Digest of the 3rd of September 2025
Deals & Corporate Moves
•Metronet acquires US Internet (Minneapolis FTTH); follows Metronet’s sale to the T-Mobile/KKR JV. USI resi subs to transition to T-Mobile Fiber; terms undisclosed.
•CityFibre leadership change: Founder Greg Mesch steps down after 15 years to become vice-chair; Simon Holden (COO) becomes CEO.
•BT Ireland sale closes: Speed Fibre Group completes purchase of BT’s Irish operations after clearance by the Irish CCPC; pledges stronger competition.
Technology & Network Builds
•DOCSIS 4.0 speed milestone: CableLabs interop hit 16 Gbit/s downstream using 8K/16K-QAM on 1.8 GHz high-split HFC; upstream 1.5–2 Gbit/s. Lab “pristine” conditions noted, but shows headroom vs. fiber competition.
•AI data centers: SK Telecom formalizes a build partnership with Schneider Electric for its Ulsan AI DC (MEP gear, UPS, ETAP digital-twin into DCIM). Aim: efficiency + gigawatt-scale expansion.
•Small cells (neutral host): EE and Freshwave expand the City of London small-cells program to boost 4G/5G capacity in the Square Mile.
•Public cloud footprint: AWS launches a $4.4B New Zealand region, projecting NZ$10.8B GDP impact and >1,000 full-time jobs tied to infra (incl. telecoms).
•IoT platforms: Vodafone partners with Simetric to offer a single-pane-of-glass IoT connectivity management experience.
Policy & Regulation
•Private 5G in India: GSMA urges authorities to maintain a carrier-led model for private 5G networks, signaling pushback on broad direct enterprise licensing.
•Ireland: The CCPC approval cited above cleared the BT Ireland sale to Speed Fibre, enabling the deal to close.
Markets & Macro
•Cloud + AI tailwinds: Alibaba Cloud Q2 revenue +26% (RMB 33.4B / US$4.7B); EBITA +26%, highlighting renewed growth for China’s private cloud leaders amid AI demand.
Also Noted (context & analysis)
•Open RAN reality check: Mavenir CEO warns of a de-facto Ericsson–Nokia duopoly if operators don’t accelerate Open RAN adoption. (Published yesterday; still resonating today.)
•AI traffic baseline debate: FierceWireless questions claims that autonomous AI agents will permanently raise network baselines; Cisco thesis scrutinized.
