• Deutsche Telekom is building an AI Gigafactory with Nvidia
• AT&T leans on Rakuten Symphony for Open RAN rollout
• NGMN hammers home its 6G message

In today’s industry news roundup: Deutsche Telekom and Nvidia are cooking up a major sovereign AI factory in Germany that will service Europe’s manufacturing sector; Rakuten Symphony is to play a key role in AT&T’s major Open RAN rollout; NGMN board members make it clear what telcos want from 6G; and much more!

Not for the first time this month, sovereign cloud developments are making the headlines. German national telco Deutsche Telekom has teamed up with Nvidia to build the “first industrial AI cloud for European manufacturers”. The development of the AI Gigafactory, which is due to be implemented by 2026, will “advance Germany as an industrial hub rapidly implementing AI and thus building a competitive advantage on the other,” noted the operator in this announcement. The implementation of the industrial AI cloud is to take place by 2026 at the latest. DT had previously signalled its intention to play a major role in developing an AI Gigafactory in Germany. The Gigafactory will “support industrial AI workloads for European manufacturers. It will feature 10,000 GPUs through Nvidia DGX B200 systems and RTX Pro Servers running Nvidia CUDA-X, RTX and Omniverse accelerated workloads from leading software vendors,” noted DT, which will “provide secure, sovereign and fast infrastructure and be responsible for datacentres, operations, sales, security and AI solutions. It also guarantees that European values, such as data protection and data security, are adhered to and that data is only processed in accordance with European standards. Through this commitment, the telecommunications company is helping to strengthen European industry while promoting Europe’s technological sovereignty.” Deutsche Telekom’s CEO, Tim Höttges, added: “Europe’s technological future needs a sprint, not a stroll. We must seize the opportunities of artificial intelligence now, revolutionise our industry and secure a leading position in the global technology competition. Our economic success depends on quick decisions and collaborative innovations.” Jensen Huang, Nvidia’s CEO, stated: “In the era of AI, every manufacturer needs two factories: One for making things, and one for creating the intelligence that powers them. By building Europe’s first industrial AI infrastructure, we’re enabling the region’s leading industrial companies to advance simulation-first, AI-driven manufacturing.” The news comes only days after DT announced that it is now offering Nvidia H100 Tensor Core processors for rent from its Open Telekom Cloud, which it describes as “the leading European alternative to international hyperscalers.” 

AT&T and Rakuten Symphony have extended the multiyear collaboration agreement first announced in early 2022 to expand adoption of Rakuten Symphony’s Site Management “to accelerate AT&T’s Network Simplification Transformation project and 5G Open RAN deployments across the US,” the vendor announced. AT&T announced in late 2023 that it was to invest $14bn in a five-year plan to build the next phase of its 5G network using an Open RAN architecture that would enable the deployment of best-of-breed elements from multiple vendors, with Ericsson as the primary partner. The telco’s aim is to scale up its Open RAN rollout this year and have 70% of its cellular traffic running over its Open RAN network by the end of 2026. The expansion “includes consolidating and retiring legacy applications and software into Rakuten Site Management to optimise productivity among AT&T employees and contractors responsible for Open RAN deployment and site build. This also consolidates data and real-time situational awareness as a foundation for more advanced automation and AI-led operations,” noted the vendor, adding that AT&T will simplify its operations “by consolidating its disparate legacy systems that support cell site functions from design to construction. By means of Rakuten Site Management, Rakuten Symphony has helped AT&T deploy an integrated end-to-end solution that replaces these legacy systems. This legacy tool replacement was successfully completed without disruption to operations at an unprecedented pace of approximately 18 months from initial pilot.” Alisha Remek, VP of access construction and engineering at AT&T, noted: “Rakuten Symphony’s expertise in workflow orchestration and creativity in ideating solutions to complex problems or functions has been instrumental in our success. Their willingness to push boundaries – balancing speed with quality – has helped us achieve the goals of AT&T’s Network Simplification Transformation programme.” The news came as Rakuten Symphony unveiled a new and, of course, “AI-powered” version of its Site Management solution. 

In the wake of the initial 3GPP meetings that kickstarted the 6G standards process, the Next Generation Mobile Networks Alliance (NGMN) has published a new document, “6G Key Messages – An Operator View”, which advocates “the critical need for harmonised global standards for 6G”. That view may have been aired before, by the NGMN and others, but it’s worth hammering home. “6G should be viewed as a seamless evolution – fully compatible with 5G and propelled by continuous software innovation,” noted Laurent Leboucher, chairman of the NGMN Alliance board and Orange Group CTO and EVP of networks. “The industry must move beyond synchronised hardware/software ‘G’ cycles and embrace decoupled roadmaps: One for hardware infrastructure, guided by value-driven and sustainable investments, and another – faster and demand led – for software-defined business capabilities addressing real needs from society.” Luke Ibbetson, head of group R&D at Vodafone and NGMN board director, added: “Network evolution is essential for addressing ever-changing societal needs. To achieve this, we need to work collectively as an industry to ensure all future networks are secure, environmentally sound and economically sustainable.” Anita Döhler, CEO of NGMN, commented: “Along with presenting this consolidated view to 3GPP, this publication serves as a foundation for engaging with the broader industry, driving collaboration, innovation and strategic direction in the evolving 6G landscape. A core tenet of our message is that 6G is not treated as another generational shift for mobile technology – it must be evolutionary.” For more on what telcos want from 6G, see this recent TelecomTV report. 

Belgium’s national operator, Proximus, has struck a deal to sell its 92.7% stake in Be‑Mobile, a specialist in subscription-based driver companion apps, mobility payment solutions as well as traffic data and control services, to digital parking and mobility solutions firm Arrive, for about €158m. “Following this transaction, Proximus Group will have achieved its €500m divestment programme two years ahead of the initial 2027 target and is now raising its overall asset disposal ambition to ‘up to €600m’,” the operator noted in this announcement. Proximus has “initiated a project to sell several hundred of its buildings over the next decade, with a focus on the most valuable properties over the first years,” it noted. The operator sold its towers unit in neighbouring Luxembourg for €108m late last year and struck a deal to offload its datacentre business for €128m in October 2024.  

– The staff, TelecomTV