Light Reading Podcasts

On this episode, Light Reading's Jeff Baumgartner talks with pod host Nicole Ferraro about NBC Universal's new streaming service Peacock: the latest news, why it matters and what's likely to happen next.Sign up today for the Light Reading newsletter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this episode of 'What's the Story?' – a new series from the Light Reading Podcast – Iain Morris talks with pod host Nicole Ferraro about open RAN: the latest news, why it matters and what's likely to happen next.Sign up today for the Light Reading newsletter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Cliff Grossner, Executive Director of the Cloud & Data Center practice for Omdia, joins the podcast to discuss HPE's acquisition of SD-WAN supplier Silver Peak. Grossner explains how this acquisition may impact the industry at large, shares his predictions for the SD-WAN industry in the coming months, and addresses how COVID-19 could impact SD-WAN growth.Sign up today for the Light Reading newsletter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dave Ward, CEO of PacketFabric, discusses the company's mission to deliver instant, scalable, and secure connectivity for companies of all sizes on its network. He talks about why he thinks the network-as-a-service opportunity will grow and how PacketFabric sets itself apart from other NaaS offerings. Ward also gives us some details about his conservation work and how he uses technology to help endangered species.Sign up today for the Light Reading newsletter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sorabh Saxena, EVP of Customer Service & Operations for AT&T Business, joins the podcast to discuss how AT&T is incorporating artificial intelligence and machine learning into their approach to improving the customer experience.Sign up today for the Light Reading newsletter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on the show, Light Reading contributing editor Nicole Ferraro talks with Light Reading's Alan Breznick about cable companies. Alan recently wrote about cable company Cogeco Communications running tests of one-box small cells, in preparation for its entrance into the wireless market. Alan discusses Cogeco's and other cable companies' evolving business models, what it all means, why it matters and what's likely to happen next.Sign up today for the Light Reading newsletter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Arrcus CEO Devesh Garg discusses how the company is disrupting the market as a hyperscale networking software company enabling secure distributed connectivity with the world’s best performance by providing simple, scalable, and seamless solutions for the data centers, edge and multi-cloud. This podcast is sponsored by Arrcus.Sign up today for the Light Reading newsletter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Omdia Principal Analyst Rik Turner joins the podcast to discuss whether the Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) is the next evolution of SD-WAN and security, why Zero Trust Access (ZTA) is front of mind during the COVID-19 pandemic, and new security challenges stemming from more employees working from home globally.Sign up today for the Light Reading newsletter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on the show, we're talking with Light Reading's Editor-in-Chief Phil Harvey about Huawei. Light Reading has been extensively covering the ongoing drama surrounding Huawei and how US- and UK-imposed bans and sanctions are casting a shadow over Huawei's future and causing upheaval for the industry at large. Phil joins the show to tell us what it all means, why it matters and what's likely to happen next.Sign up today for the Light Reading newsletter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this episode, Light Reading Contributing Editor Nicole Ferraro talks with Light Reading Senior Editor Kelsey Ziser about SD-WAN. Kelsey recently reported on developments around SD-WAN, including new partnerships between AT&T and Cisco, as well as projections for the SD-WAN market going forward. Plus, just this week, HPE announced it will purchase SD-WAN vendor Silver Peak for nearly $1 billion.Sign up today for the Light Reading newsletter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

BT Global's Chief Technology and Information Officer Hriday Ravindranath joins the podcast to discuss how telcos can provide the networks and services that businesses need to re-invent themselves and adapt to life in a pandemic.Sign up today for the Light Reading newsletter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

