Cogent Communications CEO: AI Could Reignite Internet Traffic as Price Compression Persists

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MarketBeat

Sat, March 7, 2026 astatine 1:02 PM CST 9 min read

Cogent Communications logo

Cogent Communications logo
  • AI could re-accelerate net traffic: CEO Dave Schaeffer said AI inference — not yet wide embedded successful apps — could boost "bit intensity" and propulsion postulation maturation supra today's ~10% toward oregon beyond the semipermanent inclination aft streaming's S‑curve matures.

  • Price compression remains structural, but Cogent's low‑cost web lets it vie astatine astir a 50% discount to marketplace pricing, helping the institution go the largest planetary bearer by postulation portion capturing immoderate technology-driven outgo declines arsenic profit.

  • Growth and balance‑sheet roadmap: Cogent targets 6%–8% yearly gross maturation and ~200 bps of EBITDA borderline expansion, is scaling wavelengths (now ~4% of gross and up 100% YoY by repurposing Sprint assets), and plans accelerated de‑levering including a $750M secured refinancing to regenerate 2027 unsecured notes.

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Cogent Communications (NASDAQ:CCOI) Chief Executive Dave Schaeffer told investors astatine a Morgan Stanley lawsuit that the institution is positioning for what helium described arsenic the adjacent large operator of net postulation growth—artificial intelligence—while continuing to vie successful an manufacture characterized by persistent terms compression and consolidating competitors.

Schaeffer said the net has grown astatine a compounded complaint of astir 23% annually implicit astir 35 years, though today’s postulation maturation is person to 10% arsenic the basal has expanded. He argued that the net inactive has “decades near of continuous growth” and described the manufacture arsenic moving done recurring technology-driven inflection points.

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According to Schaeffer, streaming video has been the superior operator of caller growth, accelerating since the commencement of the pandemic. He cited an summation successful streaming’s stock of video depletion successful the developed satellite from astir 18% 5 years agone to 54% today, describing it arsenic an S-shaped adoption curve that is present maturing.

He said AI inference has not yet been wide integrated into applications and concern processes, and suggested that arsenic AI adoption matures, postulation maturation could re-accelerate from astir 10% to perchance supra the semipermanent inclination line. Schaeffer described net postulation maturation arsenic driven by the fig of users, clip spent online, and “bit strength per minute,” with the second being astir important.

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