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T-Mobile US pushes physical AI to the edge

27 October 2026 at 17:32

T-Mobile US CTO John Saw revealed it is testing whether humanoid robots could respond faster and rely less on onboard computers by running some of their AI at its network edge.

In a blog, Saw explained T-Mobile is working with robotics company Figure AI to test if its systems can run on nearby computing infrastructure without slowing the machines’ responsiveness.

The systems involve controlling robots’ movement, and interpreting visual information and language instructions.

Saw wrote shifting some processing off the robots could reduce battery use, computing demands, heat, weight and cost. It could also let them run more capable AI without needing more hardware or power.

AWS
T-Mobile is working with AWS on the first deployments of Kinetic Edge, the operator’s distributed computing infrastructure for physical AI.

They are using T-Mobile’s 5G-Advanced network and distributed edge along with AWS’ cloud orchestration and AI services to push “deterministic connectivity, compute and intelligence closer to where machines operate”, Saw wrote.

He explained reliable connections and localised computing could help businesses take physical AI beyond individual demonstrations, highlighting developers are putting vision and reasoning models at the network edge to make robots, cameras and sensors less dependent on a distant cloud.

“This early work is helping us explore the capabilities that could make physical AI possible at scale, while opening the door to entirely new applications and opportunities.”

Machines require consistent connectivity when moving, sufficient uplink capacity to send sensor data, low latency and wide-area coverage, Saw wrote. Wi-Fi and satellite have a role, but he argued advanced terrestrial wireless networks are better suited to meeting the needs.

Human interaction
Saw noted employing people to assist robots would become challenging when thousands of machines are involved: T-Mobile is working with Serve Robotics to evaluate the feasibility of conducting monitoring at the edge to assess which problems can be solved by humans and which need more AI input.

The executive also highlighted work with Nvidia, Nokia and a growing group of developers to run physical AI applications across distributed edge networks, along with the recent completion of an AI-RAN call involving the vendors.

Saw explained T-Mobile is working with the city of San Jose in the state of California and specialist companies to develop a way to create an overview of traffic using edge AI to combine the views of separate 5G cameras.

They are testing if AI can connect occurrences at different junctions and if providing a big-picture could help people spot traffic patterns sooner.

The operator is also exploring “how AI and network workloads can share accelerated computing infrastructure” through partnerships with Nvidia, Nokia and Ericsson.

Saw said T-Mobile must develop ways to deliver “data and workloads” to “where intelligence needs to run”, whether it be on devices, the edge or cloud.

He said the direction “is becoming clearer” and T-Mobile’s network would “be the connective tissue” between the layers.

The post T-Mobile US pushes physical AI to the edge appeared first on Mobile World Live.

Bell Canada cashes in on towers with $1.8B stake sale

27 October 2026 at 16:59

Bell Canada struck a deal to sell a minority stake in its newly formed tower business to investment group La Caisse for CAD2.5 billion ($1.8 billion), cash set to be used to cut debt and invest in growth areas.

The operator’s parent company BCE noted the investor would take a 49.9% stake in the TowerCo business with Bell retaining the remainder.

TowerCo is set to take ownership of more than 5,000 sites across Canada, making it the country’s largest dedicated tower company. It will lease capacity back to Bell, which retains full ownership and control of spectrum, active network equipment and owned land.

The transaction expected to close in Q1 2027 subject to regulatory approval.

BCE explained the sale would help strengthen its balance sheet and allow it to invest in growth areas, including AI-related solutions. Last year, the company set a target of reducing its net debt leverage ratio to 3.5 times by the end of 2027.

BCE and Bell Canada president and CEO Mirko Bibic said the transaction would “unlock the significant value embedded in our infrastructure assets” while allowing the company to continue operating its wireless network.

He added the company aims “to strengthen our balance sheet, invest in growth and deliver total returns to shareholders”.

La Caisse EVP Emmanuel Jaclot noted making telecoms tower infrastructure available to multiple service providers could help “more people access the connectivity they rely on every day”.

The post Bell Canada cashes in on towers with $1.8B stake sale appeared first on Mobile World Live.

Deutsche Telekom backs AI health specialist

27 October 2026 at 16:15

Deutsche Telekom invested in Tandem Health, seeking to capitalise on the Swedish technology developer’s work to digitise the healthcare sector using AI.

The operator pumped an undisclosed sum into a Series B funding round by Tandem Health through its T.Capital investment arm, apparently seeing potential in a medical records assistant which is already used in more than 10,000 healthcare facilities throughout Europe.

Tandem Health’s platform provides access to clinical documents, coding and decision-making tools. It is integrated into around 130 electronic health record systems and meets stringent European Union regulations governing the sector and the bloc’s sovereignty needs.

T.Capital MD Karine Peters said Tandem Health’s platform “noticeably reduces the administrative burden on healthcare professionals” without compromising on “quality, safety and compliance” standards.

The company expects AI to “play a key role in addressing the challenges facing healthcare”, Peters added.

Tandem Health found administration tasks take up a sizeable chunk of clinicians’ working day when it quizzed professionals and patients late in 2025.

Most healthcare staff told the company they would prefer to spend more time with patients than on paperwork and more than half expressed concern over the quality of the interactions they do have.

Patients are worried about distracted doctors and inaccurate information, Tandem Health reported.

Deutsche Telekom reasons AI could provide some relief from the administrative burdens, in turn improving efficiency at healthcare facilities.

But SVP of Health Industry and head of Public Sector at T-Systems Gottfried Ludewig emphasised any AI systems employed must be trustworthy and secure.

The post Deutsche Telekom backs AI health specialist appeared first on Mobile World Live.

T-Mobile US Business CMO exits

27 October 2026 at 09:20

Mo Katibeh posted on LinkedIn he has left his roles of EVP and CMO for T-Mobile US Business after nearly three years.

Katibeh (pictured) stated former VP of business marketing and strategy Michael Lubunski would take on the T-Mobile for business product, marketing and operations leadership role.

A T-Mobile representative told Mobile World Live Labunski’s new role is SVP, business marketing and product for T-Mobile for Business.

Katibeh joined the operator in April 2024 following a 20-year career across various executive roles at rival AT&T. He was also COO and president of cloud platform company RingCentral for nearly two years.

Labunski was RingCentral’s chief data officer during Katibeh’s stint.

“I can honestly say it’s been some of the best and happiest years in my professional life” Katibeh wrote. “I’m incredibly proud of what our T-Mobile for Business team has accomplished.”

During his tenure, T-Mobile launched T-Priority for first responders, SuperMobile networking slicing for businesses, SuperBroadband with Starlink and ANS Edge Control.

In July, T-Mobile revealed chief business and product officer Mike Katz had stepped down, taking an advisory role until December.

At the same time, the operator appointed former AT&T executive Chris Sambar as chief enterprise officer.

The post T-Mobile US Business CMO exits appeared first on Mobile World Live.

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