure, American-led path from 5G-Advanced to AI-native 6G. I would encourage Congress to lean on American strengths in these areas. Second, modernize permitting and infrastructure. As computing becomes more distributed, permitting must enable rapid and responsible deployment. As this Committee considers the future of the Universal Service Fund, it should account for the evolving costs of AI-ready networks so rural and urban communities can share in the benefits. Third, maintain a balanced spectrum policy. The 800 megahertz of licensed spectrum recently made available by Congress is essential to high-capacity, high-uplink connectivity. The FCC’s authorization of the 6 gigahertz band for unlicensed use is equally important to meeting enterprise demand. A dependable pipeline of both is foundational to American leadership, and I thank you for your efforts to rebuild it. Cisco stands ready to work with this Committee to ensure the United States remains the world’s premier destination for AI and wireless innovation. Thank you for the opportunity to testify. I look forward to your questions.