Today’s Signal

May 23, 2026

Data Centers May Be America’s Most Misunderstood Infrastructure Asset

A report from Broadband Breakfast highlights comments from Chip Pickering arguing that data centers are increasingly being misunderstood in public and policy discussions. As scrutiny around energy consumption, land use, and infrastructure costs grows, the broader economic and strategic role of data centers is often becoming overshadowed by concerns around power demand and local impact.

The argument is notable because it reflects a growing tension in the broader data center narrative. Much of the public conversation has increasingly focused on what data centers consume—electricity, water, land, and infrastructure investment. Less attention is often paid to what they enable: cloud services, AI systems, government operations, communications platforms, healthcare systems, financial networks, and a growing share of the modern digital economy. ‍ ‍(More)

Why It Matters

This is an important signal because it highlights a broader challenge emerging across infrastructure policy: the gap between public perception and infrastructure reality.

As AI demand accelerates and digital infrastructure becomes more visible, policymakers and communities are asking legitimate questions about energy use, costs, and local impacts. At the same time, governments increasingly rely on these same facilities to support mission systems, cybersecurity operations, citizen services, and next-generation technologies.

The result is a more complex policy environment where infrastructure decisions increasingly require balancing two realities:

• the visible costs of data centers

• the less visible value they create

Finding that balance may shape future development, regulation, and investment priorities.

Gov DCx POV

The debate around data centers increasingly asks:

What do they consume?

The equally important question may be:

What becomes possible because they exist?

As digital infrastructure becomes more central to economic competitiveness and government operations, understanding both sides of that equation will become increasingly important.