Staring with a little bit of 5G: In India, 5G momentum continues to accelerate — more than 6,400 new sites went live in September, pushing the national total past half a million. The expansion underscores operators’ long-term investment in large-scale, high-performance infrastructure anchoring India’s digital economy.

Meanwhile, AI continues to reshape how networks are designed, managed, and understood. In our debut episode of Signal & Noise, Vish Nandlall and Sean Kinney unpack the “four paradoxes of AI” — exploring how intelligence, once scarce, is becoming a utility with profound economic implications. “These aren’t just news items. They are seismic shifts,” Nandlall says. “The game is no longer just about having the best algorithm, but also about having the cheapest power, the smartest logistics, and the savviest partnerships.” This insightful interview is absolutely worth the watch.

That industrial-scale intelligence doesn’t just run in data centers — it’s also reshaping the physical layer. AI-enabled fiber metrology is helping ensure the quality and precision needed to support the surge in 800G+ optical transceivers and AI-driven bandwidth growth. However, while embedding AI can vastly improve the detection accuracy in optical probe microscopes; but as RCR’s Sulagna Saha notes, experts warn against overreliance: “Experts say that AI-powered inspection is neither a necessity nor should be used as a standalone tool for analyzing fiber optic connector end faces.” 

Taken together, today’s top stories suggest that intelligence — whether digital, human, or networked — is rapidly becoming telecom’s most critical infrastructure.