Following the (hugely successful) Defense Communications Forum on Wednesday (April 29; available on-demand), which discussed edge-based network and compute resiliency in contested environments, and a couple of write-ups yesterday (April 30; with Ericsson and NTT Data), which rolled-in forum themes about radar-style SRS/ISAC on private 5G for the same ends, HPE has now issued news about ruggedized edge AI servers for critical workloads in harsh environments – plus an excellent blog post about how “the edge does not forgive data center thinking”. The point is its new server products establish exactly the kind of autonomous edge-compute layer to make these other 5G defense architectures work in the field – whether in industrial zones or battle zones. Theme of the week, surely? Interesting times. More below.
James Blackman
Executive Editor
RCR Wireless News
RCR Top Stories
Industry, defense: HPE has released a new AI server platform, ruggedized and optimized for difficult edge deployments; the release chomes with this week’s discussion at Defense Comms Forum, plus with Ericsson and NTT Data.
FWA and Starlink: T-Mobile is blending 5G FWA with Starlink for always-on internet for enterprises in rural areas. Its SuperBroadband prop brings 5G edundancy, and signs a shift to hybrid multi-network broadband strategies.
Globalstar logic: Amazon’s $11bn Globalstar deal secures spectrum, satellites, and Apple ties, giving it a fast track into the D2D market, while strengthening its ambitions, and positioning it as a beefier challenger to operators in the space.
EE scales 5G+: UK carrier EE is scaling its 5G+ network as usage surges, using spectrum optimization and RAN coordination technologies to boost capacity and performance without relying solely on new infrastructure deployments.
Liquid-to-air CDUs: Data centers are facing a thermal challenge as AI pushes rack densities beyond the limits of air cooling. To combat this, facility operators are increasingly deploying liquid-to-air CDUs.
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Beyond the Headlines
Malaysia DCs: APAC company AirTrunk is investing $3bn in new Johor data centers, expanding capacity to meet rising AI and cloud demand as Malaysia strengthens its position as a regional infrastructure hub.
ISAC for defense: Sensing is changing 5G/6G infrastructure into an active detection grid, says Ericsson; it helps defense and aerospace firms identify low-flying drones and unmanned ariel vehicles in areas that radars cannot reach.
‘iPhone moment’? Most factory-floor ‘physical AI’ runs on lightweight edge compute, says NTT Data – but 5G sensing, via SRS, could unlock a new wave of demand for private 5G, tying edge IoT and AI into a single enterprise stack.
Fighting talk: T-Mobile US signed off another good quarter with fighting talk about acquisition strategies and accounting habits at AT&T and Verizon, and claims its 5G network and compute build-out will be the best in the business for physical AI.
Summer of AI: Verizon will follow strong quarterly growth this winter with a summer of AI, with a brand new tech stack to drive further network automation and customer (micro-) segmentation to drive costs, service, and telco change.
What We’re Reading
Ruckus deal done: Belden is to acquire Ruckus from Vistance for about $1.85bn in cash, expanding its enterprise networking portfolio into Wi-Fi and switching and accelerating its shift toward end-to-end IT/OT and industrial connectivity solutions.
Liberty gets Q1 lift: Liberty Global’s Q1 showed broadband and mobile growth, stable revenue performance, and progress in network investments across its Euro markets; it has maintained ts full-year outlook amid competitive pressures.
Indosat in AI gains: Indosat opened 2026 with record Q1 revenue of IDR 15.2 trillion, up 12% year-on-year, alongside EBITDA growth of 13% and net profit up 26%, driven by AI-led customer strategy and continued network investment.
Def-Comms catch-up: Missed Defense Comms Forum? Catch every session on demand and get up to speed – with the U.S. Navy, Lockheed Martin, Battelle, CCS Insight, VIAVI Solutions, and everyone else. Good show, as they say.
AI boom holds: US tech earnings showed strong AI growth, with Amazon, Alphabet and Microsoft boosting cloud results, while Meta missed expectations. Massive AI infra spending and layoffs highlight investor optimism and bubble concerns.
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