The Week with Roger

This Week: T-Mobile's Allan Samson on T-Mix and the Future of Customer Choice

Analysts Don Kellogg and Roger Entner are joined by T-Mobile CMO Allan Samson to unpack the new T-Mix program, its core philosophy, and how it gives customers greater control and perks. 00:00 Episode intro 00:25 T-Mix program overview 02:25 T-Life app integration and 90 day rolling perk selection 06:35 Highlighted perks and customer benefits 08:00 Key brand partnerships 09:03 Transparent benefit pricing 09:58 Factoring in device choice 11:30Episode wrap-up Tags: telecom, telecommunications, wireless, prepaid, postpaid, cellular phone, Don Kellogg, Roger Entner, Allan Samson, T-Mobile, T-Mix, apps, plans, network, devices, T-Life, perks, movies, tickets, Netflix, Delta, Samsung, Galaxy

This Week: Q3 '26 Earnings: Verizon and T-Mobile, Cable's Changing Landscape

Analysts Don Kellogg and Roger Entner discuss Q3 earnings from Verizon and T-Mobile, as well as the impact of Starlink and realignments for both rural markets and the cable industry. 00:00 Episode intro 00:28 Verizon Q3 overview 03:10 Starlink's implication on carriers 04:59 T-Mobile Q3 overview 06:41 T-Mobile's business segment growth 07:32 Cable as business segment competition 08:40 Cable's realignment and workforce issues 09:35 Episode wrap-up Tags: telecom, telecommunications, wireless, prepaid, postpaid, cellular phone, Don Kellogg, Roger Entner, Verizon, T-Mobile, Dan Schulman, net adds, churn, Starlink, rural, Srini Gopalan, Chris Sambar, cable, AT&T, Comcast, Charter, Cox

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This Week: Q3'26 Earnings: AT&T & Comcast; Starlink Wireless Ambitions & Impact on Spectrum Policy

Analysts Don Kellogg and Roger Entner analyze Q3 earnings from Starlink, AT&T, and Comcast, while evaluating AT&T's exit from Mexico and T-Mobile's strained partnership with Starlink. 00:00 Episode intro 00:54 Starlink Q3 overview and mobile aspirations 02:13 Starlink's timelines and market ceiling 04:42 AT&T Q3 overview 05:31 Starlink as AT&T's rival 06:06 AT&T's focus on fiber 06:58 Comcast Q3 overview 08:32 AT&T exits the Mexican market 10:51 Petition for T-Mobile to cut Starlink ties and spectrum issues 12:42 Episode wrap-up Tags: telecom, telecommunications, wireless, prepaid, postpaid, cellular phone, Don Kellogg, Roger Entner, earnings, Starlink, AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, Comcast, spectrum, satellite, convergence, Elon Musk, net adds, fiber, FWA, Internet Air, performance, Mexico, John Stankey, America Movil, Carlos Slim, Tracfone, Thaddeus Arroyo, T-Satellite

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This Week: Cohere's Ray Dolan on 6G and the Future of Physical AI

Analysts Don Kellogg and Roger Entner are joined by Ray Dolan, CEO of Cohere Technologies, to discuss what the 6G rollout will look like, the introduction of physical AI, and how existing telecom infrastructure can be repurposed for intelligent applications. 00:00 Episode intro 00:24 Development of modern voice systems 2:59 The “fat pipe” and TCP/IP 04:38 6G and future technologies 07:20 Coverage and architecture improvements 10:44 Scaling initiatives at Cohere 13:07 Developing Counter-UAS solutions 15:11 The shift from telecom to intelligence infrastructure 16:35 Episode wrap-up Tags: telecom, telecommunications, wireless, prepaid, postpaid, cellular phone, Don Kellogg, Roger Entner, Ray Dolan, Cohere, 4G, 5G, Bell Labs, Qualcomm, TCP/IP, 6G, reflectivity, radar, spectrum, robotics, physical AI, ISAC, AI, DSS, drones, C-UAS, intelligence

