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 Aug. 12.
AI Data Center Bans Surge Past 500 Nationwide
Analysis conducted by The Information shows how Local politicians in the United States are refusing to approve new data center construction in greater numbers. More than 500 nationwide bans pose a threat to the expansion required by AI firms to provide the capacity needed to power the new technology. Information from legal documents and local news reports shows that this isn’t a partisan issue. Read the Tom’s Hardware story.
The AI Data Center Backlash Costs Big Tech Billions
What does the data center opposition mean in financial terms? Data shows the pushback has cost $130 billion in the U.S. in the first quarter of 2026 alone. Read the Telecoms story.
T-Mobile U.S. Cuts More Than 4,500 Jobs in Latest Shakeup
T-Mobile US wasn't kidding about "workforce transformation," a euphemistic term that no employee wants to hear the company bosses utter. The giant US mobile operator did just that in late 2025 and subsequently included a whole section in regulatory filings on plans to restructure – just a couple of years after the previous big overhaul. Data published by Deutsche Telekom last week shows T-Mobile's headcount has shrunk by nearly 7% this year. Read the Light Reading story.
Verizon Outages Put Network Back in Focus
It was a busy weekend for Verizon engineers thanks to an outage that affected voice services for thousands of customers in some parts of the U.S. last Saturday. Verizon didn’t reveal the cause of the outage but said the issue was resolved by around 7 p.m. Eastern time. At the time, the carrier advised customers who were still experiencing problems to restart their devices. Read the Fierce Network story.
Lumen’s Voice Exit: No End Date, No Plan for Partners
Lumen Technologies did not set an end-of-life date for its enterprise voice services, which the networking company will no longer sell amid an ongoing push to deliver digital services to large businesses and data centers, executives said in an earnings call for the quarter ended June 30. Total revenue declined 9% year over year to $2.8 billion. Read the Channel Dive story.
‘Economic Growth Still in the Cards’ for 2026 North American Telecom Market: Morningstar
Despite the war in Iran impacting shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, and geopolitical and economic challenges, the North American telecom market can expect low-single-digit economic growth in the second half of 2026, according to a new Morningstar report. Read the Fierce Network story.
Telecom Sector Gives Thumbs Up to Trump’s FCC Nominee
If confirmed, President Trump's telecom-approved pick for FCC Commissioner, Danielle Thumann Severs, would add a third Republican to the Commission as the future of the FCC's lone Democrat, Anna Gomez, is unknown. The telecom industry welcomed the choice with little concern evident that the appointment could increase partisan imbalance at the agency. See the Light Reading story.
Comcast Business Corrals Colt for Cross-Border NaaS Development
Comcast Business and Colt Technology will work through the former’s recently instantiated Innovation Lab environment on developing API-driven interoperability across their networks and service platforms. The integration will connect Comcast Business’ digital orchestration platform that exposes network capabilities as “programmable, standards-based services” with Colt’s international network. It will also tap agentic AI systems to help discover, order, and fulfill connectivity “through governed automation.” Read the SDxCentral story.