• Qualcomm reports strong sales growth
• UK altnets in an M&A frenzy, finds Neos Networks
• SK Telecom barred from signing up new mobile customers

In today’s industry news roundup: Qualcomm reports significant sales growth across all three product business units in its fiscal second quarter; nearly all UK altnets are gagging for some M&A action, according to a new survey; SK Telecom’s post-breach woes continue; and much more!

Wireless chip giant Qualcomm has continued its positive streak by reporting a 17% year-on-year increase in fiscal second-quarter revenues to $11bn and a 24% increase in earnings before taxes to $3.1bn. Its products division (QCT), which generated $9.47bn of its total revenues, once again reported good growth across all three business lines – handsets (up 12% year on year to $6.93bn), internet of things (IoT) (up 27% to $1.58bn) and automotive (up 59% to $959m). “We are pleased to report another quarter of strong results,” stated president and CEO Cristiano Amon. “As we navigate the current macroeconomic and trade environment, we remain focused on the critical factors we can control – our leading technology roadmap, best-in-class product portfolio, strong customer relationships and operational efficiencies. Our top priorities remain executing our diversification strategy and continuing to invest in areas that drive long-term value.” CFO Akash Palakkawala also addressed macroeconomic issues during the vendor’s earnings call. Discussing the potential impact of US President Donald Trump’s trade tariffs, he said there is “uncertainty around the impact of the global trade landscape on demand across our businesses. Our guidance for the upcoming quarter is based on our current assessment of the financial impact of tariffs as they stand today. As the situation remains dynamic, we’ll continue to closely monitor for potential changes,” before adding that Qualcomm has “a very diversified global supply chain [that] positions us very well to navigate challenges that might happen as a result of tariffs.” However, the guidance for the current three-month period (April to June) was slightly lower than expected, with fiscal third-quarter revenues expected to be in the range of $9.9bn to $10.7bn. That was enough to send Qualcomm’s share price down by more than 8% in early trading on Thursday to $136.04. In the meantime, the company continues to explore further ways to diversify its business, including through acquisitions: It is in talks that could lead to a takeover offer for UK chip designer Alphawave IP Group and recently announced the acquisition of MovianAI.  

The UK’s fixed broadband altnet community, which still comprises more than 100 independent operators, is collectively craving more M&A activity, according to a new study commissioned by Neos Networks, which provides wholesale data transport network services to enterprises and ISPs across the UK. A survey of more than 100 decision-makers at UK altnets found that 96% are “considering M&A and partnerships with other service providers as they look for opportunities to survive and expand in the UK’s competitive broadband market,” according to this announcement. And, reportedly, some of them won’t need to wait too long to be on the receiving end of some M&A activity courtesy of the biggest UK altnet of them all, CityFibre, which recently announced a fibre access network asset acquisition and is planning more. The survey also found – or, some would say, confirmed – that the altnets are struggling to become profitable businesses in what is a tough and very competitive market and that many are planning to branch into new service areas in an effort to generate new revenues.  

The fallout from SK Telecom’s significant data breach, which has already resulted in  major operational challenges and the loss of customers, continues as South Korea’s Ministry of Science and ICT has issued an administrative guidance order instructing SK Telecom to suspend new subscriber signups until it resolves its replacement SIM card shortage challenges, reports YonHap News Agency.  

BT Group has landed a multimillion-pound deal with the UK’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) to “deliver thousands of mobile connections to support real-time reporting of critical events, from flooding to farming disease outbreaks,” the telco has announced. “The contract, which will run for up to five years across England, Scotland and Wales, will use EE’s award-winning mobile network to provide 34,000 connections for workers and a range of devices, from water sensors to payment machines. The connectivity will enable reliable reporting of real-time data on things like water quality, extreme weather events, flood risks and the spread of disease through farming crops or livestock,” explained BT. 

Internet of things (IoT) software and connectivity specialist 1NCE has raised $60m in a new investment round that takes its total funding to $160m since 2017: Its financial backers include Deutsche Telekom, iSquared Capital, Kensington Capital Partners and SoftBank Corp. The company provides a “software platform for connected products to more than 24,000 customers managing 30 million devices across 170+ countries,” it notes, and has become an “IoT industry disruptor by integrating connectivity as a component of its software platform,” which runs on the cloud platforms. The new funding will support its global expansion, which started in 2022 with a focus on the US, Asia Pacific and Latin America. “The US is our largest and fastest-growing market, and we’re expanding our American workforce to accelerate our momentum. 1NCE already delivers at an incredibly high quality with consistency and industry-defining endpoint availability of 99.97%. This funding further increases our ability to expand our competitive advantage across the world,” stated Ivo Rook, co-CEO of 1NCE.

– The staff, TelecomTV