通信周专题：IDC：新旧动能转换，重视AI新红利传导！

Industry Investment Rating - The report maintains a "Overweight" rating for the communication industry, indicating a positive outlook on the sector's performance relative to the overall market [2] Core Views - The report highlights the transition from traditional IDC (Internet Data Center) to AI-driven intelligent computing centers (智算中心) as a key growth driver for the industry [2] - Traditional IDC market is stabilizing, with retail and small-scale wholesale data centers reaching a stable phase in terms of utilization rates and cash flow [2] - The AI-driven intelligent computing center market is in its early stages, with significant growth potential due to increasing demand for AI infrastructure [3] Traditional IDC Market - The traditional IDC market has entered the late stage of inventory digestion, with both volume and pricing stabilizing after a period of adjustment [2] - Policy-driven consolidation and market self-adjustment have led to a downward adjustment in both volume and pricing since 2021 [11] - By 2024, marginal improvements are observed, with retail-type IDCs showing stable utilization rates and cash flow [15] Intelligent Computing Centers (智算中心) - Demand Side: Cloud providers' capital expenditure recovery is a key signal for the rebound in IDC demand, with BAT (Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent) significantly increasing investments in GPU and server infrastructure since Q1 2023 [3] - Supply Side: Third-party IDC providers are seeing a turning point in delivery pace, with fixed asset growth rates rebounding in the first half of 2024, indicating improved supply-demand dynamics [3] - The energy consumption required for AI computing centers is substantial, with a single 10,000-card cluster requiring over 10MW and a 100,000-card cluster requiring over 100MW [4] - From 2023 to 2029, the total load of new intelligent computing centers is expected to reach 100GW, with annual additions of 13-20GW, indicating a supply-demand imbalance in the short term [4] Third-Party IDC Providers - Runze Technology (润泽科技): The company has completed the delivery of two intelligent computing centers in Langfang and Jiaxing, with plans to build 600MW of capacity by 2025 [5] - 21Vianet (世纪互联): The company has 279MW of base-type IDC capacity in operation, with a utilization rate of 78%, the highest in its history [5] - GDS Holdings (万国数据): The company is expanding rapidly in Southeast Asia, with 102.9MW of IT load overseas and 430.6MW in orders, expecting to add 300MW in the next 18 months [5] Cloud Providers and AI Infrastructure - Cloud Providers: Major cloud providers, including BAT, have significantly increased capital expenditures since Q1 2023, focusing on GPU and server infrastructure [21] - AI Servers: The demand for AI servers is surging, with GPU server shipments in China growing by 58% in Q2 2024, reflecting strong demand for intelligent computing centers [30] Energy Consumption and Infrastructure - The energy consumption of AI computing centers is a critical factor, with single AI servers consuming up to 10kW, and large clusters requiring 100MW or more [40] - The report predicts that the total load of new intelligent computing centers will reach 100GW by 2029, with annual additions of 13-20GW, highlighting the supply-demand gap in the short term [40]