Nokia Advances Low Latency AI Infrastructure for Telcos

As AI becomes central to new services and applications, telco operators are under increasing pressure to build and operate infrastructure that can support AI workloads at scale. 

In response, Nokia has introduced a suite of technologies aimed at reducing latency and improving performance in AI-driven data centres – with a focus on meeting the unique demands of telecom environments.

Nokia’s latest innovations include the 7220 IXR-H6 series of high-capacity switches and its enhanced Event-Driven Automation (EDA) platform, now equipped with agentic AI-powered AIOps. 

Together, these tools help operators manage growing traffic loads while ensuring network consistency, reliability and energy efficiency.

For telcos supporting the infrastructure behind generative and agentic AI, Nokia’s offering addresses both the performance and operational challenges of this new computing era.

Meeting the latency challenge in AI data centres

Modern AI models, such as large language models (LLMs), rely on rapid, synchronised data transfers across thousands of GPUs or XPUs. Even as processing power grows, network latency remains a limiting factor in training and inference performance.

Nokia’s 7220 IXR-H6 switches are purpose-built for this challenge. They support up to 102.4Tbps throughput and offer 800GE and 1.6TE interface speeds – doubling the performance of previous models. This ensures the low-latency, high-throughput network fabric required to keep AI workloads in sync across distributed compute environments.

The switches are also compliant with the Ultra Ethernet Consortium (UEC) standard, which enhances Ethernet for AI and high-performance computing. 

UEC introduces congestion management and deterministic packet handling designed to eliminate micro-latency across large-scale deployments – a key requirement for AI clusters operated by telcos.

Alan Weckel, Founder and Analyst at 650 Group, says: “Agentic AI-powered AIOps on Nokia’s EDA platform is timely, driving increased operational efficiency and reliability in a demanding network environment.”

Flexible design for scalable telco deployments

Telco operators building AI infrastructure need more than speed – they also need deployment flexibility, power efficiency and support for open networking environments.

Nokia’s 7220 IXR-H6 switch family is available in both air- and liquid-cooled configurations, allowing telcos to match thermal performance to site conditions and sustainability targets. 

The compact form factor supports high rack density, enabling operators to increase capacity without expanding their physical footprint – an important advantage as AI clusters grow in scale.

The switches also offer dual support for Nokia SR Linux, the company’s in-house NOS, and Community SONiC, the open-source alternative. This flexibility gives operators the choice between vendor-optimised control and disaggregated, open networking environments.

Tom Burke, Chief Revenue Officer at Nscale, highlighted the operational impact of these capabilities: “Our partnership with Nokia continues to deliver meaningful operating advantages amid the accelerating pace of AI innovation.”

Automation to ensure performance at scale

To maintain consistent performance across complex, AI-ready networks, Nokia’s updated EDA platform introduces AIOps features powered by agentic AI. 

These capabilities allow telcos to interact with networks via natural language, detect anomalies in real time, and enable self-healing behaviours that reduce downtime.

EDA integrates tools like real-time telemetry, digital twin modelling, and dry-run testing, giving operators the ability to simulate network changes and roll them back instantly if issues occur. This predictive approach helps prevent service degradation and maintain latency targets even as network demand surges.

According to Bell Labs Consulting and Futurum Research, telcos deploying Nokia’s EDA AIOps have achieved a 96% reduction in downtime – a critical metric in environments where service continuity is directly tied to revenue.

Vach Kompella, SVP and GM of Nokia’s IP Networks Division, says: “We are pleased to announce our new family of high-performance 7220 IXR-H6 switches along with advances in our EDA platform, which now leverages the sophistication of agentic AI to drive highly reliable network operations.”

With AI accelerating the evolution of telco infrastructure, Nokia’s combination of low latency switching, open software flexibility and AI-driven automation is helping telecom operators meet the demands of a fast-moving digital landscape.