As AI training outgrows a single site, Scale Across is the new normal. How Meta defines the next generation of interconnect, why Google says "fiber is the new wavelength," and the strategy behind Lumen's push to add 41 million fiber miles.

AI traffic is reshaping network architecture. Nokia's Q1 highlight was not traditional telecom but 49% revenue growth from AI/cloud customers. With its new San Jose InP fab about to come online, how is Nokia using vertical integration to pull ahead in the 800G wave?

At 1.6T, choosing IMDD no longer buys you lower power — only shorter reach. With a reach-collapse chart and a standards matrix full of "Undefined," Nokia argues the real 1600G+ problem isn't physics but too many options and an industry slow to converge.

Silicon modulators hit an RC bottleneck at 50–60 GHz. Nokia Bell Labs flip-chip integrated a TFLN modulator with a commercial driver IC to build the first CPO transmitter of its kind: Vπ·L 2.3 V·cm, EO bandwidth >45 GHz. Coupling loss and heat are the next hurdles.

Nokia's biggest signal this quarter isn't +9% revenue — it's AI & Cloud doubling and orders reaching €2.8B. Management tapped the brakes itself: orders will be lumpy and half won't convert for 12+ months. The real bets are its in-house InP fab and AI-RAN.