Mobile World Live brings you our top three picks of the week as Verizon secured $3.3 billion from a tower deal with Vertical Bridge, the industry got set for MWC Las Vegas and OpenAI attracted $6.6 billion in funding.
Verizon agrees $3B tower deal with Vertical Bridge
What happened: Verizon agreed to give infrastructure player Vertical Bridge exclusive rights to lease, operate and manage more than 6,000 of its towers in a deal worth $3.3 billion.
Why it matters: The agreement forms part of the US operator’s strategy to cut costs and raise capital, with Vertical Bridge expected to pay $2.8 billion upfront in cash. Verizon will lease back the towers for ten years with an option to extend for a further 50 years, explaining the agreement aligns with its plans to lower “tower-related” spending. Vertical Bridge CEO Ron Bizick described the deal as “the largest US tower transaction in almost a decade”.
In a busy week for the operator, Verizon also named former Vodafone Group executive Santiago Tenorio as CTO and SVP of strategy and technology enablement.
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GSMA, CTIA take care of business at MWC Las Vegas
What happened: Erich Hermanns, GSMA’s head of events, Americas and GSMA Intelligence head Peter Jarich discussed next week’s MWC Las Vegas, which will put the spotlight on the role of 5G in enterprises.
Why it matters: In partnership with US telecoms association CTIA, MWC Las Vegas 2024 is “dedicated to showcasing the power and potential of 5G, bringing together the entire 5G ecosystem, vendors, carriers, system integrators and IT peers, in one place”, Hermanns said.
This year, the GSMA will welcome 250 sponsors, exhibitors and industry partners including Microsoft, Qualcomm, T-Mobile and Verizon Business. Keynote speakers include GSMA CMO Lara Dewar, CTIA president and CEO Meredith Attwell Baker, and president of technology at T-Mobile US, Ulf Ewaldsson.
Jarich brought attention to the topics which will feature a Telco AI Summit: “We added in the Telco AI Summit because it is important to recognise the role that the operators play in AI,” he said.
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OpenAI scoops up $6.6B in funding at $157B valuation
What happened: OpenAI secured funding of $6.6 billion at a valuation of $157 billion, with backing from major hitters including Thrive Capital, Nvidia, Softbank Group, Microsoft and MGX.
Why it matters: In a blog post, OpenAI said the capital boost “will allow us to double down on our leadership in frontier AI research, increase compute capacity, and continue building tools that help people solve hard problems”, noting it will continue collaborating with “key partners including the US and allied governments”.
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