The content team at Channel Partners Newsletter 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 Feb. 4.

PayPal Hires HP's Lores as CEO

PayPal said it is hiring HP’s Enrique Lores as its CEO and president, replacing CEO Alex Chriss. Lores has been the chair of PayPal’s board since July 2024. PayPal said the appointment was made because the company’s pace of change and execution was “not in line with the board’s expectations.” PayPal’s CFO and COO Jamie Miller will take over as interim CEO until Lores joins the company March 1. HP named board member Bruce Broussard as interim CEO and formed a search committee to replace Lores. Read the TechCrunch story.

Nvidia CEO Shoots Down AI Threat to Software Industry

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang dismissed fears that AI will replace software tools, calling the idea “illogical” at the Cisco AI Summit. Huang’s comments came after a significant sell-off in global software stocks, which was in part due to Anthropic’s updated chatbot release last week that heightened anxieties over AI-driven disruption in the data and professional services industry. Huang said AI will keep relying on existing software instead of rebuilding basic tools from scratch. See the Capacity Global story.

Cisco CEO Robbins on Agentic AI

At its second annual Cisco AI Summit, Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins told customers and partners that 2026 is shaping up as the “year of agentic applications,” marking what he described as the most consequential technology transition of his career. Robbins framed agentic AI as a shift that will rapidly change how enterprises operate day to day, affecting everything from application development cycles to infrastructure design and security architectures. See the Converge Digest story.

Verizon Exploring Replacement for Sampath

Verizon reportedly has reached out to possible candidates to replace Verizon consumer unit CEO Sowmyanarayan Sampath, a move that brings uncertainty about who will eventually succeed current Verizon CEO Dan Schulman. The news first appeared on FT, but Light Reading picked it up.

Frenzied AI Investment Will Lead to Mass Consolidation

Bill Major, CEO of fiber infrastructure company FiberLight, is predicting consolidation in the AI space. FiberLight has insight into the AI ecosystem because it lays fiber for the major hyperscalers including Microsoft, Meta, Google and Amazon, and a lot of that fiber is deployed to connect AI data centers. However, while AI is booming — and bringing fiber along with it — companies in the AI space are struggling to garner profits, Major told Fierce Network.

Amazon Leo seeks satellite deployment extension

Amazon Leo said launch delays and other issues led it to ask the FCC for a 24-month extension to launch the first half of a planned constellation of 3,236 satellites. Amazon Leo wants the interim deployment milestone of 1,618 satellites moved to July 30, 2028, or alternatively for the FCC to issue a waiver on this 50% requirement. See the Light Reading story.

T-Mobile Plans Layoffs in Washington State

T-Mobile is laying off 363 people in its Bellevue headquarters and other offices in Washington, according to new filing with the state’s Employment Security Department. The cuts are across the board, affecting project managers, account care coaches and engineers. Among the positions being eliminated are 21 senior systems architecture engineers, 17 senior business systems analysts and 11 senior technical project managers. The cuts will also include remote workers. Read the Fierce Network story.

Verizon Reseller CSG Combines with E-Commerce hub 5Gstore

Connected Solutions Group (CSG) is acquiring 5Gstore in a deal that gives a value-added reseller access to an online marketplace focused on IoT hardware and solutions. The companies said they will form a channel partner organization with close to $80 million in annual revenue. The merger is expected to close this month. Read the Channel Dive story.

Verizon Plans to Fight Churn with Better Customer Experience

Verizon CEO Dan Schulman said the company will deploy AI at scale to help it reduce complexity, anticipate customer pain points and personalize interactions. Verizon will fully revamp its end-to-end customer experience as part of its plan to drive financial success through subscriber growth, Schulman said during a Q4 2025 earnings call. See the Channel Dive story.

AT&T Completes $5.75B Acquisition of Lumen's Fiber Business

AT&T completed the acquisition of Lumen's mass-market fiber business for $5.75 billion, first announced last May. The acquisition is a significant boost for AT&T's fiber ambitions, with the company aiming to roll out fiber to 60 million locations by 2030. Read the SDxCentral story.