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This Week: The FCC's Spectrum Push and T-Mobile's AI Transformation

Analysts Don Kellogg and Roger Entner discuss the top weekly news stories in telecom, including an upcoming spectrum auction and its implications for satellite providers, as well as the latest developments and future direction of AI implementation. 00:00 Episode intro 00:25 New spectrum auction and implications 02:44 FCC is moving quickly 03:27 FCC approves more Starlink satellites 04:22 Deutsche Telekom's AI Investor Day and data center announcements 05:37 T-Mobile's AI implementation announcements 07:06 Live translation research and findings 08:02 Physical AI as the new frontier 09:14 Limits to AI advancements? 11:26 Episode wrap-up Tags: telecom, telecommunications, wireless, prepaid, postpaid, cellular phone, Don Kellogg, Roger Entner, FFC, auction, spectrum, Ligardo, Starlink, Elon Musk, Brendan Carr, Deutsche Telekom, satellite, AI, T-Mobile, Germany, data centers, customer service, T-Life, Srini Gopalan, live translation, physical AI, Planet Fitness, churn, prices

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This Week: AT&T/T-Mobile/Verizon Satellite JV, Panasonic, and T-Mobile/Sprint Merger Lawsuit

Analysts Don Kellogg and Roger Entner cover the top telecom news stories of the week, including key updates on satellite tech, recent lawsuit disclosures, industry affordability, and emerging device trends heading into 2027. 00:00 Episode intro 00:25 Joint satellite protocol venture appoints a leader 03:12 Deutsche Telekom lawsuit reveals industry trade secrets 05:50 T-Mobile's regulatory fee hikes and overall affordability 08:44 Key insights from the Toughbook anniversary and launch event in New York 10:16 Episode wrap-up Tags: telecom, telecommunications, wireless, prepaid, postpaid, cellular phone, Don Kellogg, Roger Entner, satellite, Starlink, T-Mobile, AT&T, Verizon, Elon Musk, Tesla, Paul Roth, Deutsche Telekom, Handelsblatt, Sprint, John Legere, fees, affordability, prices, Dan Schulman, inflation, Panasonic, Toughbook, 5G, devices

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This Week: Verizon's Yago Tenorio on Designing the Future of 6G

Analysts Don Kellogg and Roger Entner are joined by Yago Tenorio, SVP and CTO at Verizon, to discuss the coming of 6G and the future of networks, as well as exciting real world use cases happening right now. 00:00 Episode intro 00:24 6G Innovation Forum overview 01:21 Lessons learned from 5G 03:59 What players are needed for 6G? 05:24 Actual test cases for 6G 07:34 Spectrum issues and ISAC 08:48 Future network infrastructure and monetization 12:44 6G Innovation Forum developments 13:20 Episode wrap-up Tags: telecom, telecommunications, wireless, prepaid, postpaid, cellular phone, Don Kellogg, Roger Entner, Yago Tenorio, Verizon, 6G, 5G, FWA, drones, crowd detection, AI, LLMs, wearables, ISAC, network, spectrum, Google, devices, data centers, latency

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This Week: The iPhone Duo and Don't Count Out Cable

Analysts Don Kellogg and Roger Entner discuss the new iPhone Duo and its prospects vs. the Galaxy Z Fold8, as well as the various strides the cable industry is making despite increased competition. 00:00 Episode intro 00:43 iPhone Duo release breakdown 01:59 Apple vs. Samsung device surveys 03:19 Tactile importance when purchasing 04:26 Device insurance and pricing 05:31 Are cable valuations too negative? 07:17 Competition is increasing 08:20 Rising customer satisfaction overall 08:55 Cable pricing models 10:36 The “label tax” and “Wi-Fi tax” 13:03 Episode wrap-up Tags: telecom, telecommunications, wireless, prepaid, postpaid, cellular phone, Don Kellogg, Roger Entner, Apple, iPhone, Duo, Samsung, Z Fold8, financing, devices, Vision, Black Friday, retail, insurance, AI, cable, Elon Musk, Starlink, speed, FWA, fiber, rural, consolidation, DSL, prices, Verizon

