Telecom Brief: Arista AI Racks, FCC Satellite Spectrum, RCom Spectrum Termination
The roundup includes Arista Networks' open Ethernet rack-scale architecture for AI infrastructure, which can support 144 accelerators per rack and scale to 1,024. The FCC is set to vote October 29 on a spectrum auction framework for direct-to-device satellite services, covering 25 MHz auctioned and 482 MHz for satellite coverage. India's DoT terminated Reliance Communications and Reliance Telecom spectrum rights and encashed ₹801.91 crore in bank guarantees.
Arista's open rack-scale Ethernet design, built with AMD, Arm, Broadcom, d-Matrix, Meta, Microsoft and Qualcomm, targets AI scale-up and scale-out. It supports up to 144 accelerators per rack and 1,024 across racks. Liquid cooling, switches, optics and controls are included; next-gen optics may raise rack throughput from 1.6 Pb/s to 6.5 Pb/s and cut data-center footprint by nearly half.
The FCC will vote Oct. 29 on an auction framework for direct-to-device satellite service: 25 MHz auctioned and 482 MHz for satellite coverage. SpaceX bought 65 MHz from EchoStar for $19.6 billion, while AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon formed a satellite connectivity venture. India's DoT terminated RCom and RTL spectrum rights from 2010–2016 auctions and encashed ₹801.91 crore in guarantees.
These moves could reshape how people and businesses connect. Higher-density AI racks may reduce data-center space and infrastructure demands, indirectly affecting cloud and AI service users. Satellite auctions may expand coverage in remote areas, but could also raise competition and pricing questions for carriers. India's spectrum cancellation may disrupt RCom-linked services and creditors, while accelerating consolidation. Overall, benefits and burdens may fall unevenly across consumers, operators, investors and rural communities.