NTT Americas CEO Simon Walsh is leading a team of 5,000 people in six countries across North and South America with combined revenues of over $3 billion. Walsh tells Light Reading's Kelsey Ziser and Phil Harvey about his attraction to the NTT opportunity, where he sees the company's strengths and how those assets will pay off for enterprise customers who are trying to adapt to a distributed workforce.Sign up today for the Light Reading newsletter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this episode, we talk with Light Reading Editorial Director Mike Dano about Dish Network. Mike recently wrote about Dish's official entrance into the wireless market and additional vendors for its planned 5G network, including Fujitsu and Altiostar. Mike sets us straight on Dish's plans, its evolution as a business and what's likely to happen next in this US 5G market.Sign up today for the Light Reading newsletter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Light Reading Contributing Editor Nicole Ferraro talks with Paula Gilbert, Editor of Light Reading's sister site Connecting Africa. Paula recently reported that Sub-Saharan Africa is on track for mobile data traffic to skyrocket in the next five years. Meanwhile, fixed-broadband subscribers in South Africa have been declining. Paula joins the show to tell us what this means, why it matters and what's likely to happen next.Sign up today for the Light Reading newsletter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this sponsored podcast, we speak with Tensor Networks CEO Alexis Flores-Betancourt and the company's CTO, Bill Walker, about the startup's desire to combine high-performance computing and networking, while simultaneously reducing capital and operational costs for service providers, enterprises and their customers.Sign up today for the Light Reading newsletter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

US Ignite's Mari Silbey joins Light Reading's Kelsey Ziser and Phil Harvey for a discussion about what changes are ahead in how cities and companies can broadband to residents in underserved areas. The pandemic has been a wake-up call to broadband's overall importance in the US economy. While some big telcos are waving data caps and other penalties to make it easier for consumers to stay connected, those companies are not necessarily speeding up their efforts to connect underserved and rural communities. "It's difficult to make the economic case for a lot of broadband providers to go into these sparser, less populated communities," Silbey said. "But on the other hand, that doesn't mean the need is any less there and there still needs to be a solution and a way to get those areas connected." With tax revenue in decline in most places, thanks to businesses shutting or slowing down, cities are weighing the risks of public, private and hybrid networks to see which model might work best for their residents and geography. Silbey has all the details and as well as some examples of new business models being used in Westminster, Maryland; Fullerton, California; and Lincoln, Nebraska.Sign up today for the Light Reading newsletter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this episode, Light Reading Contributing Editor Nicole Ferraro speaks with Light Reading Senior Editor Jeff Baumgartner about HBO’s role in the streaming wars and its new service, HBO Max. Jeff recently wrote about WarnerMedia announcing it is phasing out HBO Go to clear up confusion around HBO's streaming services and pave the way for the successful adoption of HBO Max. Jeff joins the show to tell us what this means, why it matters, and what's likely to happen next.Sign up today for the Light Reading newsletter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to What’s the Story: a new, short podcast from Light Reading where we take a step back from the most significant topics in telecom to tell you the latest news, how we got here, what it means and what to expect next. For our first episode, Light Reading Contributing Editor Nicole Ferraro talks with Light Reading International Editor Iain Morris about Rakuten and 5G. Iain recently wrote about Rakuten announcing that fellow Japanese company NEC will supply its 5G core, and that Rakuten will effectively junk its existing 4G core in the process. He tells us what this means, why it matters and what’s likely to happen next.Sign up today for the Light Reading newsletter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Special guest Chris Bauschka, General Manager & AVP, Global Telecommunications, Media and Technology Industries at ServiceNow, discusses how service management platforms can help network operators retain customers, evolve their service offerings and be more competitive.Sign up today for the Light Reading newsletter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Will stopping Huawei in the US and Europe will do much of anything to slow down China from becoming the world's dominant technology superpower in the next decade? Light Reading's Phil Harvey and Iain Morris discuss that question and provide an update on the most recent court ruling against Huawei's CFO, and what it means as she fights extradition to the US.Sign up today for the Light Reading newsletter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After 18 months as its chief commercial officer, Keri Gilder was recently named the CEO of Colt Technology Services. In this podcast, Gilder speaks with Light Reading's Phil Harvey about how Colt's network is different, how she'll manage the company during a pandemic, what opportunities SD-WAN unlocks for the carrier and her memories of being a high school mascot.Sign up today for the Light Reading newsletter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this podcast, Light Reading's Phil Harvey and Kelsey Ziser are joined by Chris Pearson, president of 5G Americas, to discuss how COVID-19 is affecting the progress of 5G in the Americas, expectations for