What’s up with… SK Telecom, Equinix, BT

  • SK Telecom is seeking new TIP startups
  • Equinix is buying 25 data centres in Canada
  • BT unveils green tech initiatives

Further fuel for the Telecom Infra Project (TIP) startup community and M&A expansion by data centre operator Equinix lead the way in today’s news roundup.

  • SK Telecom is inviting a new wave of TIP Ecosystem Acceleration Center (TEAC) program applications from technology innovators that can help advance the operator’s 5G edge service ambitions. SKT said it will “enable the recruited startups to test and advance their new technologies on its commercial mobile networks; identify business opportunities in the global market; and attract investment from venture capitals.” The TEAC program is run by SKT in South Korea, BT in the UK and Deutsche Telekom in Germany. The news comes only days after an industry survey found a healthy appetite among mobile operators for disaggregated systems.  
  • Equinix is buying 25 data centres at 13 sites in eight cities from BCE (Bell Canada) for US$750 million (C$1.04 billion). The operator will retain five data centres located at its network central offices in Calgary, Halifax, Saint John, St. John's and Toronto. Just a few weeks ago, Equinix announced it was raising $1.25 billion to help fund an acquisition.
  • BT has launched a Green Tech Innovation Platform to identify “the latest technologies from UK-based tech scale-ups that could support BT and its public sector customers transition to Net Zero.” The launch is part of a broader ‘green’ strategy that also includes the introduction of an electric vehicle fleet and staff bonuses based on carbon emission reduction targets.
  • Masmovil, Spain’s fourth largest mobile operator with almost 9 million customers, is the subject of a €3 billion takeover bid by a consortium of private equity firms comprising KKR, Cinven and Providence and bidding under the name Lorca Telecom Bidco.
  • T-Mobile says it’s the first US operator to offer 5G services in all 50 states
  • Hong Kong’s SmarTone is using Ericsson Spectrum Sharing technology to roll out its 5G services. 

- The staff, TelecomTV

Email Newsletters

Sign up to receive TelecomTV's top news and videos, plus exclusive subscriber-only content direct to your inbox.