Juniper CTO Raj Yavatkar joins the podcast to discuss how the telecom industry can improve energy efficiency and service expectations for 5G deployments while also reducing the cost of running 5G networks. He also shares new use cases for private 5G and explains how Juniper is partnering with Rakuten Symphony on developing RAN Intelligent Controllers (RICs). Here are just a few things covered in this podcast: Opportunities for Juniper and its customers with 5G (01:00) Growing interest in private...
Jul 05, 2022•22 min
ATSC 3.0, the new IP-based broadcast signaling standard branded as "NextGen TV," targets the TV with a blend of enhanced capabilities such as 4K, high dynamic range (HDR), on-demand video, immersive audio and advanced advertising. But the standard is also being touted as a downstream broadband distribution pipe that can support a much wider range of use cases, including mobile applications. That mobility angle is starting to lead to apps and services for connected automobiles, including the dist...
Jul 01, 2022•30 min
On this episode, we're joined by Heather Gate, vice president of digital inclusion at Connected Nation , a nonprofit organization founded in 2001 that works with communities across the US to increase broadband access and adoption. We discuss the organization's work, including its broadband mapping projects and how states are using them. We also discuss the infrastructure law and how Connected Nation is helping states get and deploy the funding they need. Sign up today for the Light Reading newsl...
Jun 30, 2022•28 min
Amid all the hoopla about the deployment of fiber-fueled access networks, it's sometimes easy to forget the critical importance of middle-mile networks that feed and interconnect them. Middle-mile networks take on even higher standing when trying to deliver high-quality connections to unserved or underserved parts of rural America. Without a solid middle-mile, the last-mile network will suffer. A consortium of telco cooperatives and Rural Electric Membership Cooperatives (REMCs) are looking to r...
Jun 29, 2022•23 min
Now that many cable operators around the globe are also wireless network operators in some form or fashion, CableLabs has embarked on several projects and initiatives focused on network and service convergence. Following the formation of two groups – The Convergence Council and the Mobile Convergence Committee – CableLabs is taking aim at multitenancy at the edge and the convergence of both hybrid fiber/coax (HFC) and 5G networks. The initial focus is on the melding of network stacks into a comm...
Jun 28, 2022•17 min
GCI is doing more than going the extra mile to bring fiber to the Aleutian Chain in Alaska. In fact, it's going hundreds of extra miles below the surface of the ocean to accomplish the feat. Alaska's top service provider is making significant progress on the so-called GCI Alaska United Aleutians Fiber Project , an initiative that will soon start to deploy more than 800 miles of subsea fiber that will serve as the backbone for 2-Gig broadband and other services for communities in the remote, hard...
Jun 27, 2022•20 min
Scott Woods, vice president of community engagement at Ready , and former director of the Office of Minority Broadband Initiatives at the NTIA , joins the show to discuss the NTIA's notices of funding opportunity for the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) and Digital Equity Act programs. He explains what the agency got right and where its rules "missed the mark." We also discuss his current role at Ready and how the software company is helping ISPs and other broadband stakeholders p...
Jun 23, 2022•24 min
Craighead Electric Cooperative Corp. (CECC) , an 85-year-old electrical co-op in rural Arkansas, first started delivering fiber in 2018. Initially, it was for internal purposes: "We needed to communicate with critical electrical infrastructure out on the grid," said Jeremiah Sloan, CEO of CECC. But the realization that 44% of its membership lacked access to Internet service of 25/3 Mbit/s led CECC to start delivering fiber to customers as an ISP called Empower Broadband . "Fast forward to today,...
Jun 20, 2022•12 min
Nashville-based singer/songwriter Autumn Nicholas, who performed this week at the Fiber Connect 2022 event, said that bold storytelling is what sets her songs and lyrics apart. Related stories and links: Autumn Nicholas ( Spotify , Linktree and Instagram ) The Kentucky Gentlemen Troubadour Blue Black Opry (A resource for Black artists and fans of country, blues, folk and Americana music.) Sign up today for the Light Reading newsletter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Jun 17, 2022•11 min
Jonathan Davidson, EVP and GM of Cisco's Mass-Scale Infrastructure Group, discusses Cisco's desire to help close the digital divide. "We're focused on powering an inclusive future for all. That's not just a tagline; that's what we believe we are here to do from a purpose perspective," he said. Here's a list of topics that were covered in this podcast: The digital divide as an opportunity for networking projects (2:00) The status of Cisco's digital divide work (4:30) How Cisco works with service ...
