Oh, look – here’s another US telco collaboration, across the RCR news desk. It is the second in a matter of days, and it looks on the face of it like some kind of progressive coordinated team-play by an industry that is more often at each other’s throats. Is that fair? And is it another fight-back of sorts by US Telcos Inc – this time, a joint effort by the biggest brands in the sector to burnish their self-proclaimed reputation as local leaders of an industry you can trust?

Well, let’s think. AT&T, Charter, Comcast, Cox, Lumen, T-Mobile, Verizon, and Zayo – is that everyone? – have just established a joint cybersecurity center (C2 ISAC) to share and analyse telco data, and strengthen cybersecurity across the US comms sector. It follows the announcement last Thursday (May 14) by the three big mobile operators in the crew to form a joint venture to connect rural ‘dead zones’, and control the channel for US residential D2D comms.

That one was both progressive and defensive, we concluded. This one shows, at least, how telcos are approaching systemic cyber risk. Rather than treating it as a point of competitive differentiation, they are participating in a shared mechanism to improve visibility and response across their infrastructure. It also reflects / reinforces this broader shift – about how the industry is positioning itself as an interdependent layer for critical national connectivity.

Both initiatives show this – how resilience is being addressed as inward-facing coordination around security and outward-facing expansion of coverage boundaries. In the case of C2 ISAC, the emphasis is on improving collective visibility into threats that increasingly target shared infrastructure, supply chains, and software layers. Intelligence sharing acknowledges that fragmentation slows response in a high-velocity threat environment.

As luck would have it (!), Verizon has a new security report (DBIR) that says points of failure are in shared infrastructure, compromised identity, exposed supply chains – which means no operator can defend itself by itself. Breaches start with stolen credentials, social engineering, edge systems – which matters for telcos trying to be more than just telcos (to be go-to trust brands). The D2D venture expands the attack surface; the C2 ISAC project seeks to manage it, and make it resilient.

But there is a defensive aspect to both strategies – against shared pressures on the industry, including from satellite operators playing by different rules, and hyperscalers hoovering up the AI value chain. The C2 ISAC project might be viewed alongside the industry’s sovereignty shtick, which is about their ancient familiarity with national regulators and their inherent experience with SIM-based identity management – and their associated trust positions, as a result.

Equally, needs must, and these projects seem to be good ones – which should be applauded, to be encouraged. For this is an industry that needs to do better at team sport, inside and outside of its own domain. Operators are managing increasing dependence on connectivity across critical services, while also facing rising expectations about availability and security. These deals seek to serve those ends, and also keep telcos on top of telecoms.

James Blackman
Executive Editor
RCR Wireless News

RCR Top Stories

Road to Level 4: Who’s the best at this? “China Mobile.” What about in Europe? “Telefónica and Orange.” And where is the industry, at large? “Between about 1.5 and 2.1.” So how do we get to Level 4, then? TM Forum has the answer.

Dell bets on B2B AI: The line from the first day of Dell Tech World follows the logic about where enterprise AI is headed: distributed, governed, cost-conscious systems that operate close to enterprise data. The next phase is execution.

ISAC for defense: Integrated sensing and comms (ISAC) is a serious defense capability, with industry leaders outlining near-term drone detection use cases, waveform challenges, and a longer 5G/6G roadmap for military networks.

Vi returns profit: Indian operator Vodafone Idea posted an unexpected profit in fiscal year 2026 as the operator expanded 5G coverage, increased 4G capacity, and outlined selective plans for fixed wireless access deployments in India.

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Beyond the Headlines

Critical comms fails: Critical comms networks are being pushed beyond the limits of single-bearer design, as operators in defence, utilities, and public services face demand for always-on connectivity across unpredictable environments.

Debt or opportunity: Data center operators are confronting a new risk: stranded assets ranging from underused GPU to wasted energy, as the industry faces pressure to build capacity without creating tomorrow’s liabilities.

AI in Global South: Foxconn, Bull, and Amini are building sovereign AI infra across Africa and the Global South for governments, telcos, financial institutions, and energy companies – designed to be modular, and under local control.

Scaling AIOps: AIOps has helped operators improve visibility, correlate events, reduce alarm noise, and support root cause analysis. The next phase will be marked by converting AI-generated insight into governed, repeatable actions.

Sean & Will #4: In the latest episode of Beyond the Network, Sean Kinney and Will Townsend dig into the weird world of quantum computing, including about quantum-safe networking and a look at Cisco’s Universal Quantum Router.

What We’re Reading

US cyber center: AT&T, Charter, Comcast, Cox, Lumen, T-Mobile, Verizon, and Zayo have established the Comms Cybersecurity Information Sharing and Analysis Center (C2 ISAC) to strengthen cybersecurity across the comms sector.

Optical transport: The optical transport equipment market is to grow 16% in 2026, says Dell’Oro Group, surpassing $18bn in manufacturer revenue for the first time since 2000 – due to demand for network infra brought on by AI data centers.

AWS for cloud IoT: Vodafone and Nokia have tested AWS cloud infra for IoT core network apps – a move designed to help Vodafone scale capacity faster, extend global coverage and support growing demand for cloud-native IoT services.

Maritime 5G, AI: Ericsson and Net Feasa are to bring 4G/5G and agentic AI data management to maritime shipping, enabling real-time cargo visibility, smarter monitoring and more efficient global vessel operations at sea.

5G and AI combo: CTIA says AI and wireless are interdependent, and warns that AI traffic could overwhelm US infra by 2030. It urges expanded spectrum access, AI-native 6G investment, and coordinated policy to protect national security.

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