Light Reading Podcasts

Light Reading's Alan Breznick reviews the Leading Lights Awards categories he judged and examines surprising trends that appeared in the submissions.In particular, Alan said there was a significant number of fixed wireless submissions this year. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Telstra Americas' President Noah Drake joins the podcast with an update on the service provider's market focus in the Americas, where Telstra operates subsea cable networks and which regions it has pegged for growth.You can download a lightly edited transcript of the podcast here.Here are a few topics we covered:Contrast between Drake's time at Zayo versus now at Telstra (00:39)Telstra Americas' customers and focus in the Americas' market (02:34)New technologies for subsea cable networks (04:11)Building subsea cable networks that last decades while provisioning for future bandwidth demands (06:19)Balancing network planning and subsea cable maintenance (09:25)Telstra Octagon and the service provider's work with the financial services community (12:01)Telco talent acquisition and the challenge of filling roles with the right people (15:37)Related stories and links:The Notebook Dump: 800G milestones, AT&T adds fiber subs, and Netflix bucks streaming strugglesCiena and Altibox: Amsterdam bound with 800GGlobal Cloud Xchange battles global latency with subsea connectivityOTTs and geopolitics rule the waves in subsea cable world Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jim Brickmeier has seen the pay-TV industry evolve from its early foray into the worlds of video-on-demand (VoD) and digital ad insertion, the advent of the cloud DVR and into today's streaming era. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the Halloween edition of The Notebook Dump, Light Reading editors walk through the digital cemetery looking for gadget zombies and technologies that still haunt us. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Shekar Ayyar, chairman and CEO of Arrcus, sees a lot of upside for telcos wanting to create new network services. His optimism is rooted in the changes he sees in network infrastructure and a new kind of convergence between enterprise and service provider networks. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Light Reading's Jeff Baumgartner and Nicole Ferraro discuss the 2022 Leading Lights Awards categories they judged, the finalists they selected and trends they noticed in the submissions. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

One of the recent surveys by Comviva Research, across 75 C-level telecom executives globally, suggests that 60% believe their BSS is not ready for future needs. #sponsored Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Weber, who once headed up video product for AT&T and its U-verse services, shifted gears years ago to take the CEO slot at Zone TV. These days, he's focused on an older TV idea – interactive television – that has found new interest thanks to IP connectivity and optimism about the category from both operators and programmers. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

While vendors and service providers have made much ado about secure access service edge (SASE), the technology framework is still in its nascent phase, according to Omdia Analysts Adeline Phua and Fernando Montenegro."I think everybody's really excited about SASE because enterprises keep asking about it," said Phua. "It's got so much buzz in the market. And we're thinking that maybe adoption is really hitting that tipping point, only to find out when we talk to service providers and to enterprises that the adoption is really not there yet."Phua and Montenegro explain why there's still a learning curve about SASE, how service providers can better approach enterprises interested in adopting SASE and their forecasts for the market moving forward.You can download a lightly edited transcript of the podcast here.Here are a few topics we covered:Omdia's definition of SASE (00:32)Service provider adoption of SASE (02:58)Why SD-WAN adoption is still light (04:39)How service providers can better educate enterprises about SASE (07:32)Types of deployment options for SASE (14:07)Where enterprises should start on their SASE journey (19:46)Related stories and links:SASE: Waiting for the tipping pointSD-WAN roundup: Cisco and Azure team up; Orange adds 'vroom' to SD-WANCloud and hosted UC services outpace growth on-premiseSecurity and cloud app demands underpin SASE market growth Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Light Reading's Phil Harvey discusses his recent tour of AT&T's central office. Phil also examines AT&T's edge strategy, public cloud partnership with Microsoft and provides an update on AT&T's FirstNet emergency response service.You can download a lightly edited transcript of the podcast here.Here are a few topics we covered:Overview of Phil's tour of AT&T's central office. (01:00)An inside look at AT&T's 5G and fiber focus. (02:42)AT&T's approach to the public cloud. (06:32)Why utilizing the public cloud could be more cost-efficient for service providers. (10:52)Update on FirstNet emergency response service. (13:05)Related stories and links:An inside look at AT&T's 5G and fiber focusWhat's behind AT&T's midband momentum?AT&T's fiber sub base surpasses its 'non-fiber' baseAT&T quietly cuts another 2,500 jobs Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

LAS VEGAS – #MWC22 – Tareq Amin, CEO of Rakuten Mobile and Rakuten Symphony, discusses how he got Symware from being a reference architecture to a shipping product, with plans to deploy 30,000 units in Rakuten Mobile's network in Japan. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Pivotal Commware CEO Brian Deutsch discusses his company's new as-a-service offering, Pivotal Turnkey Services. The service, offered to Pivotal's network operator customers, aims to speed up deployments of fixed wireless access (FWA) networks that use mmWave technology. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Light Reading editors Jeff Baumgartner, Phil Harvey and Kelsey Ziser discuss subsea cable updates and Ciena and Alitbox's 800G deployment from Amsterdam to Copenhagen. The editors also discuss Phil's takeaways from his recent tour of AT&T's central office, AT&T's fiber subscriber base surpassing its non-fiber base, and Netflix's banner Q3 results in this recap of the work week ended October 21. