AvidThink 2025 September Recap

Our AI in Networking Report is out! The 2025 edition (AI in Networking 2025 — Harnessing the AI Deluge) provides updates on the use of AI in network operations (AIOps) across enterprises and communications service providers. Download it for free and ungated (no personal info collected) at https://nextgeninfra.io/ today. See what we have to say about the evolution from predictive to generative to agentic AI — are AI agents real or hype? (answer: yes 😁) Thanks to all the sponsors who've made it possible for us to provide complimentary downloads!

Aside from the big news about our new report (plus another report, sponsored by IBM, on API-based orchestration for enterprise networking), here's what's in store for this month's newsletter:Aside from the big news about our new report (plus another report, sponsored by IBM, on API-based orchestration for enterprise networking), here's what's in store for this month's newsletter:

• Roy's Travelogue — Roy's trip to FutureNet Asia (and the food he ate)

• Latest Reports — AI in Networking (multiple sponsors), Leveling Up: From Enterprise Automation to Orchestration (sponsored by IBM)

• NextGenInfra — AI Infra Summit 2025 (Santa Clara) + AI in Networking 2025 Showcase

• Webinars and Conferences — Recordings of sessions from FutureNet Asia. Next month, we'll provide links to the recording of the sell-out SoftBank Webinar on using Transformer architecture for RAN (which was live today).

• September News Roundup — Gopalan to take over at T-Mobile, 6G is still happening, NVIDIA + Oracle + OpenAI's circular AI economy

• Other Content — AvidThink in the News, Webinars, Meet Us Live

Stay tuned for our upcoming reports in the fall and winter, which will cover data center networking (scale-up, scale-out, scale-across, scale-outside, and scale-everywhere) and enterprise connectivity (converged security and networking, with NaaS added).

Roy’s Travelogue

I was in Singapore for FutureNet Asia 2025. Aside from many enlightening discussions (see recordings in our Webinar and Conferences section) below with APAC telco executives about agentic AI, automation, and monetization, there was the food! In the photo below, you’ll see a serving of Singapore Chili Crab (real crabmeat), and on the right is a selection of petit Nonya (an ethnic mix of Malay and Chinese) Kuehs (cakes).

Congrats to Giles Cumming, Tom Winter, Collette McGannon, Sonal Ghelani, and the rest of the FutureNet World team for another successful event! Looking forward to London next year.

Up next for us is the OCP Global Summit 2025 in San Jose (it’s going to be a blowout event with way more than the 7K attendees last year). In the meantime, please do attend the AI Networking Summit/ONUG Fall (Oct 22-23) in NYC if you can. Jim Carroll and I have prior commitments, unfortunately. It promises to be a worthwhile event featuring Jay Chaudry, CEO at Zscaler; Kevin Deierling, SVP of Networking at NVIDIA; Andy Bechtolsheim, Founder & Chief Architect at Arista; Tom Gillis, SVP of Infrastructure & Security at Cisco; and other luminaries. Enterprise IT team members can register with our 100% off coupon (yes, almost $ 2,000 off), and IT vendors can still receive 30% off the vendor price with our coupon.

After that, in November, I’ll be at the Mplify Alliance (formerly MEF) Global NaaS Event in Dallas (10-12 November) to learn and discuss NaaS, followed by the Network Automation Forum AutoCon4 in Austin, TX (19-21 November).

Hope to see you all out there!

– Roy for the AvidThink Team

Latest at NextGenInfra.io

We have our AI in Networking 2025 resource site up and running, plus Jim Carroll captured highlights from the revamped AI Infra Summit 2025 in Santa Clara which featured many heavyweights in the AI infrastructure arena. Check out the videos and download our new AI in Networking Report.

2025 September News Roundup

6G

Verizon Launches 6G Innovation Forum to Address Technical Challenges
Verizon CTO Yago Tenorio warned that 6G’s demand for high uplink capacity could require up to eight antennas per device, impractical for wearables like smart glasses. To address such challenges, Verizon created the 6G Innovation Forum with partners including Ericsson, Nokia, Samsung, Qualcomm, and Meta to shape standards and refine use cases such as AI-driven glasses.