standalone 5G and progress on standards, and the potential impact of 5G on the IoT market.Sign up today for the Light Reading newsletter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The US government has moved to block Huawei's access, not only to US technology but to any technology made with US expertise. Light Reading's Iain Morris and Phil Harvey discuss this latest move and wonder at what point does the Chinese government retaliate against other, unrelated companies and industries as a way of challenging the Trump administration.Sign up today for the Light Reading newsletter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Light Reading's Mike Dano discusses what the recent Microsoft acquisitions – especially Affirmed Networks and Metaswitch Networks – could signal for the company's cloud business and its capacity to provide a new level of cloud, communications and productivity services for businesses of all sizes.Sign up today for the Light Reading newsletter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Delivering a complete security solution for service providers is no easy task. A thorough security solution has to include sophisticated network protection and the ability to safeguard devices, using the best approach possible for each type of device and use case. This is especially important as service provider networks and home networks are seeing more devices, a wider variety of devices (thanks to IoT), and a surge in the amount of bandwidth used by all those connected things. Give that backdrop, Avast's Sean Obrey and Light Reading's Phil Harvey discuss how Avast's approach to security is different, how it has evolved its technology to adapt to service provider needs, and how the company's products can unlock services that consumers crave. This podcast episode is sponsored by Avast, a global leader in digital security and family safety solutions for network operators and their customers.Sign up today for the Light Reading newsletter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this podcast, recorded May 1, we check in with Plume CMO Todd Grantham to discuss the increase in streaming media and entertainment usage and other traffic patterns emerging as some states back off COVID-19 stay-at-home orders.Sign up today for the Light Reading newsletter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Light Reading's Phil Harvey and Kelsey Ziser are joined by Nick Feamster, director of the Center for Data and Computing for the University of Chicago. Feamster is leading a team studying the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Internet traffic. In addition, the research team is examining how changes to Internet traffic volume impacts network utilization, network performance, application performance and user experience.Sign up today for the Light Reading newsletter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this Executive Spotlight Q&A, podcast, we speak with Martin Taylor, CTO of Metaswitch Networks. Metaswitch and Vodafone recently announced a technology trial that offers service providers a path to 5G Wireless Wireline Convergence. Metaswitch is using its cloud native software components – like its 5G access gateway function (AGF) and a high-performance 5G User Plane Function (UPF) – to help create a broadband access network that serves both wireline and mobile subscribers from a single technology stack. The Executive Spotlight Q&A is a sponsored audio production of Light Reading.Sign up today for the Light Reading newsletter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Orange Business Services CEO Helmut Reisinger and SVP of Customer Services & Operations, Aliette Lompre, join the Light Reading crew to discuss how the carrier is working remotely, keeping customers connected and getting ready for what's next.Sign up today for the Light Reading newsletter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When we talk about security in 5G, we are usually talking about infrastructure and network security, and rightly so. But what about all the things that are connected to that 5G network? How does security change for those devices and services? Avast's Sean Obrey and Light Reading's Phil Harvey will discuss the downstream changes for the consumer in the 5G future. This podcast episode is sponsored by Avast, a global leader in digital security and family safety solutions for network operators and their customers.Sign up today for the Light Reading newsletter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Editors Phil Harvey, Mike Dano, Kelsey Ziser join the podcast to discuss some of the more popular recent submissions to Light Reading's The 5G Exchange. The Light Reading crew debates which industries could experience the biggest economic benefits from 5G deployments, if 5G can be considered a "green" technology, the connectivity challenges New York City faces in addressing the digital divide, and more.Sign up today for the Light Reading newsletter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The world of streaming video is more crowded and competitive than ever. Listen as Alan Breznick and Jeff Baumgartner discuss the implications for pay TV providers and why bundling is back and better than ever.Sign up today for the Light Reading