Based on recent high-traffic stories across industry publications and social media platforms, here are the most significant developments for channel partners, technology advisers, and agents from the past week. All links are valid as of Aug. 6.

Telarus CEO: 'Unaligned' Consulting Market Is Under Pressure

Telarus CEO Adam Edwards said technology advisors can benefit from pressures on consultants. During the Telarus Partner Summit Adams said increased pressures on the consulting world vindicate the tech advisor business model. Read the Channel Futures story.

T-Mobile Completes $4.3B UScellular Acquisition

T-Mobile closed its $4.3 billion acquisition of UScellular, significantly expanding its network footprint and customer base. This strategic move strengthens T-Mobile's market position against competitors and will likely impact regional service availability. Read the Fierce Network story.

Cloud Revenue Closes in on $100B Per Quarter

Cloud service providers are now generating almost $100 billion in quarterly revenue, highlighting the massive growth in cloud infrastructure that supports telecom operations and services. Read the Fierce Network story.

A Vendor's Call to Action For AI in the SMB and Midmarket

Techaisle analyst Anurag Agrawal writes about results of his latest research, which indicates a profound shift in generative AI usage across SMBs and midmarket companies. Agrawal’s research shows 81% of SMBs and midmarket firms plan to increase their AI investment in 2025, and nearly half of them anticipated increases of over 25%. This means tech vendors must pivot from general enablement to focused, impactful AI solution delivery. Read the Techaisle blog.

Low-band Spectrum Drives 5G Evolution

While midband spectrum – where the bulk of 5G traffic is carried – will remain critical well into the 6G era As the mobile industry moves toward universal access and 6G, low-band 5G spectrum is strategically indispensable in supporting internet of things (IoT), emergency services and inclusive digital infrastructure. That’s according to a report from the Global Mobile Suppliers Association (GSA). Read the Computer Weekly story.

Broadvoice GoContact gets a new Channel Chief

Molly Lozano, previously Telarus sales leader for the West region, is the new channel leader at UCaaS and CCaaS provider Broadvoice GoContact. Lozano will lead the vendor's North American channel strategy. Read the Channel Futures story.

NIST Updates on Cybersecurity Standards

NIST has released important updates relevant to telecom security:

• Second draft of "Considerations for Achieving Crypto Agility" (comments due August 15)
• Draft updates to SP 800-53 for secure patch deployment (comments due August 5) Read about these updates on Mondaq.

Cable One Plans Mobile Trial

Cable One said it will test mobile in multiple markets later this year and signed an agreement with a mobile virtual network enabler (MVNE) to pilot mobile services in several markets, CEO Julie Laulis announced July 31 on the company's quarterly earnings call. Read the Light Reading story.

Alaska Airlines IT Outage Reveals Telecom Importance

Alaska Airlines, one of the United States’ prominent carriers, experienced a significant IT outage on July 20, resulting in the grounding of all Alaska and Horizon Air flights. The situation remained unresolved for nearly three hours as the airline worked to navigate the disruption. During the downtime period, the carrier halted more than 200 aircraft from departing, illustrating the integral nature of robust, dependable IT and telecommunications systems. Read it on Telco Magazine.