Deutsche Telekom’s 6G NeXt Initiative Concludes After Three Years
The German government-backed 6G NeXt project wrapped up after exploring flexible architectures and next-gen applications such as drone safety and volumetric video. The consortium delivered 23 papers, one patent, and highlighted the need for adaptable architectures for 6G in the 2030s, with contributors including Fraunhofer, TU Berlin, Volucap, and Nvidia.

Qualcomm CEO: Pre-Commercial 6G Devices Could Arrive by 2028
Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon expects early 6G-capable devices by 2028, ahead of formal standards expected around 2030. These devices may feature contextual sensors and AI integration, reshaping compute architectures. Qualcomm is actively contributing to 3GPP Release 21, which will define initial 6G standards.

5G

T-Mobile Names Srini Gopalan as New CEO, Effective November 1
Srini Gopalan, former Telekom Deutschland chief, will succeed Mike Sievert as T-Mobile US CEO. Sievert becomes vice chairman, advising on strategy, marking an earlier-than-expected transition despite his contract running until 2028.

Ookla: EchoStar’s 5G Network Underperformed Before Decommissioning
EchoStar’s Boost Mobile open RAN network lagged rivals in speed and latency despite 80% U.S. coverage, according to Ookla. Following spectrum sales to AT&T and SpaceX, EchoStar plans to decommission its 5G network and shift to a hybrid MVNO model.

SoftBank Field-Tests Six-Cell HAPs Payload for 5G Connectivity
SoftBank tested a six-cell payload for High-Altitude Platform Stations (HAPs) in Japan, achieving stable 5G coverage via simulated stratospheric aircraft. Using 26 GHz spectrum with beam tracking, the test connected devices to ground gateways and mobile endpoints.

True Deploys Mobile Network Near Thailand-Cambodia Border
True Corporation rolled out 700 MHz and 900 MHz base stations at Phu Makua Hill to enhance connectivity for Thai military and government agencies. The network delivers 3G/4G/5G services to bolster security amid border tensions with Cambodia.

Dell’Oro Detects Verizon 5G SA in California Ahead of RedCap Launch
Verizon’s consumer 5G standalone (SA) network was spotted live in Redwood City, California, days before Apple’s RedCap-enabled Watch Ultra launch. Speed tests on 3700 MHz spectrum hit 977 Mbps, marking Verizon’s entry into SA after T-Mobile’s nationwide rollout.

Nokia and Deutsche Bahn Test 5G FRMCS for Railways
Nokia trialed a 5G-based Future Railway Mobile Communication System (FRMCS) on live tracks in Germany, operating at 1900 MHz on a 5G SA core. FRMCS aims to replace GSM-R by 2035, with commercial deployments expected by 2027 for voice and later advanced rail applications.

Omdia: Global 5G Connections Surpass 2.6 Billion
Omdia reports 2.6B global 5G connections in Q2 2025, a 32% YoY increase, with projections nearing 9B by 2030 (60% of all wireless). North America leads with 339M connections, while mobile data use grew 15% to 384M TB.

O2 UK Deploys Boldyn Neutral Host 5G DAS at AO Arena
O2 UK introduced Boldyn’s neutral host 5G Distributed Antenna System at Manchester’s AO Arena. The 23,000-capacity venue gains enhanced connectivity for food ordering, HD livestreams, and overall customer experience.

Private 5G

NTT Data Builds Private 5G Network for Celanese Plants
NTT Data deployed Celona-powered private 5G at two Texas Celanese plants, enabling reliable IoT, automation, and digital data capture. The managed service addresses connectivity gaps in large outdoor facilities, with potential global expansion to 25 Celanese sites.

Open RAN

VodafoneThree Picks Ericsson, Nokia Over Samsung for 5G Rollout
VodafoneThree selected Ericsson and Nokia to deploy 17,000 5G sites in the UK, sidelining Samsung’s open RAN bid. The merged operator pledged $14.8B investment for nationwide 5G SA, though Samsung continues to win contracts elsewhere in Europe and Africa.

