Telecoms.com Podcast

Telecoms.com

Once a week we get together in a studio somewhere in London to take the piss out of telecoms and technology for an hour or so.

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29 episodes
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Avg 1 hr 56 min
English

Episodes 29

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#18
Yesterday · 1 hr 48 min
Satellite, Open RAN and enterprise wireless
Just the three of them this week as Ian and Scott both return from road trips. Scott was at the Network X trade show in Vienna and he brings stories of Schnitzel, Kaiserschmarrn, and orderly road crossing. Then we hear about Iain’s trip with VMO2 in rural Wales in search of direct-to-device satellite connectivity, which leads to a broader chat about the role satellite now plays in the communications mix. They eventually move on to analyze the implications of Vodafone abandoning its UK Open RAN plans before concluding with recent news from Nokia and Ericsson.
#17
October 12 · 2 hr 4 min
ISAC, satellite and UK M&A
The lads are delighted to welcome back special guest telecom consultant William Webb. Also a prolific author, William has published two books since his last appearance, so they get straight into the first topic of ISAC (integrated sensing and communications) and whether it will be the defining new feature of 6G. His other book focuses on direct-to-device satellite services, especially the economics of consumer provision. This coincides with some recent news concerning Starlink and its owner Elon Musk, so they go off on those tangents before concluding with a look two contrasting recent developments in the UK telecoms M&A scene.
#16
October 5 · 2 hr 3 min
6G, Ericsson and AI agents
Just Iain and Scott this week, so the lads take the opportunity for a deeper dive into some broader telecoms topics. They start by exploring the current state of play of 6G, now just a few years away from its expected launch. They ask whether another ‘G’ is even needed and, if so, what purpose it will serve, noting there seems to be little industry excitement around the concept. They eventually move on to discuss the prospects for Swedish radio kit vendor Ericsson, as its new CEO takes the helm, before concluding by assessing the opportunities and threats posed by the rapid proliferation of AI agents.
#15
September 28 · 2 hr 5 min
Taara, voice UI and AI agents
The lads are delighted to welcome special guest Mahesh Krishnaswamy, CEO of wireless innovator Taara, this week. After an opening tangent comparing travel anecdotes they get into what Taara does, which is using infra-red light to transmit high capacity telecoms signals that Scott reckons should be called ‘wireless fibre’. Taara originated in Google’s ‘moonshot’ division so they start there, before moving to the present-day applications of its tech. They eventually move on to discuss the emergence of the voice user interface as the likely eventual replacement to today’s touch UI, before concluding with a sceptical look at the growing presence of AI agents.
#14
September 21 · 1 hr 58 min
Vodafone, 6G and AI regulation
The lads are delighted to welcome back former Telecoms.com deputy editor Jamie Davies, in his first appearance on the pod for six years. As you would expect of people so familiar with each other, the conversation is exceptionally open and unstructured. Among the major themes are Vodafone, which was going through its bid to merge with Three when Jamie worked there. They eventually move on to look at the vendor prospects for 6G before reflecting on the latest panic about losing control of AI.
#13
September 14 · 2 hr 11 min
Totogi, AI and Bell Labs
In their second recording in two days, the lads are delighted to welcome back special guest Danielle Rios, CEO of Totogi. It is also the second day in a row of kicking-off with some bourbon, with Danielle significantly raising the bar with some extra special treats. They start by exploring how Totogi is going about introducing the latest AI developments into much of the telecoms stack. This inevitably leads to a broader AI discussion in the light of recent alarm bells raised by whistleblowers, before they have a quick chat about the latest iPhone and conclude with an Iain scoop about Nokia’s R&D division Bell Labs.
#12
September 11 · 1 hr 59 min
Cohere, ISAC and Huawei
The lads celebrate a return to the studio by recording a pod two days in a row, so the lucky audience gets a bonus one this week. They’re delighted to welcome back special guest Ray Dolan, CEO of Cohere Technologies and they start with an update on the clever radio technologies Cohere is involved in. One of those involves the introduction of ISAC (integrated sensing and communication) so they move on to discuss the opportunities that offers, before concluding with an analysis of Huawei’s first new smartphone chip in years, including its geopolitical implications.
#11
September 7 · 1 hr 40 min
5G+, wifi and fair share
A studio pod is thwarted once more, this time due to train trouble, so the IRL reunion will have to wait another week. The lads start by talking about 5G+ - the marketing name for 5G Standalone – because Vodafone followed in EE’s footsteps by launching a dedicated slice of the network for super-duper performance. To labour the point they even held an event at a race track, which Iain attended just a few days after going to Tottenham Hotspur stadium with HPE to learn how great the wifi is there, so they go on to chat about that before concluding by noting the death of the telecoms ‘fair share’ debate.
#10
September 1 · 1 hr 46 min
Satellites, network slicing and social media
The lads have just about finished their summer breaks but this is still a remote one because Scott is in the Canaries. They start by assessing the plausibility of claims made by super-entrepreneur Elon Musk that his satellite-based mobile communications tech can compete with the incumbent US mobile network operators. Another novel mobile initiative is then put under the microscope in the form of EE’s new ‘Fast Lane’ service, before they conclude by examining the growing moral panic around social media, which is causing it to be blamed for almost anything.
#9
August 10 · 1 hr 11 min
AI, automation and enshittification
