For two decades, broadband providers competed on a single dimension: speed. Now that gigabit connections reach a quarter of American homes, speed has become table stakes rather than a differentiator, and the industry faces a deeper reckoning — one measured not in megabits, but in trust, reliability, and the quiet assurance that someone is watching over your network before something goes wrong. Research from Parks Associates and Plume suggests that artificial intelligence is not merely a new tool in this industry, but the terrain on which the next era of competition will be decided.