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Shopify has been using its e-commerce platform to provide an easy path for partners to sell products online for more than 15 years. Reach Mobile believes its platform offers something similar for the worlds of mobile, home broadband, the Internet of Things (IoT) and, more recently, connectivity for enterprises."Reach is doing to the telecom networking industry what Shopify did to e-commerce," Reach Mobile founder and CEO Harjot Saluja asserted on the Light Reading Podcast. "We built a digital stack that allows companies, any client, to leverage the network and monetize it in many different ways, but in a very, very simple manner." An example he points to is WideOpenWest (WOW), a competitive cable/fiber service provider that recently launched a mobile service in partnership with Reach Mobile. "They [WOW] can just focus on marketing and distribution, and our platform does everything else," Saluja explained, noting that his company is pursuing similar types of mobile service partnerships with other US cable and broadband operators. Reach Mobile, Saluja said, can apply its model to other service categories, including fixed wireless access, wired broadband and even IoT. Reach Mobile tends to get lumped into a segment of the market known as the mobile virtual network enabler, or MVNE. Saluja agrees with that general characterization, but believes the point-of-sale baseline associated with the MVNE concept oversimplifies what Reach's platform provides. "There's another 95% that you're not solving," he said, pointing to elements such as customizable and personalized transaction messages and in-app notifications and SIM tracking. "Traditionally, the MVNEs don't think of it that way. They are basically giving you some APIs [application programming interfaces] so that you don't have to work with the carrier underneath … I think we are an MVNE, because we do the enabling, but that's like 5% of our solution." You can download a lightly edited transcript of the podcast here. If you want to skip around and listen, here are a few topics discussed during this podcast: A brief overview of Reach Mobile and why the company believes it is doing for the telecom networking industry what Shopify did for e-commerce (1:00)  A drill-down into Reach's approach to support not just mobile, but also fixed wireless, wired broadband services and even IoT (2:46) An exploration of Reach's home broadband use case, including how the company can help service providers create "flanker brands" or develop other types of service options, including premium or prepaid options (6:00) An update on Reach Mobile's deal with WideOpenWest and its ongoing engagement with the cable industry and wireless ISPs about developing similar types of mobile products (14:00)Reach Mobile views itself as a mobile virtual network enabler (MVNE), but believes that characterization over-simplifies the capabilities of its platform (20:00) An overview and update on Reach's new connectivity-as-a-service for the enterprise services sector (25:00) — Jeff Baumgartner, Senior Editor, Light Reading Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode features Cyndi Barrera, the sales vice president of SLED West at digital services and solutions provider Presidio. She and her team work with and advise public sector clients on technology solutions to meet their specific needs. We discuss a project called CFW Neighborhood that Presidio worked on with Cisco and the city of Fort Worth, Texas, to help build out the city's digital infrastructure and bring Wi-Fi to all residents. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ciena and Altibox discuss their recent 800G deployment over 1,100 KM between Amsterdam and Copenhagen. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Subsea cable operators face the unique challenge of balancing future capacity demands while deploying and maintaining cable systems meant to last 25 to 30 years. Jim Fagan, chief strategy and revenue officer for Global Cloud Xchange, joins the podcast to discuss new technologies for future-proofing subsea cables, and examines which regions are exhibiting the most growth in bandwidth demands.You can download a lightly edited transcript of the podcast here.Here are a few topics we covered:Background on Jim Fagan and Global Cloud Xchange. (00:25)GCX's managed services business. (04:01)Impact of the pandemic on GCX's business. (06:12)Regions where GCX is experiencing growth and partnership with Equinix. (09:03)Subsea cable management across international waters. (11:50)New and emerging subsea cable technologies. (15:01)Logistical and equipment management challenges to operating and managing subsea cables. (17:55)Related stories and links:Ciena's Brian Lavallée on Tonga's tussle with a broken submarine cableThe Buildout: More 'GREAT' news for Spectrum, Yellowstone Fiber goes liveTrans-Pacific subsea cable set for $2.5B construction boom400G roundup: GTT upgrades; Telstra's new subsea cableSubsea players plot quake-detecting sensors Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Roz Roseboro, principal analyst for Omdia, joins the podcast to discuss her research on service provider use of the public cloud and whether SPs should try to be more like the hyperscalers. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Light Reading editors Kelsey Ziser, Mike Dano, Jeff Baumgartner, Nicole Ferraro and Phil Harvey discuss DOCSIS 4.0 network upgrade costs, edge computing sites, and RDOF and SD-WAN updates in this recap of the work week ended October 14.The stories covered include:Analysts peg DOCSIS 4.0 network upgrade costs at $180 per home passedAirlines start asking for permanent changes to C-band 5GAfter two-year delay, Verizon begins move to standalone 5GDish Network in talks to sell Boost to Ergen's SPACStarry to default on all RDOF bids – FCCSpaceX to FCC: Starlink 'not required to show' it meets RDOF speed needs yetSD-WAN roundup: Cisco and Azure team up; Orange adds 'vroom' to SD-WANIf you want to skip around and listen, here are a few more things covered in this interview:Network upgrade costs for DOCSIS 4.0. (01:09)FCC's rip-and-replace program, Verizon standalone 5G and Dish Network's plans to sell Boost Mobile brand to Charlie Ergen. Microsoft and AT&T launch public edge computing sites. (05:39)Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) updates – Starry defaults on all its bids. Starlink over promises on broadband speeds. (08:53)SD-WAN roundup with updates from Microsoft, Cisco, Orange Business Services and Aryaka. (18:01)Update on Leading Lights Awards. (22:00)Have a great weekend! