We’ve got lots of telco AI news for you today!
At Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Summit, the company introduced the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for smartphones alongside the Snapdragon X2 Elite and X2 Elite Extreme for PCs. As Sean Kinney reports, the big takeaway is Qualcomm’s rapid progress with its Oryon CPUs, now in their third generation, and showing very real performance and power efficiency improvements. “This is coupled with impressive progress on the Hexagon NPU which, in sum, makes for a very compelling AI narrative,” he writes. Read his full coverage from Maui and meet the new Snapdragon lineup.
In South Korea, SK Telecom has launched an independent AI unit with a KRW5 trillion commitment to unify assets, accelerate transformation, and boost cybersecurity. And in Canada, Telus has opened the nation’s first sovereign AI hub in Rimouski, ensuring domestic control of compute while enabling AI applications in healthcare, research, and enterprise.
Enjoy the read and have a great weekend!
Catherine Sbeglia Nin
Managing Editor
RCR Wireless News
RCR Top 5
Meet the latest Snapdragon lineup: Qualcomm has debuted Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 and the Snapdragon X2 Elite and X2 Elite Extreme. The takeaway, writes Sean Kinney, is that the company is moving fast with its Oryon CPUs.
Hitachi and Nvidia build AI factory: Hitachi is building a global AI cloud using Nvidia GPUs to deliver physical AI. It has also agreed a deal to buy German industrial AI consultancy Synvert.
6G NeXt project: Germany’s 6G NeXt project has wrapped after three years. Backed by federal funding, the initiative advanced research, patents, and collaboration for future 6G infrastructure.
SKT launches AI unit: SK Telecom has launched an independent AI unit, pledging KRW5 trillion in investment to unify AI assets, drive company-wide transformation, and strengthen cybersecurity.
Telus opens sovereign AI hub: Telus has opened Canada’s first sovereign AI factory in Rimouski, offering secure domestic compute powered by Nvidia and HPE. The facility ensures data stays in-country, it says.
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Beyond the Headlines
India’s “immense potential”: Private 5G is essential to Industry 4.0, says Tech Mahindra; here, it discusses its expanding private 5G portfolio globally, as well as big opportunities in its home market — despite spectrum hurdles in India.
Wi-Fi 7 trials: RCR rounds up three Wi-Fi 7 trials — across residential and enterprise settings — revealing multi-gigabit speeds, ultra-low latency, enhanced coverage, and real-world validation of next-gen performance.
Qualcomm CEO calls his shot: At the Snapdragon Summit, Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon said pre-commercial 6G devices could arrive by 2028, highlighting confidence in 6G’s role linking edge, cloud, and intelligent networking.
AI + IoT in logistics: The combination of IoT and AI is transforming logistics from a traditional efficiency game into an inter-connected circular discipline that enables smarter forecasting, visibility, sustainability, and regulatory compliance.
The future of MVNO growth: Price, bundles, and network quality matter less now than agility and user experience. Gen AI is shifting the battleground and MVNOs are already experimenting faster than traditional MNOs.
What We're Reading
Bosch axes 13,000: Bosch, the world’s largest automotive supplier, is to cut another 13,000 jobs by 2030, mainly across its mobility division. It follows 9,000 cuts earlier this year, and a squeeze on its automotive operations since 2023.
HSBC’s quantum leap: HSBC has used IBM’s quantum computers to boost bond price prediction accuracy by 34% — a technical but significant financial breakthrough that sent IBM shares up more than 5%.
Nokia, Nscale partner on AI infra: Nscale has selected Nokia as its preferred networking partner for global AI-ready data center expansion. The two will co-develop networking stacks and collaborate on worldwide deployment initiatives.
EU gets sovereign critical infra: Cisco has launched Sovereign Critical Infrastructure in Europe — a configurable, air-gapped portfolio of certified hardware and software.
Türk Telekom extends 2G: Türk Telekom has extended its 2G license through 2029 for EUR 67 million, retaining use of the 900 MHz and 1800 MHz bands amid Turkey’s broader telecom transition.
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