Sadly, Bell Labs really hasn&#x27;t been the amazing R&amp;D &quot;idea factory&quot; it was known as throughout the 20th century for at least 30 years or more. Alcatel-Lucent is many, many, many generations (and iterations) removed from the same R&amp;D entity that developed the transistor, radar, lasers, communications satellites, wireless telephony, transatlantic cables, etc., etc.