This special episode of the pod was recorded remotely with tech and science fiction author Cory Doctorow. Cory has recently published a book titled: The Reverse Centaur's Guide to Life After AI, so they start by exploring what a reverse centaur is in this context. Spoiler alert – it’s about the relationship between humans and machines. That takes them down a number of timely rabbit holes regarding what’s in store for us as AI becomes ever more powerful and ubiquitous. They eventually move on to discuss Cory’s previous book, called Enshittification, before concluding with a quick look at the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
#8
August 3 · 2 hr 7 min
Nokia, AI dystopia and Huawei
The lads are back after a break for Iain’s summer holiday in Slovakia. After some opening tangents on the country, they get into a review of recent news coming from Nokia regarding AI RAN. The broader topic concerns what role AI should have in the radio access network and thanks to its relationship with Nvidia, Nokia reckons it will benefit from the introduction of GPUs. They eventually move on to discuss several stories that document the looming AI dystopia, as agents escape containment and autonomous devices are increasingly inspired by the Terminator films, before concluding with a look at a GSMA report on the cost of replacing Huawei kit.
#7
July 6 · 1 hr 33 min
CityFibre, broadband and BT
The lads are delighted to welcome back special guest Neil McRae, in his first appearance as CTIO of CityFibre. Pausing only for a semi-regular check in on the current state of AI, they get straight into hearing about Neil’s new gig and his plans for the technological side of UK fibre wholesaler CityFibre. This leads naturally to a look at the wider broadband market and the challenges it faces, as well as a review of potential consolidation in the UK market, before they conclude by analysing BT’s latest strategic move.
#6
June 29 · 1 hr 50 min
AI optimisation, DTW and IoT
The lads are delighted to welcome back special guest Paul Nolan of PR agency CC Group Hoffman. Pausing only to reflect on the delights of summertime Copenhagen, they start by exploring research Paul’s company has done into GEO – generative engine optimisation. With content increasingly discovered through AI searches, they discuss what it takes to make the most of this new knowledge paradigm. They eventually move on to discuss Scott’s visit to the recent DTW trade show before concluding with Iain’s critique of how the IoT opportunity has been treated.
#5
June 19 · 2 hr 4 min
Rakuten, Ericsson and social media
The pod is back after a break for Scott’s summer holiday and the lads are delighted to welcome back special guest Geoff Hollingworth of Rakuten Symphony. They start with an introduction to Rakuten, which is a major player in Japan across a number of consumer technology sectors, which leads to discussion of a recent Rakuten Symphony report critiquing the traditional telco business model and suggesting improvements to it. They eventually move on to talk about Ericsson, which Iain recently visited in Sweden and has announced a new CEO, before concluding with an examination of a UK move to ban social media for under-16s.
#4
May 29 · 1 hr 49 min
Huawei, VodafoneThree and EU
This is your last pod for a few weeks as Scott is selfishly going on holiday, sorry. There’s no guest this week, which gives the lads the opportunity to dive a bit deeper into the news. They start by assessing the significance of a Huawei announcement that it has invented a new way of making semiconductors, which could have the broader significance of making China more resilient in its tech cold war with the US. They eventually move on to discuss falling headcount at VodafoneThree before concluding with a look at the EU’s protectionist dilemmas.
#3
May 26 · 1 hr 37 min
Hyperoptic, fibre and BT
The lads are delighted to welcome special guest Dana Tobak, CEO of UK altnet Hyperoptic. Dana is one of the founders of Hyperoptic, so they start by discussing the thinking behind that and how Hyperoptic differentiates itself in a crowded UK fibre broadband market. That inevitably leads to an exploration of the broader competitive environment and economics of that business, before they conclude with a look at recent news from BT.
#2
May 21 · 2 hr 8 min
Regulation, spectrum and Ofcom
The lads are delighted to welcome telecoms consultant (and Iain’s mate) Amit Nagpal of Aetha Consulting to the pod this week. Pausing only to mix some psychedelic G&Ts, they eventually get into talking about Amit’s main area of professional interest – telecoms policy. That leads to talk of how 5G is going in various parts of the world, including the various spectrum it uses and how regulators have helped or hindered its progress. They conclude with a look at some recent direct-to-device news and the role of UK comms regulator Ofcom in policing online speech.
May 11 · 2 hr
Security, geopolitics and BT
The lads are delighted to welcome back returning special guest – analyst John Strand. The implications of policy and regulation on the global telecoms industry are a major focus of his work, so they start by reflecting on the importance of secure 5G networks in that respect. That inevitably leads to lots of spicy chat about geopolitics and especially the impact of American activity, while hopefully not straying too far from the name of the pod, before they conclude by analysing a recent move by BT to revitalise its brand.
May 5 · 2 hr 5 min
FWA, Samsung and AI
No guest this week, so you get the usual more meandering, self-indulgent fare from the lads. They set the scene by doing a taste test of Irish whiskies kindly donated by recent guests, before they eventually get around covering a bit of telecoms news. They start by discussing Nokia’s sale of its fixed wireless access business and that broader sector, before moving on to analyse Samsung’s performance in the networking sector and concluding with some handwringing over the societal impact of advances in artificial intelligence.
April 27 · 2 hr 8 min
Cambridge Consultants, robots and Nokia
The lads are delighted to welcome their second guest from Cork in Ireland in a row – Frank Long from Cambridge Consultants. At MWC this year, Cambridge Consultants demonstrated an advanced robot, so after learning about the company more broadly, they get into exploring the confluence between robotics, AI and telecoms, including physical AI and 6G, with the inevitable dystopian detours. They eventually get on to discuss Nokia’s latest quarterly numbers and what they suggest about the direction of the company.

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