What’s up with… Nokia, FCC, SK Telecom

• Nokia forges quantum-safe networking partnerships  
• FCC puts Chinese companies on ‘double secret probation’
• SK Telecom makes yet another AI friend

In today’s industry news roundup: Nokia is playing a key role in a quantum-safe networks collaboration in Canada; the FCC is putting a group of Chinese companies suspected of breaching trade rules under even greater scrutiny as part of its new focus on national security; SK Telecom is teaming up with, and investing in, Together AI; and much more!

Nokia has teamed up with Honeywell Aerospace Technologies and Numana, a Canadian technology collaboration “macro-accelerator”, to conduct research into quantum-safe networks (QSN) in Montreal. “This collaboration will drive innovation, foster collaboration, and accelerate the adoption of next-generation secure networking technologies for enterprises and service providers,” noted Nokia in this announcement. The partners will make use of Numana’s Quebec-based Kirq Quantum Communication Testbed, a world-class facility that provides a real-world environment for testing and validating new quantum-resistant and quantum communication technologies. Honeywell is bringing its quantum key distribution technology to the collaborative table while Nokia will contribute its “expertise in post-quantum networking, incorporating advanced IP routers, high-capacity optical transport nodes, and state-of-the-art quantum-safe cryptographic technologies, all backed by its extensive practical experience and proven success in real-world deployments,” noted the vendor. Jeffrey Maddox, president of Nokia Canada, stated: “As the world increasingly depends on digital infrastructure, the need for advanced cryptographic protection has never been more critical. By partnering with Numana and its collaboration partners like Honeywell Aerospace Technologies and others, we can deploy our combined expertise in enabling future-proof networks to help organisations, enterprises and service providers build a secure and resilient digital future starting today.”

In the wake of his decision to establish a new Council on National Security within the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the US telecom regulator’s new chairman, Brendan Carr, has “launched a sweeping investigation into the ongoing US operations of CCP [Chinese Communist Party]-aligned businesses whose equipment or services the FCC previously placed on its Covered List based on determinations that those equipment or services pose unacceptable risks to America’s national security,” the FCC has announced. “Despite being placed on the FCC’s Covered List, some or all of those entities may still be operating in the US – either because they do not believe the FCC’s Covered List prohibits particular types of operations or otherwise.” The “entities” in question are Huawei Technologies, ZTE, Hytera Communications, Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology, Dahua Technology, China Mobile International USA, China Telecom (Americas), Pacifica Networks Corp/ComNet (USA), and China Unicom (Americas) Operations. “The FCC has taken concrete actions to address the threats posed by Huawei, ZTE, China Telecom, and many other entities that pose an unacceptable risk to America’s national security, including by doing Communist China’s bidding,” stated Carr. “To safeguard our networks, the FCC has placed those CCP-aligned entities on our Covered List, and we have revoked many of the FCC authorisations that they had been operating under. We have reason to believe that, despite those actions, some or all of these Covered List entities are trying to make an end run around those FCC prohibitions by continuing to do business in America on a private or ‘unregulated’ basis. We are not going to just look the other way. The FCC, working through our new Council on National Security and in coordination with partners across the Federal government, will identify the scope of their ongoing activities and move quickly to close any loopholes that have permitted untrustworthy, foreign adversary state-backed actors to skirt our rules,” added Carr. The companies in question can’t say they haven’t now been warned of extra scrutiny, the kind that the National Lampoon team might have called “double secret probation”. 

SK Telecom is reportedly collaborating with, and making a “strategic investment” in, California-based Together AI, which has developed a cloud platform that is used for AI application development and fine-tuning. SK Telecom is believed to be working with Together AI on the pre-commercial launch development of the South Korean company’s Aster AI personal assistant, which is set to be unveiled in the US market in the coming months. Together AI, which is currently investing in a large deployment of Nvidia Blackwell GPUs to underpin its AI development platform, recently raised $305m in its Series B funding round, recently became an Nvidia cloud partner, and announced a number of Nvidia-enabled service developments during the AI tech giant’s recent GTC event. SK Telecom, meanwhile, is continuing to advance its AI strategy, which appears to be paying off.  

Swiss telco Sunrise has announced that its network is “5G standalone [SA] ready” and that its customers will benefit from 5G SA enhancements over the course of this year as smartphone devices become certified and are upgraded. “For us, 5G standalone is the foundation that will allow us to develop 5G offerings that enable new communication and entertainment experiences, and new business solutions,” stated Sunrise CTO Elmar Grasser. “Even though it will be a little while before customers can benefit from these advantages in their everyday digital lives, 5G standalone is sure to drive digitisation further – both in business and society. That’s why it’s important for us to embrace 5G standalone at an early stage and be primed for the new possibilities it offers,” added Grasser. Sunrise, which is Switzerland’s second-largest operator after market leader Swisscom, ended 2024 with 3.1 million mobile, 1.3 million broadband and 1 million digital TV customers. 

Telefónica’s plan to sell its operation in Argentina has hit a regulatory roadblock, as the country’s presidential office has suspended the deal after concerns were raised about the impact on telecom services market competition. In February, Telefónica agreed the sale of its business to Telecom Argentina for $1.245bn as part of its strategy to “gradually reduce exposure to Hispanoamerica,” the operator noted in a stock market announcement. But now Argentina’s National Commission for the Defense of Competition says the deal could lead to an unfair competitive landscape in some parts of the country, reports Reuters.  

– The staff, TelecomTV