Nokia: Open RAN Still Has Future Despite Market Consolidation
Nokia’s Tommi Uitto reaffirmed commitment to open/cloud RAN, countering claims of market stagnation after EchoStar’s retreat. He noted telco demand for O-RAN specs persists, despite Huawei, Ericsson, and Nokia growing their collective RAN market share to 77.4% in 2024.

AT&T CTO: Open RAN Success Depends on Established Operators
AT&T’s Yigal Elbaz said open RAN will thrive under incumbents with scale, not greenfield players. AT&T’s $14B Ericsson-led open RAN build also involves Fujitsu, Dell, and Intel, with Elbaz emphasizing practical openness aligned to AT&T’s needs.

Vodafone’s Pignatelli Named President of Telecom Infra Project
Vodafone Group’s head of open RAN, Francisco Martin Pignatelli, was appointed TIP president. He replaces Intel’s Caroline Chan, bringing 13 years of Vodafone experience and prior Verizon collaboration expertise to the open networking consortium.

AI

Oracle Names Clay Magouyrk and Mike Sicilia as Co-CEOs
Oracle elevated Clay Magouyrk (OCI) and Mike Sicilia (Industries) as co-CEOs, with Safra Catz moving to executive vice chair. Magouyrk built Oracle’s cloud platform after AWS, while Sicilia integrated AI agents into industry-specific applications.

Oracle, OpenAI Sign $300B Cloud Deal Starting 2027
Oracle and OpenAI agreed to a $300B, 4.5 GW compute hosting contract tied to Stargate. Questions remain over OpenAI’s financing, given its $13B 2025 revenue and projected unprofitability until 2029, but Oracle secures guaranteed revenue.

Nvidia to Invest Up to $100B in OpenAI Data Centers
Nvidia signed an LOI to invest $100B in OpenAI, supplying 4–5M GPUs for facilities requiring 10 GW power. This adds to Microsoft’s $10B stake and SoftBank’s $40B-led funding round valuing OpenAI at $300B, underscoring massive AI infra build-outs.

Telus Launches Sovereign AI Factory in Canada
Telus unveiled Canada’s first sovereign AI facility, powered by Nvidia GPUs and HPE architecture, to ensure data residency and sovereignty. Early adopters like Accenture and OpenText will leverage the platform for AI in sensitive sectors.

SK Telecom Consolidates AI Efforts into New Business Unit
SK Telecom formed AI CIC, uniting services, platforms, data centers, and foundation models under a $3.5B five-year investment plan. The unit targets $3.5B annual revenue by 2030, with CEO Ryu Young-sang also leading the new entity.

Cloud

Deutsche Telekom Launches T Cloud for Sovereign Cloud Services
Deutsche Telekom introduced T Cloud as a one-stop shop for sovereign AI and cloud services. Combining Open Telekom Cloud and partnerships with AWS, Google, and Microsoft, T Cloud offers enterprises configurable sovereignty levels.

Arista Hires Ex-AWS Exec Tyson Lamoreaux as SVP of Cloud & AI
Arista appointed Tyson Lamoreaux, ex-AWS network leader, as SVP of cloud and AI. He will drive hyperscale solutions with capital-efficient packaged offerings to accelerate AI workload deployment.

Satellite

MoffettNathanson: Starlink Dominates LEO, But Competition Growing
A MoffettNathanson report highlights Starlink’s lead in LEO broadband but notes competitors Amazon Kuiper (102 satellites) and OneWeb (650 satellites). Geopolitical barriers in China, Russia, and Europe may limit Starlink’s expansion.

SASE

Cato Networks Adds Browser Extension to SASE Platform
Cato Networks launched a ZTNA browser extension for unmanaged and BYOD devices, extending zero-trust policies without requiring client software. The lightweight tool addresses enterprise security gaps caused by personal or partner devices.

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