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Connectivity is core to FiberLight's business, but the company, under CEO Chris Rabii, is pursuing a path to be much more. FiberLight is in the midst of a plan to evolve from "a "largely construction-focused company, to one that's trying to be more compelling in the services arena," says Rabii, a former exec with Cablevision Lightpath and Altice Business who joined FiberLight roughly two years ago. While there are other examples of companies that have successfully made that transition, "there's work we need to do to be good at those things," Rabii said on the Light Reading Podcast. But infrastructure and connectivity are certainly at FiberLight's core. FiberLight operates about 17,000 route miles of fiber around 78,000 pre-qualified or near-net buildings across 30 US metro areas, with a principal presence in Texas and Northern Virginia. Tied into that infrastructure play, FiberLight's business spans both wholesale and channel relationships, including activity with enterprise customers and so-called hyperscalers.FiberLight's strategy is being pursued amid other big changes underway, namely a deal to be acquired by Morrison & Co., a New Zealand-based infrastructure fund. Rabii said more detail will be shared when the transaction closes. "But I think their long-term view on investment in the infrastructure space is a perfect fit for us," he said.FiberLight isn't directly involved in the residential services business, but its infrastructure and connectivity capabilities will still put it in the game for federal funds that are being funneled into projects to bring broadband into underserved and underserved areas. "We will have a seat at the table … whether it's the seat right at the table, or the seat behind the guy who's sitting at the table," Rabii said. "There are some specific middle-mile grants and I think we'll be participating directly in those in the States or the markets and territories where we feel we have strength and can put a compelling case together."You can download a lightly edited transcript of the podcast here. If you want to skip around and listen, here are a few topics discussed during this podcast:A review of FiberLight's network reach and business focus (1:15) Why a recent M&A agreement with Morrison and Company, a New Zealand-based infrastructure fund, makes strategic sense for FiberLight and what's on the horizon as the deal moves through the approval process (3:50) Beyond getting that pending transaction completed, what are FiberLight's priorities for 2023, including growth prospects and how the company intends to differentiate in the market? (6:30) How Texas has become a hotbed of opportunity as some companies open up new locations or transition their presence to The Lone Star State (10:00) How the pandemic impacted the direction and focus of the company (13:15) How FiberLight sees opportunities on the horizon as more funds are funneled into rural broadband projects and initiatives (16:30) —Jeff Baumgartner, Senior Editor, Light Reading Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Connecting Africa's Paula Gilbert provides an update on Safaricom's new network in Ethiopia, which will be the country's first private telecoms operator and end the country's decades-long telecoms monopoly.We also discuss why South Africa's government wants to turn off 2G and 3G by 2024 and 2025, respectively, but operators say it's too soon as about 60% of mobile traffic in South Africa still runs on 3G.You can download a lightly edited transcript of the podcast here.Here are a few topics we covered:Safaricom launches new network in Ethiopia. (01:18)Role of Ethiopia's government in Safaricom's launch in the region. (04:30)Government in South Africa wants service providers to sunset 2G and 3G. (05:38)Potential impact of turning off 2G and 3G on mobile phone users. (09:17) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this episode, we hear from Ryan Johnston, senior policy counsel for federal programs at Next Century Cities. Ryan recently authored a report entitled Resounding Silence: The Need For Local Insights In Federal Policymaking. The report takes a look at two FCC dockets – the 2018 small cell proceeding and the 2022 docket on ISPs in multi-tenant environments (MTEs) – to explore the FCC's general rulemaking process and its impact on local communities. We discuss the difficulty municipalities had participating in both of those proceedings and what happened as a result. We also discuss how to improve the process, and why local governments should get a jumpstart on data collection as states prepare to distribute more federal funds. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The destruction of Category 4 Hurricane Ian in Florida is far reaching, with over 491,000 homes and businesses still left without power. Verizon Frontline's team headed down to Florida with networking equipment and services in tow to ensure first responders have connectivity.Cory Davis, AVP for Verizon Frontline, returns to the podcast with an update on how the service provider is coordinating with emergency services and local municipalities to provide network access and other emergency resources in the wake of the hurricane.You can download a lightly edited transcript of the podcast here.Here are a few topics we covered:Update on the impact of Hurricane Ian on Florida (00:24)Impact of the hurricane on Verizon's network (02:11)Verizon Frontline equipment that's been deployed in Florida such as THOR (Tactical Humanitarian Operations Response) vehicle, drones and MEO (medium-Earth orbit) satellite technology (04:46)What a successful emergency response system looks like for Verizon (07:26)Planning ahead for future natural disasters (08:39) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode features Steve Smith, chief revenue officer at LiveOak Fiber, a service provider formed in July 2022 with plans to bring fiber broadband to Glynn County, Georgia and Okaloosa County, Florida. We talk about LiveOak's background story and buildout plans, which are funded with $150 million from InfraRed Capital Partners, and we discuss what a new fiber network will mean for the communities on Florida's Emerald Coast and Georgia's Golden Isles. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Light Reading editors Kelsey Ziser, Mike Dano and Phil Harvey sign off from MWC with a 10-minute informal recap of the work week ended September 30.The rest of the show notes and story links can be found at https://www.lightreading.com/lr-podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode features Maura Mahoney, chief marketing officer, and Patrick Coughlin, chief development officer, with FirstLight Fiber, a digital infrastructure provider servicing enterprise and carrier customers on a 25,000 route mile fiber network. We discuss how the company's middle-mile fiber network is helping bridge the digital divide "from Bangor to Buffalo," how the company factors network stability into its buildout, the process of applying for NTIA infrastructure grants and more. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mike Dano returns to the podcast to discuss Helium Mobile, which recently signed an MVNO agreement with T-Mobile. Helium Mobile customers will be able to access T-Mobile's existing 5G network and the do-it-yourself, Helium-branded 4G network in exchange for cryptocurrency rewards. Mike explains how the MVNO will work and which new and noteworthy elements Helium Mobile will bring into the US wireless industry. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Light Reading editors Mike "can't be bothered" Dano, Phil "the higher the hair the closer to heaven" Harvey and Kelsey "finger guns" Ziser get together for an informal recap of what's happened during the work week ended September 23, 2022.The stories covered include:10G, PON and pandemic PR: Light Reading's super-official SCTE Cable-Tec Expo wrap™Ericsson gets US clearance for Vonage take-offEricsson's $6.2B Vonage deal has befuddled investors – no wonderThe iPhone satellite service looks desperately niche5G may expand into 12.7GHz-13.25GHz nextRiPSIM promises to show carriers the bright side of eSIMsIf you want to skip around and listen, here are a few more things covered in this interview:SCTE Cable-Tec Expo show recap (00:50)Kelsey finally gets a new iPhone after hanging onto the XR for four years... but the satellite service on her iPhone 14 isn't available just yet (02:30)Ericsson hints at an update to the Vonage acquisition (Note: The update from Ericsson is coming out on September 26, not this week as initially stated during the podcast. Stay tuned for more from Light Reading on the acquisition next week). (06:17)The NTIA spectrum event and why Mike hates the phrase "the race to 5G" (09:21)Metaverse woes and why Second Life still sucks (12:30)Startup RiPSIM launches a new eSIM product (14:17)Things you never needed to know including the fact that New York ranks 8th for best states to go fishing in (not to be confused with phishing) (20:30)See you at Mobile World Congress Las Vegas, but don't ask Phil or Mike for an Elvis impersonation (23:51) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jessica Epley, vice president of regulatory and external affairs at Ziply Fiber joins the podcast to discuss the company's fiber buildout strategy in the northwest US, how it's preparing for the opportunities and competition presented by Broadband, Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) funding, and why permitting reform would help accelerate broadband delivery where it's needed most. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Enterprises have fully moved their IT stack into the cloud, and network infrastructure is next. Dave Ward, PacketFabric’s CEO, joins Light Reading to discuss the need for serious positive disruption in telecom, the flexibility of a cloud-native network, and how PacketFabric delivers real-time connectivity anywhere you want to go. #sponsored Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If you've been in the cable tech industry for more than five minutes, there's a good chance you know Bob Gold, the super-energetic PR/marketing guy and Cable TV Pioneer who's been representing cable tech companies and startups since the late 1990s. Gold got his agency start representing a video remultiplexing company (sexy, right?) called Imedia. Since then, off the top of this hack's head, he's flacked for is currently flacking for companies such as Canal Plus, Pioneer (back when it was making cable boxes and interactive guides), Media One, Incanta and ClearBand (we'll get to that those in more detail), Plume, the recently rechristened National Content & Technology Association (NCTC) and Vidgo, a virtual multichannel video programming distributor (vMVPD) that competes in the market with the likes of YouTube TV, Hulu, Philo and Sling TV.Full disclosure – he and the crew at Bob Gold & Associates have pitched a ton of stories to me about many of them over the years. Bob and I don't always see eye-to-eye, but I've written about many of them over the years. And Gold did nominate me for the Cable TV Pioneers class of 2018, so perhaps I wasn't as big of a jerk to him, his staff and his clients over the years as I thought I was. Hey, I tried. Usually news tied to Gold has to do with a company he represents, but this time it's all about Bob – his agency recently turned 25-years-old. He got that up and running about the time I started writing about the industry and had to Google "DOCSIS" to figure out what the heck I was about to do my first story on.So, we've got a lot of industry stuff in common, enough that it made sense to get together on the podcast and hop in the "Wayback Machine" to reminisce about the last two decades-plus.You can download a lightly edited transcript of the podcast here. If you want to skip around and listen, here's a timestamped list of the convo: How Gold and the crew celebrated the silver anniversary. And, yes, a PR crisis did interfere (1:15) How Gold, whose background includes marketing and communications exec roles with major cable programmers, turned a disaster into a new career as the head of an agency that focused on the crazy world of tech – and other stuff (5:50) How a top exec of a company didn't even believe in a fiber-based product that was being pitching to the press (12:30) How startups like Incanta and ClearBand had great ideas about streaming TV to devices but were just too early with respect to tech or content rights… or both (14:00) How Gold pitched me on a cable theft story, and I royally screwed up the embargo and the bad guy got away (15:30) Which client was Gold's greatest completed Hail Mary (18:30) Why Dan Aykroyd was Gold's favorite celeb to work with, back when video-on-demand was just appearing on the cable scene (20:30) Why Gold, at one time, viewed Amazon Prime as the most infuriating organization (24:00) Gold's biggest gain. After the fact, he told me to add Plume to the list (26:44) Gold's proudest moment – next to being my guest on the podcast, of course (27:30)— Jeff Baumgartner, Senior Editor, Light Reading Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Service providers have been banging on about the benefits of private 5G networks for the manufacturing industry, but that vertical has been reluctant to move forward with 5G technologies.In this podcast interview, Omdia analysts Pablo Tomasi and Anna Ahrens explain why the manufacturing industry, oft-cited as fertile ground for 5G, hasn't been that excited about private 5G network adoption."