A couple of things across the wires today; the first is that AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon have a deal to form a JV to eliminate wireless dead zones in the US, including in rural areas – by pooling their own spectrum resources, and also “helping” satellite providers reach more customers. It sounds dreamy; like a big deal, and a proper team-play to stop the rot and fix the whole lot – the old digital divide, between the internet haves and have-nots, just in time for AI to cleave open an even wider one. There is interesting detail in there about a group effort to coordinate satellite services in a “unified platform” – which almost sounds like a defensive move, if we are to be cynical.

But there is no time for that (maybe later), because the other item, also via staff inboxes, is even more notable. Cisco has shared an email from chief exec Chuck Robbins to congratulate “all” its staff on a record quarter and to commiserate 4,000 of them because they are getting the sack. The note is well written, at least, setting out some kind of a financial and occupational support package – which other firms, with changing strategies and shrinking headcounts, might learn from. But it is a problematic message: spiralling growth ($15.8 billion last quarter, up 12 percent) and swingeing cuts (“fewer than 4,000 jobs”; five per cent of the workforce, one in 20 globally) – with thanks and apologies.

“Most notifications will begin on May 14,” says Robbins – which is today at the time of writing this blurb, and was tomorrow when the email was sent. So big and sudden, despite Cisco’s unprecedented popularity with customers – including with lots who are hosting AI and training AI, including for Cisco to make money from. And Cisco wants to sell them more stuff, and use more of their stuff. Robbins says Cisco will make “strategic investments particularly in silicon, optics, security, and in our employees’ use of AI across the company”. Yikes. Mixed messages, like we said – sympathetically expressed. This is the reality; there will be more job seekers than job vacancies in growth sectors.

Robbins writes: “The companies that will win in the AI era will be those with focus, urgency, and the discipline to continuously shift investment toward the areas where demand and long-term value creation are strongest. I’m confident Cisco will be one of those winners. This means making hard decisions – about where we invest, how we’re organized, and how our cost structure reflects the opportunity in front of us.” Again, this is the reality: corporations see the efficiency upside with AI, and are investing instead in algorithmic software, which lacks human imagination and intuition and subtlety, but beats it hands-down for scalability and pliability, and just sheer compute power.

They are emboldened, already; and it will be so normal they stop remarking on it. AI is shrinking Cisco’s front-line staff and inflating its top-line sales. Its remaining employees are super-charged with agents, it seems. “If you think about it, orders of magnitude: for every human you might have 10 to 100 to 1,000 agents,” it told RCR at MWC – about why its optical switches and solutions are in such demand (to build the roads to get the agents to work). Clearly, Cisco is excited to be making waves, again. At MWC, there was a buzz about the team – like new beginnings. The quote is from Jeetu Patel, president and chief product officer, who described “the pace” as an “exponential curve, almost like a vertical line”.

He also said (three months ago, a quarter of a year; half a generation in AI development cycles): “We have our first product that is 100 percent written with AI. By the end of the year, we will have at least a half a dozen products 100-percent written with AI. By the end of next year, 60 to 70 percent of our products will be 100-percent in AI. AI is building AI at this point in time. There is no lag. If the capabilities aren’t there, they will be in three months. It takes longer to plan than to build.” That’s the reality, right there. Cisco is not different; it is just closer to the action. What CEO, managing board members and shareholders, won’t write the same in the next months? ‘Thanks and apologies, but that’s our AI train.’

James Blackman
Executive Editor
RCR Wireless News

RCR Top Stories

Telco CPUs vs GPUs: T-Mobile, Nokia, and Nvidia weighed in on AI RAN at Connect X last week, as well as the debate between CPU and GPU in RAN infrastructure, and whether the industry will place the bets required.

Telefonica on AI infra: Telefónica opened 2026 with steady growth, better profit, and lower debt, driven by a surge in Brazil and discipline in Germany. It calmed expectations about its capital exposure in Europe’s new AI gigafactory push.

UK FWA finds niche: Omdia said FWA is gaining strategic importance in the UK broadband market, though fiber will remain dominant as local operators use FWA to target underserved and lower-density areas.

Managing AI agents: Radio engineers are going from managing networks to managing AI agents as operators push for network autonomy. They need to rethink workflows, skillsets, and trust models around people, processes, and technology.

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Beyond the Headlines

Years of innovation: Qualcomm says America’s 250-year innovation legacy positions the US to lead AI-native 6G development, highlighting spectrum policy, standards leadership, and wireless R&D as critical to growth and security.

Alternative models: For the past decade, the telecom industry has been in a buildout cycle. Carriers have spent heavily to expand coverage, upgrade networks, and roll out 5G. Now, that cycle is slowing down, and new models are needed.

T-Mobile plot twist: T-Mobile’s latest moves in AI-native RAN and private 5G for sports suggest a carrier evolving beyond its disruptive roots into something more formidable – the operator with the clearest story about where it’s all headed.

US 4GHz sharing: The US must share the 4GHz band instead of clearing federal users. Flexible licensing could support 5G/6G innovation, protect government operations, reduce costs, and enable local AI networks – says Dean Bubley.

Killer edge case: A Connect X panel with Intel, Ericsson, and Qualcomm made the case that AI inferencing is the demand the edge has been waiting for – and that power, real estate, and labor are the next bottlenecks.

What We’re Reading

EchoStar spectrum: The FCC has approved EchoStar’s $40bn spectrum sales to AT&T and SpaceX, aiming to expand 5G, accelerate D2C, boost rural connectivity, and strengthen US leadership in next-generation wireless.

Siemens orders rise: Siemens has reported an 11% rise in Q1 orders, boosted by demand from data centers, utilities, and defense firms – despite weaker sales and profits and mounting geopolitical uncertainty linked to Iran.

Nordic tech alliance: Nokia and Ericsson have joined over 25 Nordic firms to launch a regional alliance focused on capital markets, deep tech, defense, and energy – to strengthen Nordic competitiveness, resilience, and industrial work.

Fiber quotes in mins: GTT has upgraded its EnvisionDX platform with real-time pricing and automated quoting for secure fiber services across 11 million global business locations, aiming to simplify and accelerate sales cycles.

Telenet private cloud: Telenet Business is modernizing its private cloud with Red Hat to consolidate VMs and containers across Belgian data centers – with an aim to improve sovereignty, automation, resiliency, and flexibility.

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