Jun 17, 2022•17 min
The story of what the so-called "metaverse" will be or should be is just getting started, and views differ widely between high expectations driven by hype and the realities of today's technologies and those on the viewable horizon. Masum Mir, VP and GM of engineering at Cisco, recently joined the Light Reading podcast during the Cisco Live event in Las Vegas to offer some of his insights about the metaverse and its potential. Here's a snapshot of topics discussed during this podcast: What's a re...
Jun 16, 2022•17 min
Chris Pearson, president of 5G Americas, joins the podcast to provide an update on global expansion of 5G, new revenue opportunities for private 5G networks and breakthroughs in addressing the digital divide. Pearson also provides a brief recap of his keynote at the Big 5G Event in May. Here are just a few things covered in this podcast: Big 5G Event recap and global growth of 5G (02:24) Why "spectrum is the lifeblood of the industry" (04:40) New revenue opportunities for private 5G networks (07...
Jun 13, 2022•25 min
In this episode, Light Reading's Alan Breznick provides a preview of what to expect at the Cable Next-Gen Europe Digital Symposium, which will focus on how European cable operators and their American counterparts are taking different roads to reaching 10G. During the event, executives from Liberty Global and Vodafone and experts from SCTE, CableLabs and Omdia will discuss the latest in Distributed Access Architecture (DAA) technology, DOCSIS and more. The online event takes place Tuesday, June 2...
Jun 10, 2022•8 min
Orange Business Services' John Isch, practice director of the network and voice center of excellence, and Franck Morales, VP for secure digital infrastructure, join the podcast with an update on the service provider's deployment of nearly 1,200 SD-WAN sites for customer Siemens . "It's probably one of the most complex deployments as we've also been deploying during the evolution of [Siemen's] IT, their SD-WAN, and changing nearly 100% of the underlay because the decision was clear from Siemens t...
Jun 09, 2022•30 min
Jason Leifer, Dryden Town Supervisor; Ryan Garrison, director of technology at HUNT Engineers, Architects & Surveyors ; and Gina Nienaber, director of portfolio marketing at Ciena , join the podcast to discuss Dryden Fiber : a new municipal fiber network being deployed in Tompkins County, New York. We discuss the digital divide in Dryden, how the decision to create a municipal broadband network came about, the timeline for this project and much more. Sign up today for the Light Reading newsl...
Jun 09, 2022•30 min
The five components of Internet equity include accessibility, infrastructure, affordability, adoption and performance/reliability, says the University of Chicago's Nick Feamster. In his latest return to the podcast, Nick Feamster, director of research for the Data Science Institute at the University of Chicago, shares findings from his team's research that supports the Internet Equity Initiative data portal , which uses Ookla Speedtest data and other data sets to map out Internet inequities. "Th...
Jun 08, 2022•40 min
<p> Nextlink Internet has been able to push gigabit-level speeds over fixed wireless access (FWA) in a limited fashion, but is now looking to scale up and expand that capability by tapping into fresh spectrum in the 6GHz band. </p><p> That band, already supported in the home in the Wi-Fi6E standard, is poised to become an important data conduit for FWA as the FCC works out some final details on how that band will accommodate both new and legacy users. </p><p> As the...
Jun 07, 2022•17 min
AUSTIN – Big 5G Event – In this fireside chat during the Women in Telecoms workshop, experts from T-Mobile and Verizon explain the difference between a mentor, sponsor and coach; how to develop relationships with career allies; and how to develop a personal board of directors. Yasmin Karimli, senior director of device technology & development for T-Mobile; and Krys Grondorf, director of communications for Verizon also share how relationships with mentors, sponsors and coaches evolve over the...
Jun 07, 2022•25 min
Behind the wheel, NTT and IndyCar are using tools such as predictive data analytics and digital twins to improve the race experience for both IndyCar teams and fans of the sport. "NTT is taking a lot of the unseen and we're working to make it more visible to the fans to help them understand what's going on in the race, what they should look for and where they should look for it to happen," said SJ Luedtke, VP of marketing for IndyCar. Luedtke and Bennett Indart, VP of SMART world solutions for N...
