News of Note—China mulls merger; KT’s 5G deal with Intel and more

Here are some other stories we're following today:

> China is considering a merger between China Unicom and China Telecom, two of the country’s top three operators, in a bid to speed up 5G investment and better compete with the U.S. MWL article

> Sprint and Ericsson said they will team for a virtualized IoT core and operating system. Release

> Korean telecom operator KT has signed a memorandum of understanding with Intel to develop an ecosystem for 5G technology. RCR Wireless article

> According to research firm IDC, the market for wearables grew 5.5% to 27.9 million units in the second quarter, with Apple as the leading vendor. Release

> Some legislators are taking aim at Verizon's move to throttle data speeds of some firefighters in California. Multichannel News article

> As noted in a lengthy new report, millions of Americans could access to inexpensive wireless service through the FCC's Lifeline overhaul. Ars Technica article

> Google said it will not release a Pixel Watch device. Toms Guide article

> Vasona Networks announced a national deployment with a top mobile network operator in the Americas. Release

> Qorvo and Leedarson have partnered to create a family of smart home lighting products that operate concurrently with Zigbee 3.0 and Bluetooth Low Energy 5.0 protocols. Release

> CommScope announced that it has designed its OneCell C-RAN small cell solution to deliver optimal in-building performance and enhanced it to ensure smooth migration to 5G. Release