newsletter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Podcast guest Todd Grantham, CMO, Plume, talks about what his company is learning by looking at the anonymized data from more than 700 million computers, smartphones and entertainment devices on Plume's service provider customer networks.Sign up today for the Light Reading newsletter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this podcast, Light Reading's Phil Harvey is joined by Omdia Senior Analyst Ramona Zhao. She covers the Asian service provider market and has recently issued a report recapping South Korea's first year in 5G.Sign up today for the Light Reading newsletter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Kazu Gomi, the executive leading NTT Research, joins Light Reading's Phil Harvey and Kelsey Ziser on this episode to discuss the Innovative Optical and Wireless Network (IOWN) initiative. With Intel, Sony and others, this NTT subsidiary is looking to create advanced networks that provide a huge growth in transmission bandwidth while operating at lower power and with lower latency. This ambitious effort isn't just about building new optical networks, but it wants to create a "better world for all global citizens."Sign up today for the Light Reading newsletter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this podcast, TeleGeography's Paul Brodsky joins Light Reading's Phil Harvey to talk about international voice traffic and how the mix of traffic on carrier networks has changed over the years. TeleGeography's latest estimates say that international over-the-top (OTT) voice traffic reached 1 trillion minutes in 2019, compared to just 432 billion minutes of international carrier traffic. People are still calling each other on the phone, and carriers are still moving that traffic, but how they're connecting has certainly changed, Brodsky said.Sign up today for the Light Reading newsletter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Gluware's Mike Haugh joins Light Reading's Kelsey Ziser for a discussion about enterprise network automation and how the company uses software-defined networking concepts to "treat the underlying network infrastructure as code and then interact with it programmatically." Service providers and enterprises alike rely on their networks for ecommerce, communications and much more, especially as workers are remotely connected while social distancing. Haugh notes that if a company's "critical resources are human, and you can't get something delivered, that automation becomes a lot more important."Sign up today for the Light Reading newsletter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Here's some Friday fun for ya. We've got Light Reading's Editor-in-Chief Ray Le Maistre joining Kelsey Ziser and Phil Harvey to talk about the movies. No telecom stories. Nothing about COVID-19. Just film and fun. Take a break from the madness, fire up your streaming service, dim the lights and listen to what happens when technology journalists try to talk about real entertainment.Sign up today for the Light Reading newsletter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Light Reading editors Mike Dano, Kelsey Ziser and Phil Harvey convene for a brief recap of what is changing in the telecom industry now that COVID-19 is beginning to spread more quickly in the US. This episode was recorded on March 18.Sign up today for the Light Reading newsletter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mari Silbey of US Ignite joins Kelsey and Phil from Light Reading to discuss recent developments in the world of smart cities and how carrier strategies and approaches for smart cities opportunities have changed. They also cover the need for network testing created by the government's plan to spend more on O-RAN development for 5G networks. Please wash your hands after listening.Sign up today for the Light Reading newsletter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Paul Kapustka from Mobile Sports Report joins the podcast to discuss the COVID-19 effect on public venues and arena networks, the reliability of 4G DAS and why Wi-Fi 6 is the future of stadium connectivity.Sign up today for the Light Reading newsletter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

CSG's Executive Director of Managed Services Haifa El Ashkar talks with Light Reading's Kelsey Ziser and Phil Harvey about the broad industry impact we can expect from the intersection of mobile identity, blockchain, eSIMs and IoT. If those four trends line up in just the right way, customers could become less dependent on traditional cellular providers. That might kick off a scenario where customers (and devices) join and leave bandwidth providers much more quickly based on their needs, not long-term contracts. Is the mobile industry ready for its own version of "cord-cutting?"Sign up today for the Light Reading newsletter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Light Reading's Phil Harvey and Kelsey Ziser are joined by Helmut Reisinger, CEO of Orange Business Services. The IT and integration side of Orange has been touting its credentials as an option for enterprises that need help managing multi-cloud environments. Reisinger weighs in on what it means to be network native, how OBS stands out from its competition and what a company that size does to prepare