The pod is delighted to welcome special guest Rajesh Pankaj, CTO of Interdigital, and they start by asking what exactly his company does. That leads on to a wide-ranging chat about telecoms R&D, patents, standards and, ultimately 6G. They still find time at the end to hear about Scott’s latest piece of self-indulgent writing, in which he tasked himself with a full summary of all the revelations coming from the Twitter files.
We’re delighted to welcome another special guest, Colin Evans from Juniper Networks. In the process of working out exactly what Juniper does, conversation soon turns to a variety of network-related themes, including automation and the mobile edge. Having done a general telecoms deep dive, they conclude with a look at Ericsson’s recant quarterly earnings release and what it might indicate about the broader industry.
The guys finally make it back into the studio and are delighted to be joined by Roslyn Layton of Strand Consult, who is an expert on telecoms public policy. She was in town for an Ofcom consultation on net neutrality, so they start with a deep dive into that topic, including its many definitions and interpretations. An overlapping trending topic is the issue of whether the biggest video content producers should pay a ‘fair contribution’ to the cost of running networks, so they conclude with a di...
New year, same old train strikes so the first pod of 2023 is another Zoom one, unfortunately. Telecoms.com Deputy Editor Andrew Wooden joins to offer an overview of the major themes from the Consumer Electronics Show. They move on to a couple of Qualcomm announcements from the show before concluding with a look at a major European Open RAN development.
We’re delighted to welcome back special guest Elena Davidson, CEO of Liberty Comms, who had the cunning plan of devising a telecoms quiz to see if Iain and Scott are any good at their jobs. They had to do this one 2020-style, over Zoom, because the trains are on strike, but hopefully it’s still a good listen. See you in the new year!
The team finally manages to get a pod out for the first time in three weeks, which may also be the last of the year thanks to train strikes. Thankfully they are delighted to welcome special guest Phil Siveter, CEO for Nokia UK and Ireland and they start by picking his brains about some of the various technological trends his company has a stake in. The big news story of the week was Vodafone losing its group CEO, so they move on to speculate about who could replace him, before Scott concludes by...
No guests this week as the lads record the pod a day early to make time for a big Friday lunch. They start by reviewing Vodafone’s latest quarterly numbers, which seemed to reflect the general economic gloom. Eventually they move on to one of Scott’s pet peeves, state censorship of online speech, before recklessly lurching into the high drama afflicting the cryptocurrency sector right now.
The pod is delighted to welcome back special guest Neil McRae, the departing Chief Architect at BT. They start by asking him why he’s clearing off and what, if anything, that says about BT’s technology strategy. Moving on to recent news, the three of them reflect on the carnage in the big tech jobs market, before concluding with a quickfire question round designed especially for McRae.
The lads return to the studio after their jaunt to Amsterdam but reflect on another trip Iain took since then to Madrid for the Fyuz event. The main topic there was Open RAN so they start by going over what was discussed and what that says about the current state of play with that technology. Quarterly earnings season seemed to offer clues about how things are going with both the metaverse and the public cloud market so they conclude by meandering around those topics. Stay up to date with the mo...
This special edition of the pod it brought to you from the Network X telecoms show in Amsterdam. Scott and Iain are first joined by Ronan De Renesse of analyst firm Omdia. They review some of the chat at the show concerning IoT, 5G and 6G, as well as a number of ad hoc tangents. Ronan then makes way for Telecoms.com’s Andrew Wooden, who talks us through the main keynote speeches and discussions from the event, focusing mainly on managing change and security. Stay up to date with the most importa...
Just the two of us this week, with Scott just about recovered from Deputy Editor Andrew Wooden’s stag weekend. They start by reviewing a reshuffle among BT’s top technology team, which features the departure of a former podcast guest. Iain wrote an analysis of the collateral damage from America’s chip war on China, so they dig into that, before concluding with a look at the latest developments in the ‘fair contribution’ debate. Stay up to date with the most important telecoms stories from around...
We’re delighted to welcome special guest Gabriel Brown to the pod this week. He is an analyst at Heavy Reading, specialising in mobile infrastructure, so the guys take the opportunity to pick his brains about the latest developments in 5G. They move on to dissect the big news story of the week – the potential merger of UK mobile operators Vodafone and Three – before finishing with a quick recap of Iain’s recent trip to France with Orange. Stay up to date with the most important telecoms stories ...
The pod is blessed by no less than two special guests this week. First we chat to Analyst James Crawshaw from Omdia about the recent Digital Transformation Event they all attended in Copenhagen and reflect on the eponymous topic as well as whatever larks were had on tour. James then makes way for Paula Gilbert who edits the Connecting Africa site. She and the guys discuss the latest telecoms developments in South Africa and elsewhere on the continent. Stay up to date with the most important tele...
The guys are joined by Telecoms.com Deputy Editor Andrew Wooden this week and start by discussing a recent interview of his with the CTO of Ukrainian operator Kyivstar, about the challenges of keeping communications online in a country under invasion. They move on to review the state of play with the big switch to standalone 5G before finishing with a quick look at the latest developments in the Twitter acquisition saga. Stay up to date with the most important telecoms stories from around the wo...
The guys start this week’s pod by reflecting on a meeting with BT that resulted in a Monday night out. The original purpose of it was to offer a network strategy update so they reflect on that before moving on to the Open RAN for the second week running, because that’s where the telecoms action is these days. They conclude with a look at activities on both side of the pond that speak of governments trying to exert more control over online speech. Stay up to date with the most important telecoms ...
The guys finally return from their respective summer breaks, tanned, refreshed and ready to pod. They start by mulling over the renewed interest in the satellite-direct-to-phone sector, catalysed by Elon Musk’s recently stated ambitions in that direction. They follow that with a look at the pros and cons of VMO2 dabbling with Open RAN before concluding by assessing the merits of European calls for big tech to contribute to the cost of telecoms networks. Stay up to date with the most important te...
