The content team at Channel Partners Newsletter tracks stories of interest to the technology advisor and agent community. Anyone selling communication and connectivity solutions will want to stay abreast of these developing stories or catch up on ones they have missed. We are tracking—with the help of ChatGPT along with AI tools our parent Informa has developed—a roundup based on story traffic, mentions, impressions, reposts, and social media engagement. All links are valid as of Aug. 20.

TAs in the Inc. 5000

At least a dozen tech advisors (TAs) and technology services distributors (TSDs) made the Inc. 5000 this year, according to Channel Futures’ count. These companies include pure agents who source all products and services through a vendor-billed and vendor managed model and others who resell or manage technology services. Read the Channel Futures story.

Cloud’s $1 Trillion AI Bubble

Cloud providers are betting big on AI with a backlog that could produce a large bursting bubble if the technology fails to deliver on its promises. As of the end of June, AWS, Google, Microsoft, Oracle and CoreWeave had a collective order backlog approaching the $1 trillion mark. Microsoft led the way to more than $368 billion of performance obligations, followed by AWS with $195 billion and Oracle with $138 billion. Throw in Google’s $106 billion and CoreWeave’s $30.1 billion in obligations, and those six providers’ total comes to $837.1 billion. Read the Fierce Network story.

SoftBank Chips in with $2 Billion Intel Investment

SoftBank is taking a $2 billion equity stake in Intel, making the Japanese company Intel’s sixth-largest investor. The companies put out a joint statement Tuesday saying SoftBank Group will pay $23 per share of Intel common stock. The news came hours ahead of reports that said the U.S. government is discussing taking a 10% share in Intel that would make it the largest Intel stakeholder. Read the Light Reading story

Nuclear Power to Fuel Tennessee and Alabama Google Data Centers

Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), the nation’s largest public utility, plans to buy power from an upcoming advanced nuclear plant to help fuel Google data centers in Tennessee and Alabama. The TVA, California-based Kairos Power and Google say the agreement will deliver up to 50 megawatts of energy to the federal utility’s grid that powers the data centers. Read the Associated Press story.

Nexstar Media Group Wants to Buy TEGNA for $6.2 Billion

Nexstar Media Group has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire TEGNA in a deal that would combine the nation's largest and fourth-largest television-station conglomerates. If approved, the combined entity would control 265 full-power television stations across 44 states and DC, reaching nearly 80% of U.S. households. However, the Wall Street Journal reported that Sinclair has stepped in with a counteroffer of $25-$30 per share, potentially trumping Nexstar's $22 per share offer. Read about it in the Hollywood Reporter and Wall Street Journal.

Colt Technology Services Hit by Ransomware Attack

UK telecom giant Colt Technology Services confirmed it suffered a significant ransomware attack by the WarLock group, affecting operations across its global network spanning 40 countries. Hackers are demanding $200,000 for stolen data including employee salaries and customer information. Read the Cyber News Centre story.

T-Mobile makes another fiber growth play with U.S. Internet deal

Telecom giant T-Mobile US has acquired Minnesota-based U.S. Internet, according to letters T-Mobile sent to U.S. Internet customers. U.S. Internet is a fiber network service provider in Minneapolis and its suburbs. T-Mobile has been aggressively expanding its T-Mobile Fiber Home Internet service, positioning the company as a formidable player in the fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) market. The deal is pending regulatory approval. Read the Cord Cutter News story.