for the business impact of the new coronavirus, and the reality that we're all suddenly a lot less mobile.Sign up today for the Light Reading newsletter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mobile World Congress in Barcelona was canceled, but we still have lots of MWC-related media to share. The analysts at Heavy Reading and Omdia (formerly Ovum) were nice enough to share their thoughts on the communications industry's hottest topics and companies. In this interview, George Jijiashvili, senior analyst at Omdia, explains why cloud gaming and esports are more than just fun and games. Listen to the whole interview here, and watch the video portion on www.lightreading.com.Sign up today for the Light Reading newsletter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mobile World Congress in Barcelona was canceled, but we still have lots of MWC-related media to share. The analysts at Heavy Reading and Omdia (formerly Ovum) were nice enough to share their thoughts on the communications industry's hottest topics and companies. In this interview, Pablo Tomasi, senior analyst at Omdia, outlines the hot trends in telco IoT that he expects to talk about at MWC, including industrial IoT, private networks and more. Listen to the whole interview here, and watch the video portion on www.lightreading.com.Sign up today for the Light Reading newsletter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mobile World Congress in Barcelona isn't happening next week. But the analysts at Heavy Reading and Omdia (formerly Ovum) are still tracking the communications industry's hottest topics and companies. In our scheduled coverage for MWC Barcelona, Light Reading's Editor-in-Chief Ray Le Maistre sat down Omdia analyst Maria Rua Aguete to discuss new developments in the media and entertainment market. She said that there's some potential for mobile operators to generate new revenues from 5G-based live sports services and partnerships between the media giants and the telcos. The number of 5G-capable smartphones will jump from 29 million at the end of 2019 to 231 million a the end of this year, Aguete said. A huge portion of 5G phones will be AI-enabled in the next five years, she said, and that means broadcasters will be able to deliver low latency streaming, gaming, AI and VR applications, and more, to fans inside stadiums and anywhere there is 5G connectivity. Listen to the whole interview here and watch the video portion on www.lightreading.com.Sign up today for the Light Reading newsletter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mobile World Congress in Barcelona isn't happening next week. But the analysts at Heavy Reading and Omdia (formerly Ovum) are still tracking the communications industry's hottest topics and companies. In our scheduled coverage for MWC Barcelona, Light Reading's Editor-in-Chief Ray Le Maistre sat down with Heavy Reading Principal Analyst Gabriel Brown to discuss the state of the 5G market. Brown said that scaling the technology to meet demand will be among the biggest challenges that network operators face as they roll out 5G services. Service providers around the world are keen to show that they can operate standalone 5G and that kind of network change "impacts devices, radios, core networks, transport and so forth. There's lots of moving parts," Brown explains. Listen to the whole interview here and watch the video portion on www.lightreading.com.Sign up today for the Light Reading newsletter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mobile World Congress in Barcelona isn't happening next week. But the analysts at Heavy Reading and Omdia (formerly Ovum) are still tracking the communications industry's hottest topics and companies. In our scheduled coverage for MWC Barcelona, Light Reading's Editor-in-Chief Ray Le Maistre sat down with Dario Talmesio, principal analyst and practice leader at Omdia. Talmesio discussed his expectations for new developments around the mobile 5G core and why 5G platform evolution is going to be a big deal, even if we don't make it to Barcelona.Sign up today for the Light Reading newsletter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mobile World Congress in Barcelona isn't happening next week. But the analysts at Heavy Reading and Omdia (formerly Ovum) are still tracking the communications industry's hottest topics and companies. In our scheduled coverage for MWC Barcelona, Light Reading's Editor-in-Chief Ray Le Maistre sat down with Heavy Reading senior analyst James Crawshaw a few days ago to discuss smart business models, Industry X.0, edge computing and other trends he's tracking, even if he's not heading to the big show in Barca. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Scott Yelton and Mike Frane from Windstream Enterprise join Light Reading's Phil Harvey and Kelsey Ziser on the podcast to discuss how Windstream's approach to managed services, unified communications and SD-WAN continues to change as the enterprise workforce becomes more mobile. The Windstream execs explain how their company is revamping its communications and SD-WAN services portfolio and evolving from being a traditional telco to a true managed services provider.Sign up today for the Light Reading newsletter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.