Partnerships

T-Mobile has inked two 50/50 fiber joint ventures to accelerate FTTP reach, add multi-gig capacity, and broaden its multi-access broadband portfolio. T-Mobile will partner with Oak Hill Capital to combine GoNetspeed and Greenlight Networks into a single platform and, in a separate JV, team with infrastructure investor Wren House to acquire i3 Broadband. Collectively, the platforms target about 1.8 million passings by the end of 2026—roughly 1.3 million from GoNetspeed/Greenlight and 500,000 from i3 Broadband—expanding T-Mobile’s ability to sell T-Fiber by T-Mobile alongside its leading 5G fixed wireless access (FWA) offering.
Deutsche Telekom is weighing a structural overhaul that would collapse its 53% ownership of T-Mobile US into a single, unified company spanning both sides of the Atlantic. Reports indicate Deutsche Telekom is exploring an all-stock transaction in which a new holding company would acquire both Deutsche Telekom and T-Mobile US, with current shareholders of each ending up as owners of the combined entity. The new group could pursue dual listings in the U.S. and Europe, eliminating today’s parent–subsidiary setup and aligning governance, strategy, and capital allocation under one roof.
Vodafone has introduced a network-embedded AI feature that flags suspected scam and nuisance calls before customers answer, strengthening its Secure Net Mobile security bundle. The new Scam Call Protection capability augments Vodafone’s consumer security service, Secure Net Mobile, by analyzing inbound calls in real time and labeling high‑risk traffic on the user’s screen. It targets fraud, spam, and nuisance calls at the network layer, providing protection without an extra app or device-side configuration. Risk scoring occurs within Vodafone’s network, allowing suspicious calls to be flagged before the device rings.
European regulators have cleared the path for Telecom Italia (TIM) to offload its global wholesale arm, Sparkle, advancing a restructuring with implications for sovereignty, subsea capacity, and wholesale competition. The European Commission has approved the acquisition of Sparkle by Italy’s Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) and infrastructure provider Retelit, valuing the asset at €700 million and granting joint control to the two buyers. TIM had initially targeted closing in late 2025, but now guides to completion in the first half of 2026. Brussels found the deal would not materially distort competition in the relevant wholesale markets.
Amazon will acquire Globalstar to accelerate Amazon Leo’s direct-to-device (D2D) roadmap, secure midband MSS spectrum, and extend satellite coverage to smartphones and IoT beyond terrestrial reach. Amazon is acquiring Globalstar in a cash-and-stock deal valued at roughly $11.5 billion, with Globalstar shareholders able to elect $90 per share in cash or Amazon stock subject to a cash cap and proration. Closing is targeted after regulatory approvals and satellite milestones, with Amazon guiding to 2027. Amazon plans to deploy a next-generation D2D system starting in 2028, delivering voice, messaging, and data to unmodified mobile devices.
US Mobile and Starlink have launched limited-time bundles that combine Starlink residential service with US Mobile’s unlimited mobile plans under a single account and bill. Entry pricing starts at $47 per month, which effectively blends a $30 Starlink residential tier (targeted around 100 Mbps) with a $17 US Mobile base unlimited plan. Higher Starlink speed tiers are available at $77 per month for a 200 Mbps option and $117 per month for a “Max” service that targets 400 Mbps or more. Compared with Starlink’s typical standalone rates of $50, $80, and $120 for the same speed tiers, the bundles represent meaningful savings for households that want both mobile and home internet.
Orange Business has launched Orange Drone Guardian, a counter‑UAS service that turns telco infrastructure into a nationwide sensing fabric—arriving as drone activity, regulation, and critical-infrastructure risk converge. Orange is leveraging assets few others can: secure nationwide connectivity, cloud qualified to ANSSI’s SecNumCloud 3.2 standard, a domestic security operations capability, and a tower footprint via TOTEM’s 19,700 sites across France. The offer combines sensors, command‑and‑control software, secure cloud, and managed operations in a subscription bundle designed to scale and evolve. Delivered as a subscription, customers gain real‑time situational awareness without large upfront capex.
AT&T’s five-year, $250 billion U.S. network commitment sets the tone for the next phase of fiber, 5G, and satellite convergence as traffic, AI workloads, and resilience requirements climb sharply. The 2026–2030 window aligns with the industry’s transition into 5G-Advanced (3GPP Release 18/19), the scaling of edge AI, and increased cloud traffic between homes, enterprises, and hyperscalers. Data growth is no longer linear, and the cost of downtime is rising. Large, front-loaded builds in fiber and 5G Radio Access Network (RAN), paired with new satellite overlays, are how national carriers will chase coverage, performance, and reliability targets simultaneously.
A new collaboration between GSMA Foundry and Singapore’s National University Health System (NUHS) aims to operationalize connected health at scale, with Ericsson and Singtel anchoring the 5G foundation. Healthcare digitization has moved from pilots to production, but most sites still struggle with deterministic connectivity, secure data exchange and workflow integration. The program combines private 5G with digital twin, XR, IoT and ambient AI to improve outcomes and operational resilience across care pathways. Early focus areas include 5G-enabled remote surgical assistance with ultra-reliable, low-latency links; immersive XR training and simulation that compress learning curves; autonomous and semi-autonomous robotics for logistics and point-of-care tasks; and AI-guided imaging such as vein visualization.
India’s AI agenda increasingly spans silicon, data platforms, models, and applications, with an intent to catalyze domestic innovation and contribute to global ecosystems. For telecom leaders, the message is clear: AI is not a bolt-on capability but a system-level transformation that touches RAN, core, transport, cloud, and the enterprise edge. The AI economy runs on connectivity—low-latency access to data, assured bandwidth, location-aware processing, and programmable control. The operators that can fuse connectivity, compute, and data into a cohesive platform will set the pace for India’s next wave of digital growth.
OpenAI is reportedly building a portfolio of AI-native devices, signaling a push beyond software and into ambient, multimodal computing that will touch homes, workplaces, and networks. Multiple reports indicate OpenAI has over 200 people developing a family of AI-enabled hardware, with a smart speaker expected to debut first. Early guidance points to a price in the $200–$300 range and a ship window no earlier than February 2027. The device is said to include a camera to capture contextual information about users and surroundings—an explicit bet on multimodal AI that fuses voice, vision, and environment for richer interactions.

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