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This Week: Consumer Cellular's Ed Evans on Winning with the 50+ Customer

Analysts Don Kellogg and Roger Entner are joined by Ed Evans, Chairman and CEO of Consumer Cellular, to speak about the company's unique strategy for serving seniors in wireless, its successful use of retail stores, and new and innovative product lines for this sometimes overlooked cohort. 00:00 Episode intro 00:26 Consumer Cellular's business model 04:28 Using retail stores effectively 07:07 Knowing the customer 08:24 Tailoring customer service 10:20 Building customer loyalty 10:52 Developing innovative products for seniors 14:14 Episode wrap-up Tags: telecom, telecommunications, wireless, prepaid, postpaid, cellular phone, Don Kellogg, Roger Entner, Ed Evans, Consumer Cellular, MVNO, seniors, data, customer service, NPS, retail, Target, Walmart, churn, Mint, GrandPad, retention, apps

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This Week: AI Infrastructure Connectivity with Zayo's Bill Long

Analysts Don Kellogg and Roger Entner are joined by Bill Long, Chief Product & Strategy Officer at Zayo, to discuss the rapid growth of AI hardware, Zayo’s strategy for capitalizing on the fiber infrastructure needed to support it, and what the next one to two years could bring for the industry. 00:00 Episode intro 00:24 Is AI in a bubble? 02:26 Orders for dark fiber 03:25 The shift from training to inference 04:50 400G and new fiber requirements 06:24 The technical ecosystem needed for operations 07:50 Rapidly accelerating hardware demands 11:18 AI as tech support 12:02 Zayo's unique business model 14:42 Predictions for the next 12 to 24 months 15:26 Episode wrap-up Tags: telecom, telecommunications, wireless, prepaid, postpaid, cellular phone, Don Kellogg, Roger Entner, Bill Long, Zayo, Sampath, AI, fiber, data centers, lit fiber, dark fiber, training, inference, 400G, cloud, Nvidia, ChatGPT, Verizon, AT&T, cable, enterprise

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This Week: CONX Acquires MobileX and Starlink MVNO Ambitions

Analysts Don Kellogg and Roger Entner discuss the recent purchase of MobileX by Charlie Ergen-controlled CONX, as well as its implications for the players involved and for the broader MVNO and satellite markets as well. 00:00 Episode intro 00:25 Details of the acquisition 01:30 How MVNOs fit into the bigger picture 03:03 Implications for Starlink 04:04 Peter and Charlie's working relationship 05:23 Charlie Ergen's future operations 06:15 Episode wrap-up Tags: telecom, telecommunications, wireless, prepaid, postpaid, cellular phone, Don Kellogg, Roger Entner, MVNO, MobileX, Peter Adderton, Charlie Ergen, Dish, EchoStar, Verizon, CONX, Boost Mobile, Elon Musk, Starlink, AT&T, convergence, MNO, spectrum

This Week: The FCC's Spectrum Pipeline with Arpan Sura

Analysts Don Kellogg and Roger Entner are joined by Arpan Sura, Senior Counsel to FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, to discuss the current state of spectrum policy, the changing technological landscape, and the agency’s plans for the future of communications in America. 00:00 Episode intro 00:24 Current spectrum auction policy 02:40 Specific auction timelines 04:59 Growing political support for spectrum 06:57 Upcoming auctions 07:20 Intermodal competition through direct-to-device 08:44 Starlink's reliability and convergence possibility 10:10 Rethinking technical limitations 11:48 Unlicensed spectrum use 12:56 Companies becoming increasingly multi-modal 13:46 Two-year outlook and agency goals 16:27 Episode wrap-up Tags: telecom, telecommunications, wireless, prepaid, postpaid, cellular phone, Don Kellogg, Roger Entner, Arpan Sura, FCC, spectrum, Brendan Carr, AWS-3, auctions, 6G, upper C-band, NTIA, BBB, satellite, FWA, direct-to-device, Starlink, rural, convergence, BEAD, fiber, cable, EchoStar, Grain