Jun 07, 2022•27 min
AUSTIN – Big 5G Event – In this fireside chat during the Women in Telecoms workshop, experts from AT&T, Boingo and MetTel discuss the "credibility conundrum,”"and how women in the industry can better demonstrate their value and best utilize their skill sets to advance their careers. Layli Amiri, lead member of technical staff: network infrastructure and services for AT&T; Lori Thomas, SVP of strategic engagement & transformation for MetTel; and Rachel Rea, SVP of operations for Boing...
Jun 03, 2022•27 min
AUSTIN – Big 5G Event – In this fireside chat during the Women in Telecoms workshop, Ericsson North America CMO Ciricia Proulx and Rogers Communications VP of Advanced Services Tess Van Thielen, share their perspectives and experiences about why diversity is important for business, how the industry can move in a more positive direction to support diversity, and why studies show it could take nearly 150 years to reach gender parity in the workforce. Proulx and Thielen weave statistics and real-wo...
May 31, 2022•35 min
In this episode, we hear from John Paul Farmer, chief innovation officer at WeLink Cities , and the former chief technology officer of New York City. We discuss the fixed wireless technology WeLink is using to deploy broadband in cities, and the company's efforts to deliver affordable service. We also get into WeLink's new Cities Challenge : a $100 million effort to partner with cities on rapid broadband deployments. Sign up today for the Light Reading newsletter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/...
May 27, 2022•16 min
US Ignite's Mari Silbey discusses how public-private partnerships can help with some big 5G issues, like resolving the technical challenges in open RAN networks and feeding better network data sets to AI and machine learning engines. Sign up today for the Light Reading newsletter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
May 24, 20220
Joe Kochan, a telecom veteran and former CEO of US Ignite, talks to Light Reading about his new role as the executive director at the National Spectrum Consortium (NSC), where he aims to promote stronger tech partnerships between government, academia and industry. Sign up today for the Light Reading newsletter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
May 23, 2022•10 min
On this episode, we're joined by Elizabeth Page, national sales director at Ribbon Communications ; and Aaron Young, chief operating officer at Tri-Co Connections , a fiber broadband provider in rural Pennsylvania powered by Tri-County Rural Electric Cooperative, and a customer of Ribbon's. We discuss why, how and when Tri-Co started deploying broadband to its service area and the state of its rollout, why electric co-ops are well-placed to fill in broadband gaps in the rural US, Ribbon's role i...
May 20, 2022•19 min
Light Reading's Mike Dano joins the podcast to discuss Dish Network's 5G-focused analyst day event . Dano explains analysts' reactions to Dish's business projections, what Dish has planned for the retail space and for enterprise private wireless customers, the launch of Boost Infinite and more. Sign up today for the Light Reading newsletter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
May 17, 2022•14 min
In this podcast, Diane Christman, new CEO of The Cable Center, digs into the genesis, purpose and takeaways of the organization's first annual Intrapreneurship & Innovation Report , and offers a look ahead to this year's Cable Hall of Fame event in New York. Sign up today for the Light Reading newsletter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
May 13, 2022•21 min
This episode features Rachel Mukai Stark, smart cities program manager for the city of Charlotte, North Carolina ; and Bruce Clark, executive director for the Center for Digital Equity at Queen's University of Charlotte. We discuss how broadband access in Charlotte has changed over the years, what's causing the digital divide and the city's roadmap to closing it, the importance of connecting communities with opportunities for digital training and more. Sign up today for the Light Reading newslet...
May 12, 2022•22 min
Omdia Principal Analyst Pablo Tomasi returns to the podcast with an update on the industry's progress in deploying private 5G networks. He explains why there's a land grab for logos and how the rush to identify partners in this space could present new challenges in the future. "You need to ensure your long-term view and the long-term view of your partners is well aligned," Tomasi says. "At the moment, everyone wants an ecosystem and as many partners as they can get, and that could present a bit ...
May 10, 2022•22 min
Light Reading's Mike Dano joins the podcast to discuss recent pricing changes by T-Mobile, Verizon and AT&T. Dano explains why some service providers are increasing the price of mobile and fixed wireless services while others are announcing new deals for consumers, and what this means for the broader industry. Related posts: T-Mobile ports 'uncarrier' playbook to FWA AT&T's price increase could send customers to Verizon Sign up today for the Light Reading newsletter. Hosted on Acast. See...
May 10, 2022•9 min