[5G] has a large promise of ultra-reliable, low-latency communications, which is actually a basic requirement of industrial communication," said Ahrens. "But what no one counted on or what no one expected is that it is not ready to go technology, it is a technology which still needs to be evolved."In addition, Ahrens and Tomasi dive into their joint research report, Demystifying Private 5G in Manufacturing: How to Seize a New Opportunity, and explain what can be done about the mismatch of expectations for 5G between the telcos and manufacturing sector.You can download a lightly edited transcript of the podcast here. If you want to skip around and listen, here are a few more things covered in this interview:Why the manufacturing industry is hesitant about adopting 5G (02:45)The reality of ROI for 5G (04:01)Why the manufacturing sector is resistant to disruptive technologies (06:07)Why the manufacturing industry is slow to adopt new technologies provided by telcos (08:11)What service providers believe is the advantage of 5G for the manufacturing industry (10:44)Near term opportunities for service providers in the manufacturing sector (14:24)Impetus behind Ahrens and Tomasi deciding to team up on their joint report (17:19)How telcos can better develop 5G services that enterprises need (19:16) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Light Reading editors Kelsey Ziser, Nicole Ferraro and Jedi Padawan Mike Dano join sentient vanilla latte Phil Harvey for an informal recap of what's happened during the work week ended September 16, 2022.The show notes and video for this episode are available right here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

SCTE Cable-Tec Expo is in Philadelphia September 19-22, a triumphant return to an in-person cable-fest since the 2019 show in New Orleans – just mere months before the whole world went to hell. But the show is back. Booths will be erected. Real, live people will be milling around schmoozing. Technology and products will be on display that can be seen and (gasp!) touched.Prediction: Someone might get drunk! And Light Reading will be there to cover it all! Or at least as much as we can get to before our brains melt under the white hot pressure of engineering diagrams, mathematical equations and enough slide decks to make a product manager weep with joy. But what will this year's show be about? Feel free to check the event schedule to get a sense of what's what. You'll see sessions on DOCSIS 4.0, rural broadband, AI, an update on cable's power efficiency efforts, something about how cable's combating video piracy, and an announcement on who is going to take home the big money in the "10G Challenge."Please, read away if you must. But audio can be – nay, is – much more fun! In this episode of the Light Reading Podcast, editors Jeff Baumgartner and Nicole Ferraro and cable analyst/guru Alan Breznick chew the fat on what they think the show will be about, or at least what they think it should be about. The point? Thinking occurred. We'd tell you more here, but that would be like spoiling the finale of Lost. Please go listen to our banter. You'll be glad that you did. Or if you're still the reading type, you can download a lightly edited transcript of the podcast here.Or if you're just too damn busy getting ready for the show and only have time to cherry pick the audio, here's a timestamped list of stuff we chatted about: Our sense of what the hot topics will be at the show (01:09) Hey, there's not a lot on the agenda specifically about a five-letter F-word (4:25) Alan reviews what's in store at the Light Reading-hosted breakfast sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday of the show. Chance of bacon: 87% (05:26) What we think will be the focus of the opening general session (7:00) Should the industry be concerned about slowing broadband subscriber growth? Short answer: yep (11:15) We speculate on whether Comcast will remain the Lone Wolf when it comes to Full Duplex DOCSIS (14:30) Predictions on the big takeaways from the show (16:45) — Jeff Baumgartner, Senior Editor, Light Reading Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Marc DeBevoise has had a front seat during the video market's streaming revolution. He was a top exec at CBS when the broadcaster surprised the media world in 2014 with the launch of CBS All Access, a service that has since evolved to become Paramount+ following the merger with Viacom and the eventual formation of what's known as Paramount Global today. "In 2013, we started to pitch internally that we needed to go over-the-top and disrupt ourselves," he recalls. He's also been front and center to witness the shift to streaming on mobile devices, the surge of direct-to-consumer streaming services and, more recently, the rise in streaming deals for live sporting events. DeBevoise joins the Light Reading Podcast about five month after becoming CEO of Brightcove to discuss his vision for the streaming tech specialist and to dig into some key trends that are impacting the broader industry. In addition to setting a goal to become "most trusted streaming technology company in the world," DeBevoise is focused on accelerating growth at Brightcove and creating more scale for a business that's evenly split in serving customers in the enterprise and media/entertainment sectors.  