In this final episode before everyone clears off for their summer holidays, the pod is delighted to welcome special guest Mike Ferris – Chief Network Architect of Dense Air. They start by exploring the concept of neutral host infrastructure and how that could provide the solution to a lot of the coverage challenges presented by 5G. That will involve the rollout of a lot of small cells, so they move on to discuss how that is best done, before concluding with a look at the pros and cons of state i...
Pausing only to reflect on some Twitter banter with a former guest, the guys start by reflecting on Ericsson’s latest earnings and the market reaction to them, which they agree seemed a bit harsh. They move on to examine BT’s decision to become a bit less British, at least when it comes to its hiring decisions, before concluding with a look at the new phone launched by supposedly disruptive brand Nothing. Stay up to date with the most important telecoms stories from around the world with the Tel...
No guest but a refurbished studio this week as Iain bravely overcomes the effects of a long sesh the previous day. They start by reflecting on a few recent telecoms cloud stories, including the ongoing partnership between Vodafone and Google, and consider the pros and cons of such things. Italian operator group TIM keeps trying to reinvent itself, so they review that process, before concluding with a look at the latest attempts at digital censorship by the UK state. Stay up to date with the most...
Following a slight delay to accommodate their hectic social lives, the lads are delighted to once more welcome a special guest - Erlend Prestgard, CEO of Working Group 2. They start by learning all about his company, which seeks to disrupt the network core sector via the ‘as a service’ model. This inevitably leads the conversation towards the role of public cloud giants in the telecoms world, before they conclude with a quick look at some of the supply chain challenges faced by the industry. Sta...
Our run of special guests continues as we’re delighted to welcome Jarlath Finnegan, CEO of UK fibreco Giganet. Jarlath treated the whole pod team to a selection of Irish whiskies so, before finding out all about Giganet and the UK fibre market they were compelled to have a taste of all of them. They eventually meander onto a recent mobile edge event that Iain attended before concluding with the latest on the chaotic Indian telecoms scene. Stay up to date with the most important telecoms stories ...
We are delighted to welcome special guest William Webb back to the pod but decide to start by putting him on the spot over hist historical telecoms predictions, to see how many he got right. Eventually we give him a break and move on to news Vodafone snuck under the radar about spinning off its IoT unit, before reviewing Huawei’s latest attempt at reconciliation with the West. Stay up to date with the most important telecoms stories from around the world with the Telecoms.com daily newsletter. D...
The guys are delighted to welcome special guest Dario Talmesio back to the pod. Dario is research director for service provider strategy at Omdia, which means he knows a lot about the mobile business, so they start by reviewing the current state of play with 5G. Before long they meander onto other telecoms industry talking points, before concluding by hearing about Iain’s chat with Nokia’s head of mobile networks. Stay up to date with the most important telecoms stories from around the world wit...
The lads are delighted to welcome special guest Geoff Hollingworth, CMO of Rakuten Symphony, this week. Unsurprisingly they start by discussing all things Rakuten, including its entry into mobile and the creation of Symphony. Everyone on the pod except Scott was at the Big 5G Event in the US last week so they move on to a review of that, before finishing with a quick look at the latest Ericsson news. Stay up to date with the most important telecoms stories from around the world with the Telecoms...
No guest this week but we do have a special member of the audience this as the Telecoms.com empire continues to grow. The guys start by looking at BT’s latest attempt to rescue its sport division and what that says about telcos betting on content. They move on to ponder the matter of how useful millimetre wave spectrum is before concluding with a look at the effect Russia sanctions are having on the industry. Stay up to date with the most important telecoms stories from around the world with the...
Time discipline is restored this week by the presence of another grown-up guest and the absence of beer. We’re delighted to welcome Ronan Kelly, CTO of Adtran, and get straight into his day job that focuses on fixed-line networking kit. This inevitably leads to an exploration of the arcane world of optical technology and concludes with a look at the current state of play of the global fibre market. Stay up to date with the most important telecoms stories from around the world with the Telecoms.c...
All pretence at time discipline is abandoned this week as the lads break the two-hour mark despite not even having a guest. The main reason for this is the decision to lead with Twitter, which opens up several other cans of worms. They eventually move on to Nokia, which recently announced its latest numbers, and conclude by trying to work out what the point of edge computing is. Stay up to date with the most important telecoms stories from around the world with the Telecoms.com daily newsletter....
The lads are delighted to welcome special guest Neil McRae to the pod this week, who is no less than the Chief Architect for BT. They start by exploring what such a grown-up job title entails, in the process learning a fair bit about what makes BT tick from a strategic point of view. That naturally leads onto topics like Open RAN and 5G, including concerns about the latter not being all its cracked up to be, before they conclude with a look at difficulties faced by some major streaming services....
Both Iain and Scott were carrying bugs when this was recorded but it will take more than that to keep them from their podding duties. They start by reflecting on Ericsson’s quarterly earnings announcement, specifically concerning the trouble the company is in regarding its historical activities in Iraq. Rumours of a Vodafone UK acquisition yield a chat about telco M&A before they conclude with the then breaking news of Elon Musk bidding to buy the whole of Twitter. Stay up to date with the m...
Scott manages to limp in for an episode with just Iain and, of course, Pierre this week. They start by devoting a whole segment to 5G New Radio, questioning whether it’s all it’s cracked up to be. They move on to the often overlooked matter of backhaul and what it means for one operator to be dependent on another for that sort of thing, before concluding with a look at plans to develop a metaverse for kids. Stay up to date with the most important telecoms stories from around the world with the T...