This Week: When Consumer Perception Does Not Match Network Reality

Analysts Don Kellogg and Roger Entner unpack the FCC’s latest developments, examine real-world data on internet providers including Optimum, and discuss ongoing customer service concerns. 00:00 Episode intro 00:24 New FCC nomination news 01:47 FCC's potential satellite expansion 02:42 Ranking internet provider speeds 03:47 Survey information difficulties 06:29 Do devices still matter? 08:04 Optimum's current metrics 10:29 Network status and customer retention 12:12 The state of customer service 13:41 Episode wrap-up Tags: telecom, telecommunications, wireless, prepaid, postpaid, cellular phone, Don Kellogg, Roger Entner, FCC, Danielle Thumann, Brendan Carr, satellite, cable, fiber, FWA, DSL, devices, T-Mobile, AT&T, Apple, Qualcomm, Verizon, Android, network, Optimum, SFR, customer service

This Week: Starlink's Wireless Ambitions, the Data Center Boom, and Sampath to Zayo

Analysts Don Kellogg and Roger Entner discuss the announcement of Sampath being named CEO at Zayo, their ongoing research into the immense scale of the data center buildout, as well as Starlink's prospects as a wireless operator. 00:00 Episode intro 00:24 Sampath named CEO at Zayo 01:07 Research on data center buildout insights 03:44 Starlink as a wireless operator 05:50 What spectrum will be used? 08:29 Network and satellite predictions 10:14 Scale of the potential network 13:52 Elon's track record and time horizon 16:06 Episode wrap-up Tags: telecom, telecommunications, wireless, prepaid, postpaid, cellular phone, Don Kellogg, Roger Entner, Sampath, Zayo, fiber, data centers, AI, Starlink, Elon Musk, data, T-Mobile, Grain, spectrum, Dish, FCC, rural, 5G, Grok, Tesla, SpaceX, X, cable, FWA

This Week: Verizon Promotes Alfonso Villanueva and the FirstNet Race Heats Up

Analysts Don Kellogg and Roger Entner discuss the leadership changes at Verizon, changes in metric transparency and the shift to ARPA, and what AT&T's 5G standalone core means for the increasingly competitive first responder market. 00:00 Episode intro 00:25 Leadership changes at Verizon 02:00 Effects on company strategy and operations 03:00 ARPA and changes in reporting metrics 05:47 AT&T's 5G standalone core and its impact on first responders 07:55 Network live testing results 08:23 T-Priority and the competition 10:56 Episode wrap-up Tags: telecom, telecommunications, wireless, prepaid, postpaid, cellular phone, Don Kellogg, Roger Entner, Verizon, Alfonso Villanueva, Sampath, Dan Schulman, ARPA, metrics, Apple, AT&T, FirstNet, 5G, slicing, spectrum, first responders, T-Priority, T-Mobile

This Week: Q2 '26 Earnings - The Carriers Execute Their CEOs' Visions

Analysts Don Kellogg and Roger Entner break down Q2 earnings from the major players across telecom and cable, examining key numbers as well as industry-wide trends and developments shaping the market. 00:00 Episode intro 00:30 AT&T Q2 overview 02:46 AT&T's convergence strategy 04:18 Starlink's improving reliability 06:15 Comcast and Charter Q2 overview 07:05 Cable customer satisfaction and strategic outlook 08:01 T-Mobile Q2 overview 10:12 Verizon Q2 overview 11:57 Q2 telecom industry trends and outlook 12:40 Device subsidies and the future of wireless promotions 14:02 Episode wrap-up Tags: telecom, telecommunications, wireless, prepaid, postpaid, cellular phone, Don Kellogg, Roger Entner, earnings, AT&T, fiber, net adds, transparency, FirstNet, convergence, FWA, AI, John Stankey, Charter, Starlink, Comcast, cable, T-Mobile, churn, broadband, Verizon, iPhone, devices