DeBevoise, an exec also late of Starz and NBCUniversal, believes there's scale to pursue amid a "shift" in the market whereby some of largest media companies around the world are looking to save money on streaming technology and the resources required to support it by hooking up with specialized streaming companies such as Brightcove. DeBevoise also weighed in on several big picture streaming trends, including the rise in sports rights deals and whether the underlying streaming infrastructure is prepared to handle major live events such as Amazon's big deal to live-stream Thursday night NFL games starting the night of September 15. "I think the technology is there to support it," he said. "I think this week, you'll see the audience come in light versus what the TV audience was, just because it's harder to find and there is a section of the population that just doesn't yet embrace this part of the ecosystem, but it'll get there. I have full faith." You can download a lightly edited transcript of the podcast here. If you want to skip around and listen, here are a few topics discussed during this podcast:A rundown of DeBevoise's priorities at Brightcove and his vision for the streaming specialist (00:22) How DeBevoise intends to scale Brightcove's business (5:00)  How DeBevoise has identified a shift in the marketplace in which large media companies around the world are seeking to save money on streaming tech, opening a possible door for Brightcove to step in (7:00) What's surprised DeBevoise about the way the streaming market has evolved (17:45)Whether today's streaming infrastructure is up to the task to take on massive, live sporting events amid Amazon's exclusive to stream Thursday night NFL games (24:00) Looking beyond video, an exploration of other apps and services will start to cut into the streaming pie (29:00) Thoughts on why the volume levels for 4K streaming remain relatively small (30:30) —Jeff Baumgartner, Senior Editor, Light Reading Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Light Reading's Mike Dano explains why T-Mobile now claims to be the biggest wireless network operator in the world. He also discusses T-Mobile's strategies around spectrum acquisition, it's fixed wireless access service and more. In addition, Mike weighs in on the new iPhone 14 and it's satellite connectivity feature. Sign up today for the Light Reading newsletter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Former CEO of QOS Networks Frank Cittadino, now SVP of edge services for Zayo Group, joins the podcast to discuss why Zayo acquired managed service provider QOS Networks. In addition, Cittadino explains Zayo's edge and multi-cloud strategies and the difference between network monitoring and network observability. Cittadino also describes the five key components of artificial intelligence (AI) and shares why Zayo has its sights set on more software acquisitions in the future.You can download an unedited transcript of the podcast here. If you want to skip around and listen, here are a few more things covered in this interview:Background on Zayo Group's acquisition of QOS Networks (00:27)Zayo's approach to AI in the network (01:43)QOS Networks' AIOps service and what it means for IT operations (03:45)Shift from network monitoring to network observability (06:31)Zayo's shift from fiber provider to addressing more of the software layer (07:43)Zayo's edge and multi-cloud strategies (10:38)SD-WAN versus MPLS in addressing network visibility (18:05)Defining AI and its five key components (21:12)Sign up today for the Light Reading newsletter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Light Reading's Iain Morris explains why German service providers could be in hot water. Germany's reliance on Russian energy sources, plus the use of networking technology from Huawei, could present some serious problems now and in the long term for German service providers.You can download an unedited transcript of the podcast here. If you want to skip around and listen, here are some highlights in this interview:Why Germany's relationships with Russia and China could present problems for German service providers (00:46)How Deutsche Telekom's customers could be impacted by energy shortages, and the consequences of tricky trade relations (03:06)Long-term impacts of German telcos' collaboration with Huawei (07:48)Privacy concerns for mobile customers traveling through Germany (09:28)Sign up today for the Light Reading newsletter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Light Reading editors Kelsey Ziser, Jeff Baumgartner and Phil Harvey gather around for an informal (let's be honest, downright silly) discussion of what's happened during the work week ended September 9, 2022. For the full show notes, please visit www.lightreading.com.Sign up today for the Light Reading newsletter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Light Reading's Jeff Baumgartner discusses the rise of independent suppliers of operating systems for Smart TVs, and what their entry into the market could mean for incumbent suppliers. In addition, we take a look at Comcast and Charter's mobile strategies.Sign up today for the Light Reading newsletter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Danielle Perry, chief compliance officer at TruConnect – a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) – joins the podcast to talk about how the company is keeping customers connected through the federal government's Lifeline program and now the Affordable Connectivity Programs (ACP). We also discuss her recent appointment to the board of directors at the National Lifeline Association, and more. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

By 2027, analysts at Omdia expect the telco IT market to exceed $40 billion, up from $31 billion in 2021. James Crawshaw, practice leader for Omdia, joins the podcast to explain how the OSS/BSS market thrived during the pandemic, and why service providers are investing in improving automation and customer experience for their OSS/BSS platforms."It's not historically been a particularly high growth market, this OSS and BSS space is fairly mature," said Crawshaw. However, he explained that despite the pandemic forcing many to work from home, IT teams "had no trouble" implementing IT projects remotely."The other positive thing for the market has been that operators have really wanted to up their game in terms of making the customer experience more digital and more streamlined," he added.The result of this market momentum still hasn't resulted in "hypergrowth," said Crawshaw. But, many OSS/BSS suppliers are now "looking at 8% growth in their business. And for many years, it was trundling along at 2%."You can download an unedited transcript of the podcast here. If you want to skip around and listen, here are a few more things covered in this interview:Growth in telecom IT market for OSS/BSS (01:26)Fastest growth segments within the OSS/BSS market (05:43)Moving OSS/BSS applications to the public cloud (09:43)Recommendations for service providers (11:53)Impact of 5G on IT (14:19)Why tier 2 and 3 operators are underserved by the bigger OSS/BSS vendors (18:23)Whether hyperscalers will subsume the OSS/BSS market (19:59)Sign up today for the Light Reading newsletter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode features Basil Alwan, CEO of Tarana. We discuss what sets Tarana apart as a provider of what it calls "next-generation" fixed wireless access, or ngFWA, and how it's deploying its technology to help WISPs close the digital divide. We also get into broadband policy and why he wants legislators to reconsider unlicensed spectrum as a tool and see FWA as more than just a "stopgap" to fiber. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What are you watching? It's a question that tends to pop up among family, friends and coworkers. The water cooler may be a corporate relic, but thanks to the rise and popularity of free and paid streaming services, the video landscape is certainly rife with water cooler-worthy TV shows, series and movies. Perhaps too many. A startup called Glidr Inc. wants to help consumers cut through the clutter and zero in on content that their social media circles enjoy and recommend. It's trying to tackle that challenge with a free app that, following several months of testing, recently launched on Android and iOS devices. The general idea is to help consumers discover content they might be interested in watching and to help them manage the various streaming services they use and pay for. But rather than relying heavily on AI and machine learning techniques to surface and recommend content, Glidr's platform is powered in part by what a user's family and friends are watching and recommending."When your friend recommends something or your family member recommends something to watch, you're probably going to watch it," contends Glidr CEO Adam Tom, who recently joined the Light Reading Podcast to discuss the company and broader trend impacting the streaming sector. "There's all these great recommendation engines out there. But when your family or friend says something, that's really a strong recommendation." Glidr's ranks include vets from the cable industry and video tech industries. Adam Tom is late of Imedia, Terayon and RGB Networks (sold to Imagine Communications in 2015), and more recently was with Samsung, heading up North American engineering for smart TVs as well as engineering for Samsung's connected TV ad business. Also joining the podcast is Christopher Lee, Glidr's product director. Lee is a video engineering vet previously with Gemstar TV Guide and Comcast, where he aided in the development of products for the operator's X1 video platform.  You can download a lightly edited transcript of the podcast here. If you want to skip around and listen, here are a few topics discussed during this podcast:An expansion into the background on the Glidr team and its ties to the cable and video tech industries (00:30)A discussion about the problems and challenges Glidr is trying to address with its direct-to-consumer app. (3:22) How Glidr is tapping into a user's circle of family and friends, rather than just AI and machine learning techniques, to deliver movie and TV recommendations. (5:30) How Glidr intends to help consumers manage and track their streaming subscriptions and provide a secure way to store and manage passwords in a central location (18:00) How Glidr expects its revenue model to evolve into areas such as marketing services and sponsorships as it scales up its user base (21:00) An update on Glidr's financial situation, including a recent investment from Goodwater Capital (27:10) A snapshot of the company's plans and priorities for the rest of 2022 and into 2023 (28:45) — Jeff Baumgartner, Senior Editor, Light Reading Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With a fresh cash flow of $262 million, DriveNets plans to expand sales to service provider customers and grow its employee base by 30% to 450 employees.Hillel Kobrinsky, chief strategy officer and co-founder of DriveNets, joined the podcast with an update on how the networking company plans to invest its new Series C round of funding, and how the company's focus on virtualization software is impacting innovation and sales cycles with its service provider customers.In addition, Kobrinsky explained how virtualizing network infrastructure pairs well with the new work-from-home culture, and reduces total cost of ownership and operational costs for customers.You can download an unedited transcript of the podcast here. If you want to skip around and listen, here are a few more things covered in this interview:Update on DriveNets' latest funding round of $262 million (00:32)DriveNet's plans to expand with support from latest funding (02:17)Changes to software innovation cycles in coordination with white box deployment (03:43)Speed of sale cycles among service providers utilizing white boxes and increasing virtualization in their networks (06:02)Total cost of ownership and operational costs of moving to virtualized network infrastructure (08:09)Potential challenges of updates within a brownfield environment (10:20)Shift to more automated networks (14:17)Projection for expansion at DriveNets over next 18 months (17:46)Sign up today for the Light Reading newsletter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

