Lightera and Nokia Announce Collaboration to Accelerate Optical LAN Adoption in Europe

LONDON, BERLIN, MADRID, and LISBON, Portugal, May 27, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Lightera and Nokia today announced a collaboration to expand the adoption of Optical LAN solutions for enterprises across Europe. Building on the success of the companies' partnership in other regions, the collaboration now extends into the European market.

Through this cooperation, Lightera will combine its expertise in passive optical infrastructure with Nokia's advanced PON technology to deliver high-performance Optical LAN solutions that help organizations modernize their connectivity infrastructure and prepare for the future.

Based on advanced fiber technology, Optical LAN delivers higher speeds, enhanced security, and improved reliability. Globally, Lightera has already deployed Optical LAN solutions for enterprise customers across sectors including hospitality, education, manufacturing, healthcare, and retail.

Also known as Passive Optical LAN (POL), this architecture replaces traditional copper- and switch-based networks with a more scalable, future-ready solution, offering reduced energy consumption, greater security, increased scalability, and up to 50% lower total cost of ownership.

Under the collaboration, Lightera will integrate its passive optical infrastructure solutions with Nokia's GPON, XGS-PON, and 25G-PON technologies. The companies' integrated solution will include end-to-end support services such as pre-sales consulting, start-up services, and 24x7 technical support and training.

By working with its ecosystem of integrators and channel partners, Lightera aims to accelerate the adoption of Optical LAN across Europe and provide enterprises with a more efficient and sustainable alternative to traditional network architectures.

"Optical LAN is a natural extension of our strategy to deliver high-performance, scalable connectivity solutions for enterprise environments," said Edmond Ayvazian, Business Developer at Lightera. "As AI-driven applications continue to increase network demands, organizations require infrastructure that can support higher bandwidth, lower latency, and greater reliability. Our collaboration with Nokia brings together passive infrastructure and advanced PON technologies to meet these evolving needs."

"As AI-driven workloads continue to reshape network requirements, enterprises need infrastructure built for a new era of secure, deterministic, and efficient connectivity. This is an architectural shift, not simply a technology refresh," said Sylvain Rajaud, Vice President, Head of Partner Sales Management, Europe at Nokia. "Through our collaboration with Lightera, we are bringing advanced fiber technology together with strong infrastructure expertise to help organizations across Europe modernize their LAN environments with solutions that are scalable, trusted, and ready for future digital demands."

About Optical LAN
Optical LAN is a fiber-based network architecture designed to support high-capacity enterprise applications. It significantly reduces the amount of active equipment, cabling, and physical space required. Key benefits include reduced energy consumption, lower use of plastics and longer infrastructure lifespan, enhanced security and simplified network management, easier deployment in historical buildings or complex environments, longer reach from a central technology room, and a future-ready foundation for high-bandwidth applications.

About Lightera
Lightera is a global leader in optical fiber and connectivity solutions. Built on a legacy of expertise in optical science, we provide high-performance solutions that enable faster, more reliable, and sustainable connections for businesses, communities, and industries worldwide.

With operational headquarters in Norcross, Georgia, U.S.A., Lightera serves customers across telecommunications, enterprise, industrial, generative AI, data centers, 5G/6G, utilities, medical, aerospace, defense, and sensing markets.

Lightera is part of Furukawa Electric Group, a pioneer in advancing the next generation of infrastructure through integrated solutions in connectivity, information, energy, and mobility, to create a safe, peaceful, and sustainable world.

Please visit www.Lightera.com

About Nokia
Nokia is a global leader in connectivity for the AI era. With expertise across fixed, mobile, and transport networks, the company is advancing connectivity to help build a more secure and sustainable world.

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