The short answer
How big is the global ICT infrastructure market?
About $735bn in 2026, within a range of $560bn to $960bn, rising to roughly $1.45 trillion by 2035 at about 8% a year. Demand is close to unlimited. What sets the pace is power, permits and certified installers.
Most published figures combine three separate markets, computing hardware, connectivity and the specialist trade that installs both, which overstates the addressable segment by 3 to 20 times. This report sizes eleven domains separately across 120 countries.
By Matthew Griffin, 311 Institute · · Updated
Key facts
- $735bnthe whole ICT infrastructure market in 2026, within a range of $560bn to $960bn. 311 Institute, 2026
- $1.45tnits expected size by 2035, growing about 8% a year. 311 Institute, 2026
- $320bnthe physical equipment and specialist services segment within it. 311 Institute, 2026
- 64 to 72%of installation cost is labour, the one layer that cannot be bought off a shelf. 311 Institute, 2026
- 2037 to 38when flagship data centre metros now quote new grid connections. 311 Institute, 2026
- 120countries sized, across eleven separate domains. 311 Institute, 2026
The main finding
It is not one market. It is three.
The easy read is that this is an AI data-centre story with one big headline number. In fact it is three markets: computing hardware, connectivity, and the specialist trade that installs and maintains both.
Most published figures combine all three, which overstates the addressable segment by 3 to 20 times. Break the numbers down and the one layer that cannot be substituted is the certified workforce that does the installation work.
Demand is close to unlimited. Power, permits and people set the pace
What limits the growth of ICT infrastructure?
Most errors come from what gets counted.
The big gaps between published market figures come from scope, not forecasting. Sizing each domain separately removes the double-counting.
Power and permits cap the build, not demand.
Grid capacity prices in PJM rose about eleven-fold in two years, and flagship metros now quote grid connection for 2037 to 2038.
Nothing gets built without the certified installer.
You can choose not to build. But every project that goes ahead needs certified trades, and they are scarce in every region.
Where to expand follows its own logic.
The US, Canada, the UK, Australia and Ireland open almost automatically. The small states where subsea cables land are cheap footholds into whole regions.
The whole cake first, then the slices
How was the ICT infrastructure market sized?
Eleven domains are sized globally, then split across 120 countries using three ICT-native drivers, not the size of each economy. Every slice adds back to the whole.
Every headline figure comes with a range and a confidence grade, and the swing factors behind the range are named.
Each source is marked primary, corroborated, single-source, unverified or foresight, so you can see how much weight each number can bear.
Ten chapters, from the forces to the outlook
What is inside the ICT infrastructure report?
Five parts take you from what drives the build, through where the money goes and who does the work, to the limits and scenarios that shape the market to 2035.
The forces reshaping ICT
Five macro forces and the three limits they create.
Where the market spends
Eleven domains, sized separately to avoid double-counting.
The global atlas of demand
120 markets ranked on three ICT-native drivers.
The connectivity gateways
The small states where subsea cables come ashore.
Converging disciplines
Four zones where separate trades are fusing.
Profit pools and disruption
Where the lasting margin sits, and what could bypass it.
The workforce
Labour, certification and the career chain.
Standards and regulation
The rules that set demand floors.
Power and permitting
The limits that decide where capacity lands.
The outlook to 2035
Technology shifts and three scenarios.
Bring the report to your organisation
Book Matthew Griffin to explain what this means for you.
Matthew will turn the findings into a clear session about your markets, your build plans and your workforce, then help your leaders decide what to do next.
Keynote
Give leaders, teams or event audiences a clear view of where the ICT build is heading and what limits it.
Executive briefing
Give your board a private session on your markets, your exposure and the decisions to take now.
Leadership workshop
Turn the report into a market-entry and workforce plan for your organisation.
Tell us who the session is for and what you want it to achieve. We will suggest the right format.
Questions
The ICT infrastructure market, answered
How big is the global ICT infrastructure market?+
About $735bn in 2026, within a range of $560bn to $960bn, growing to roughly $1.45 trillion by 2035 at about 8% a year. This excludes a further $175bn of mobile-network equipment.
What limits how much gets built?+
Power, permits and people, not demand. Grid connections in flagship metros are now quoted for 2037 to 2038, and certified installers are scarce in every region.
Why do published market figures differ so much?+
Most combine three separate markets: computing hardware, connectivity and the specialist trade that installs both. That overstates the addressable segment by 3 to 20 times.
How fast is the ICT infrastructure market growing?+
About 8% a year, from roughly $735bn in 2026 to about $1.45 trillion by 2035. Growth is capped by power, permits and the supply of certified installers rather than by demand.
Which countries are the best markets for ICT infrastructure?+
The US, Canada, the UK, Australia and Ireland open almost automatically. The small states where subsea cables come ashore are cheap footholds into whole regions.
Can Matthew present the findings?+
Yes. The research can be turned into a keynote, board briefing or workshop for your markets and your build plans.
Cite this report
Using these findings?
You are welcome to quote the findings with a link to this page. Please cite the report as:
Free to quote with credit and a link. Please ask before republishing whole sections, more than three charts or the PDF itself. How to use our research.
Griffin, M. (2026). The State of Global ICT Infrastructure. 311 Institute. https://www.311institute.com/state-of-global-ict-infrastructure/
More 311 Institute research
Keep reading.
Foresight studyThe Future of Data and Energy Transmission 2050What will carry the world's power and data to 2050, and who will control it?
Foresight studyFuture of Work: One Person, 10,000 HandsWhat is the future of work when AI agents and robots can do the work of many people for one?
Foresight studyThe Dead Internet Theory, PricedIs the dead internet theory true, and what does it cost to reach real people?
RankingThe Global AI Power Index 2026Which countries lead AI, and why?
RiskRogue AI and The Unkillable MachineCan you actually switch off a rogue AI?
CodexThe Future of the Connected WorldWhy does the future of connectivity matter to every business?
CodexExponential Technology CodexWhy do emerging technologies matter to your organisation now?
The libraryAll 311 Institute reports and codexesBrowse the full research library.
See the full picture.
Download the complete 104-page report, The State of Global ICT Infrastructure.
Download the report (PDF, 3.3 MB)