T-Mobile and SpaceX have teamed up on a plan to connect mobile phones to SpaceX's new Starlink satellites. According to the two companies, this could eliminate all cellular dead zones around the US. However, the new satellites won't be launched until next year. In the meantime, Verizon and AT&T are working on their own satellite plans."Verizon plans to use Amazon's planned Project Kuiper satellites to connect its rural cell towers to the Internet, and AT&T is planning a similar setup with OneWeb's own growing constellation of low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellites," wrote Light Reading's Mike Dano in a recent Light Reading article.During this podcast, Dano also provides an update on the iPhone 14 launch. The new iPhone, which should be available next month, is expected to be able to directly connect to satellites.You can download an unedited transcript of the podcast here. If you want to skip around and listen, here are a few more things covered in this interview:Update on T-Mobile and SpaceX partnership (00:58)Impact of the collaboration on the rest of the industry (02:03)Impact on the competitive landscape for other US mobile carriers (07:28)Sign up today for the Light Reading newsletter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Manoj Leelanivas, COO of Juniper, joins the podcast with an update on Juniper's Cloud Metro platform. Leelanivas explains how a number of factors are contributing to driving network traffic through the metro network and how Juniper is taking on new approaches to managing cloud infrastructure. He also shares why increasing automation in the management of cloud infrastructure is beneficial to service provider and enterprise customers."The AI and cloud-delivered automation actually simplifies this mundane work stream, so people can actually focus on actually more satisfying work, like service creation," he said.Leelanivas also provides insight into Juniper's sustainability strategy, the importance of reducing e-waste and total cost of ownership (TCO).You can download an unedited transcript of the podcast here. If you want to skip around and listen, here are a few more things covered in this interview:Background on Leelanivas' roles at Juniper (00:39)Juniper's Cloud Metro platform and its impact on service providers (01:43)Sustainability components to Cloud Metro platform (04:39)Reducing e-waste (09:27)Addressing e-waste and sustainability on earnings calls (11:49)Why Juniper is focusing on zero trust security (10:03)Sign up today for the Light Reading newsletter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode features David Broecker, chief innovation officer at Purdue Research Foundation (PRF), and Özer Dondurmacıoğlu, vice president of strategic accounts at enterprise networking company Celona. We discuss the digital divide in the state of Indiana where Purdue Research Foundation (part of Purdue University) is based, why PRF worked with Celona to deploy a private 5G network on CBRS spectrum at PRF's Discovery Park District, and how private wireless technology can help organizations and institutions close digital skills and literacy gaps. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There's no shortage of topics in the world of broadband these days. Fiber network M&A activity and upgrades have not slowed down. Billions of dollars are flowing into rural broadband. Cable operators are considering multiple paths forward on their access network upgrades amid flagging broadband subscriber growth. Meanwhile, fixed wireless access (FWA) seems to be all the rage. To cover that ground and help analyze those various-but-related-topics, two cable industry vets, David Strauss and Jay Rolls, now execs at Broadband Success Partners, recently joined the Light Reading Podcast. Broadband Success Partners, a company founded in 2017, has completed more than 40 technical due diligence engagements from about 25 clients, including a growing number of them outside the US. Heading into 2023, the company is also exploring how it might bring its expertise to the public sector. "When you consider the $65 billion of infrastructure funding – broadband funding – that's coming down the pike here, perhaps there's an opportunity. We're just exploring it at this stage," David Strauss, co-founder and principal of Broadband Success Partners and an exec formerly of Lightpath, Comcast, AT&T and Sprint, explained.Meanwhile, investor interest in fiber "is very strong and not abating," says Rolls, an exec who previously held top engineering slots at Charter Communications and Cox Communications, and now serves as CTO of Broadband Success Partners. "I would even say it might be a little stronger than we saw six months ago." And Broadband Success Partners is seeing the notion of the "open access network," a model already somewhat popular in Europe, get more traction and interest in the US.  You can download a lightly edited transcript of the podcast here. If you want to skip around and listen, here are a few topics discussed during this podcast:Background on the market focus of Broadband Success Partners and the number of M&A-related due diligence projects completed so far (0:50) On the opportunities emerging outside the US and, within the US, the potential to engage with the billions of dollars being freed up to bring broadband to unserved and underserved areas (4:15) An update on the current level of investor interest in fiber, and how the notion of an "open access network" built on fiber is becoming an emerging topic in the US (6:45) How active Ethernet, not just PON, is making waves in the world of fiber access networks (9:50) How in-home services, such as managed Wi-Fi, are becoming increasingly important attributes for broadband service providers that are trying to differentiate beyond speeds, feeds and pricing (11:30) A discussion on the various options available to cable operators as they pursue what's next on the access network – DOCSIS 3.1 enhancements, future DOCSIS 4.0 upgrades or overbuilds based on fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP) technology (17:00) An update on potential pricing for DOCSIS 4.0 network upgrades (22:00) As cable faces slowing broadband subscriber growth, what's more important: keeping prices and margins steady amid that slowdown, or driving promos that can rekindle subscriber growth? (27:00) How fixed wireless is factoring into the discussion, particularly in rural areas (31:45)—Jeff Baumgartner, Senior Editor, Light Reading Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Infinera CEO David Heard is optimistic about what the CHIPS and Sciences Act can do for US optical networking vendors, especially those endeavoring to be less dependent on foreign suppliers.You can download an unedited transcript of the podcast here.Here are just a few things covered in this podcast episode:What the CHIPS and Sciences Act does for companies like Infinera (01:38)How it benefits the optical networking industry overall (06:33)Infinera's reorganization and market acceptance (09:47)The road to 800Gbit/s and the upcoming growth cycle. (13:39)Check our post about this episode on www.lightreading.com for more.Sign up today for the Light Reading newsletter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.