Today’s telecom news includes announcements on Arelion, Nokia, TDS, Tennessee FTTH Project, DE-CIX, TOWARDEX, OCUDU, among others.
Arelion and Nokia Achieve 21% Optical Spectrum Expansion on 500-km Amsterdam–London Network
Arelion and Nokia have completed a live-network optical trial across Arelion’s 500-km Amsterdam–London route, demonstrating approximately 21 percent more usable optical spectrum. The trial used Nokia’s 1830 Global Express Super C and Super L open line system, CHMQ6 transponder modules and ICE-X coherent pluggable optics supporting 400G and 800G ZR+ connectivity. Expanding the usable optical spectrum allows Arelion to carry more traffic over existing fiber infrastructure without constructing additional long-distance routes. The architecture supports managed optical fiber services connecting hyperscale data centers, cloud platforms and enterprise networks. The companies have not announced a commercial deployment timetable or investment value following the trial.
TDS Completes Tennessee FTTH Project Connecting More Than 3,000 Locations
TDS Telecom has completed its Monroe County, Tennessee, fiber expansion, providing upgraded broadband infrastructure to more than 3,000 homes and businesses. The project covers communities including Tellico Plains, Coker Creek, Vonore and Ball Play. Construction began in 2025 and was supported by a grant from the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development using federal American Rescue Plan Act funding. TDS financed the remaining project costs. The completed network offers symmetrical broadband beginning at 300 Mbps, with speeds reaching 8 Gbps at qualifying addresses. Business customers can obtain dedicated 10 Gbps connections with service-level agreements. The project extends full-fiber connectivity into previously underserved rural communities.
DE-CIX and TOWARDEX Connect Boston Fiber Infrastructure to New York Internet Exchange
DE-CIX and TOWARDEX have announced a network interconnection linking Boston’s Hub Express System with the DE-CIX New York Internet Exchange. The partnership extends access to DE-CIX’s peering infrastructure for regional carriers, broadband providers, data centers and enterprises using Boston’s underground fiber network. The Hub Express System is designed as a decentralized telecommunications corridor that allows participants to interconnect fiber infrastructure without relying exclusively on traditional carrier hotels. The arrangement uses DE-CIX’s Carrier Turnkey Connectivity framework to provide access to internet peering and cloud-interconnection services. Participating networks can obtain connectivity through regional fiber providers. The companies have not disclosed the investment value, additional route length or expected traffic capacity.
OCUDU 26.10 Adds 5G Satellite NTN and 8T8R MIMO to Open Source RAN Platform
The OCUDU Ecosystem Foundation has released OCUDU 26.10, expanding its open-source radio access network software with 3GPP Release 17 Non-Terrestrial Network support, enabling development of satellite-connected 5G infrastructure. The release adds 8T8R MIMO, enhanced beamforming, multi-beam operation and O-RAN Split 7.2b capabilities. Additional features include native 5G positioning, two-step random access, uplink pre-scheduling and configured grants to improve radio-network responsiveness. The project is hosted by the Linux Foundation and has attracted 95 new member organizations since the foundation’s launch. The new software provides additional tools for testing terrestrial and satellite RAN architectures.
