Silicon Silk Road

Optics and Watts: Who owns AI's bottlenecks?

Power constraints spread from grid operators to state regulators, while fiber and optics consolidate under fewer owners; the latest from PJM, Zayo…

Jul 15 • Matt Walker

1

The Unmanned Network (2 July 2026)

Tracking automation, AI, and AN in telecom: DTW Ignite and MWC Shanghai turn autonomous networks from vision to reality

Jul 2 • Matt Walker

2

June 2026

Ericsson's AI moment: Too little, too telecom

Sovereign AI represents an opening, but speed is the question.

Jun 25 • Matt Walker

3

The Unmanned Network (17 June 2026)

Tracking automation, AI, and AN in telecom: Ericsson bets software, Nokia bets silicon, China bets $295 billion

Jun 17 • Matt Walker

1

Optics and Watts: Tracking AI's data center power and fiber connectivity needs

Behind the meter (BTM) generation, CPO switches, fiber supply deals, and the infrastructure race for the gigawatt campus

Jun 16 • Matt Walker

1

1

May 2026

SpaceX’s $1.6 trillion telecom pitch meets reality

Starlink is becoming strategically important infrastructure. That does not mean it is about to conquer telecom.

May 25 • Matt Walker and Arun Menon

4

Spend Faster, They Said

Early earnings from hyperscalers in 1Q26 shows record backlogs, record debt, record capex, and AI revenue figures no two companies define the same way

May 1 • Matt Walker

2

April 2026

Petabits per rack: How AI traffic is reshaping networks

A review of 30 OFC 2026 papers from Meta, Samsung, TSMC, Ciena, and others on how AI networks are built today, where the architecture is heading, and…

Apr 27 • Matt Walker

Telco NI market outlook: Recovery in a divided market

Growth in telco network spending returned in 2025, but geopolitics and AI-driven demand are reshaping industry; Fujikura, Wiwynn, Alphabet, Amazon and…

Apr 15 • Arun Menon

1

Breaking the AI power tax at OFC 2026: from silicon photonics to hollow core fiber

How industry giants and startups are re-engineering the physical layer

Apr 10 • Matt Walker

2

Another oil crisis pushes telcos to renewable energy

As America’s latest Middle East war spikes oil prices, telcos like Turkcell, Tele2 and DT reap benefits from green energy push; laggards like Charter…

Apr 8 • Matt Walker

6

March 2026

Hyperscale market outlook: The rising risk of a crash

Annualized capex clears 500 billion dollars while free cash flow hits record lows as the AI arms race drains liquidity

Mar 31 • Matt Walker