The content team at Channel Partners tracks stories of interest to the technology advisor and wider channel communities. Anyone selling communication and connectivity solutions will want to stay abreast of these developing stories or catch up on ones they have missed. All links are valid as of Nov. 11.

Bridgepointe, Telarus and Avant Investors Double Down on TSDs

Charlesbank (Bridgepointe), Pamlico (Avant) and Columbia Capital (Telarus) each chose to reinvest in their tech service distributors (TSDs) rather than sell. This story looks at that trend. Read the Channel Dive story.

Zayo CEO Sampath Arrives During AI Boom Times

Sowmyanarayan Sampath took over as Zayo CEO in September, and his timing couldn’t have been better because the business is booming. Demand for its long-haul fiber has never been higher, driven by AI. Sampath told Fierce that Zayo sees demand from hyperscalers, neoclouds and AI labs. “We are working with everyone, and the funnel we have over the next, I would say six months, is explosive,” he said. “We're just seeing crazy amounts of demand.” Read the Fierce Network story.

ScanSource Plans Aggressive Agent Recruitment for Intelisys

ScanSource is reallocating sales incentives to reward partner recruitment and new orders in its Intelisys tech services distributor business, executives told investors during an earnings call for the quarter that ended Sept. 30. ScanSource CEO Mike Baur said the distributor is willing to match or beat commission splits that competitors have given to agents. Read the Channel Dive story.

SpaceX and Qualcomm Threaten to Topple U.S. Market's Cozy 5G Order

Elon Musk's plans for a fourth American 5G network look both reactionary and radical, with potential consequences for the whole telecom industry. Read the Light Reading story.

AT&T Rebuilds its Network for the AI and Autonomous Era

AT&T isn’t waiting for AI traffic to overwhelm its network before figuring out how to handle it. Instead, it is rebuilding multiple layers of its network around openness, programmability and automation, creating an architecture that Yigal Elbaz, SVP and network CTO at AT&T, said can support a much more autonomous network as AI adoption accelerates. Read the Fierce Network story.

AST SpaceMobile D2D Satellite Launch Target Slips Again

AST SpaceMobile said it has pushed its target launch for approximately 45 satellites in orbit until mid-2027. The news came days after the company announced plans to build its own reusable rocket, called Blacklift, to have more control over launch availability. It also pushes back when mobile operator partners, including AT&T and Verizon in the U.S., can expect to offer commercial mobile satellite direct-to-device (D2D) services. Read the Light Reading story.

How Jensen Huang’s Affair Spiraled Into a National Security Nightmare

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, who has acknowledged an affair with a woman accused of spying for China, has lobbied President Trump on loosening export controls. Nvidia’s board launched an independent investigation into whether its CEO was the target of a foreign intelligence effort. The probe follows reports that the U.S. government concluded Alice Huang, who was in a romantic relationship with the Nvidia CEO, was likely sending information to Chinese intelligence. Read the Wall Street Journal story.

Jensen Huang’s Future Raises Questions for AI Industry

Nvidia is moving to contain the fallout from an investigation into whether CEO Jensen Huang was targeted by a foreign intelligence operation. But the controversy raises a larger question for an AI industry that has become deeply dependent on the company -- and the executive who has spent three decades building it. Read the TechTarget story.