This Week: Carrier Repositioning Through Leadership Changes

Analysts Brett Clark and Roger Entner discuss leadership changes at T-Mobile and AT&T, cable's growing role in mobile, and Verizon's retail cost-cutting. 00:00 Episode intro 00:30 Leadership changes at T-Mobile 03:06 Chris Sambar's new role 03:51 T-Mobile for Business positioning 05:27 Mike Katz's impact 06:37 Cable's mobile growth 07:56 Verizon cost-cutting and layoffs 09:15 Retail strategy implications 10:46 Pascal Desroches leaving AT&T 12:31 Restoring investor trust 12:58 C-suite trust 14:04 Episode wrap-up Tags: telecom, telecommunications, wireless, prepaid, postpaid, cellular phone, Brett Clark, Roger Entner, T-Mobile, Mike Katz, André Almeida, Chris Sambar, AT&T, FirstNet, T-Mobile for Business, Verizon, MVNO, cable, Charter, Dan Schulman, retail, gross adds, net adds, churn, Pascal Desroches, Jennifer Biry, John Stankey, convergence, investors

This Week: The Upper C Band Auction and a Win for American Consumers

Analysts Don Kellogg and Roger Entner discuss the FCC’s move to expedite the upcoming Upper C-band spectrum auction, its impact on various companies and industry segments, and why it may represent a win for American consumers. 00:00 Episode intro 00:25 Upper C-band auction overview 02:23 Utility and applications of the spectrum 03:05 Comparison with previous auctions 03:38 Forecasts for Starlink's strategy 04:43 Accelerated timeline and implications for cable 06:04 Industry deleveraging trends 06:30 Historical outcomes of spectrum purchases 06:51 Episode wrap-up Tags: telecom, telecommunications, wireless, prepaid, postpaid, cellular phone, Don Kellogg, Roger Entner, FCC, auction, spectrum, Upper C-band, Big Beautiful Bill, Verizon, FWA, EchoStar, Starlink, Elon Musk, urban, rural, cable, deleveraging

This Week: Germany's Hyper Scaler Infrastructure Slow Dance

Analysts Don Kellogg and Roger Entner examine insights from the Handelsblatt data center conference in Düsseldorf, covering the rapid expansion of data centers in Germany vs. the U.S., infrastructure and energy challenges ahead, and the implications for telecom networks. 00:00 Episode intro 00:25 Handelsblatt conference overview 01:31 State of the German data center buildout 02:44 State of the US buildout 03:23 Shortages are on the horizon 05:16 Electricity demands 06:06 Repurposing German data center heat 07:38 Cooling challenges 08:39 Why expansion must continue despite challenges 10:03 How data centers are reshaping telecom 11:30 Episode wrap-up Tags: telecom, telecommunications, wireless, prepaid, postpaid, cellular phone, Don Kellogg, Roger Entner, Germany, Handelsblatt, Deutsche Telekom, T-Mobile, data centers, electricity, AI, shortages, BEAD, memory, RAM, routers, cooling, GDPR, regulations

This Week: The Half-Connected America and the Case for Universal Offers

Analysts Don Kellogg and Roger Entner discuss Roger's report, "The Half-Connected America," exploring why some people choose not to use broadband and what companies and policymakers can do to address the issue. 00:00 Episode intro 00:25 Who chooses not to connect? 03:00 Privacy and surveillance concerns 03:36 Lack of laptop subsidies hampers connectivity 05:00 Mobile-only internet users 05:37 Seniors and smartphone challenges 06:18 Wireless home internet options 06:55 Affordability for low-income consumers 07:36 Respecting consumer choices & AI integration importance 09:20 Laptop subsidies could bridge the gap 10:06 Episode wrap-up Tags: telecom, telecommunications, wireless, prepaid, postpaid, cellular phone, Don Kellogg, Roger Entner, broadband, NTIA, Lifeline, surveillance, BEAD, fiber, smartphone, NPS, hotspots, copper, subsidies, AI, Chromebook, government, privacy