• Fastweb+Vodafone launches sovereign AI services in Italy
• Telkomsel partners with Perplexity
• Dell Technologies has a very full AI server order book

In today’s industry news roundup: Fastweb+Vodafone is putting its AI factory to revenue-generating use; Indonesia’s Telkomsel is offering advanced GenAI search capabilities to its customers; Dell’s AI server order book is overflowing, at least for now; and more!

Fastweb+Vodafone, which was formed at the start of this year, is claiming to be the first Italian operator to offer “sovereign AI-based solutions” to businesses and public administrations in the country. Its FastwebAI Suite comprises “end-to-end solutions based on sovereign infrastructures located in Italy and an AI platform that integrates secure and regulation-compliant generative AI and AI agents, ensuring data protection,” the operator noted in this announcement. “Thanks to next-generation datacentres located across the country, the Nvidia DGX SuperPOD supercomputer, operational since last July, the FastwebMIIA language model – natively trained in Italian on data sourced from certified and authoritative origins and governed with full transparency – and cloud, edge computing and cybersecurity platforms designed to offer maximum protection, FastwebAI Suite ensures full compliance with the European AI Regulation (AI Act), privacy laws and copyright regulations,” it added. Sovereign AI services are shaping up to be a route to new revenue generation by telcos in multiple markets, including Canada as we reported on Thursday. And for more on the development of the Italian language model, see this recent coverage of how Fastweb+Vodafone has been collaborating with the country’s government.  

Still with telcos & AI… Indonesia’s Telkomsel has started bundling advanced generative AI-enabled search application Perplexity Pro into some of its service packages, the telco has announced. Wong Soon Nam, Telkomsel’s planning and transformation director, noted: “This collaboration is a real manifestation of Telkomsel’s commitment to providing reliable connectivity and AI solutions that empower everyone, every home, and business activities. By combining the advantages of our national network and Perplexity’s advanced AI technology, we ensure seamless access to accurate and personalised information, anytime and anywhere, so that customers can interact with information more intelligently and always be one step ahead in the digital era.” Such bundled offers are increasingly commonplace: SK Telecom, which is an investor in Perpexity and which has developed its personal AI agent for the US market with Perplexity, started bundling Perplexity Pro with mobile services more than a year ago, while the likes of Deutsche Telekom, SoftBank and Switzerland’s Sunrise have also done the same.  

Dell Technologies, a close partner of Nvidia, is one of the many companies benefitting from the AI boom. The giant server vendor reported a 5% year-on-year increase in fiscal first-quarter revenues (for the three months to 2 May) to almost $23.4bn and a 21% increase in operating profit to $1.17bn. But the current impact of AI-related order came in the commentary of Dell’s current order book. “We achieved first-quarter record servers and networking revenue of $6.3bn, and we’re experiencing unprecedented demand for our AI-optimised servers,” stated chief operating officer Jeff Clarke. “We generated $12.1bn in AI orders this quarter alone, surpassing the entirety of shipments in all of FY25 and leaving us with $14.4bn in backlog,” he added. The big question now is whether certain macroeconomic influences have boosted current order levels and whether such strong demand for Nvidia tech-based servers will be maintained through the rest of the financial year. 

Marvell is another tech company to have had an AI fire lit under its sales. For its fiscal first quarter (for the three months to 3 May), the chip vendor reported a 63% year-on-year increase in revenues to almost $1.9bn, while operating profits swung to $270.6m from an operating loss of $152.3m a year earlier. “Marvell delivered record revenue in the first quarter… and we are forecasting continued strong growth into the second quarter. This momentum is being fuelled by strong AI demand in the datacentre end market, where our revenue is benefitting from the rapid scaling of our custom silicon programmes and robust shipments of our electro-optics products,” stated the company’s chairman and CEO Matt Murphy. “As the industry continues to move toward building custom AI infrastructure, Marvell is uniquely positioned at the centre of this transformation. We see our custom silicon business driving strong growth in the second quarter and beyond,” he added. 

Macroeconomics and trade uncertainties have certainly impacted expectations for global smartphone shipment volumes for this year. Research firm IDC has revised its annual growth forecast from the 2.3% it predicted in February to just 0.6%. The revision is “due to high uncertainty, tariff volatility and macro-economic challenges, such as inflation and unemployment, across many regions leading to a slowdown in consumer spending. Growth will remain in low single digits throughout the forecast period, with a five-year (2024-29) compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 1.4% due to increasing smartphone penetration, lengthening refresh cycles, and cannibalisation from used smartphones,” noted IDC in this announcement. 

– The staff, TelecomTV