Light Reading Podcasts

Ciena CTO Steve Alexander recently joined the podcast to discuss the company's announcement of WaveLogic 6, a 1.6 Tbit/s coherent optical technology that will power long-haul, metro and data center connections starting around the middle of next year.The unedited audio transcript is available in the media player of this episode page. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

At OFC earlier this month, Mike Bell, Corning's SVP and GM for optical communications, joined the podcast to discuss the company's newest data center solution that shortens installation times for cables and connectors. The unedited audio transcript is available in the media player of this episode page. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jeff Baumgartner, Mike Dano, Nicole Ferraro and Phil Harvey discuss cable versus fiber, consumer broadband labels and potential roadblocks to BEAD program rollouts. The editors also discuss why T-Mobile will need to re-think its 5G advertising strategy and whether TikTok is now cooler than ever in The Notebook Dump for the week ending March 24. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

SES' chief strategy officer spoke with Light Reading at Satellite 2023 about D2D, how SES is helping bridge the digital divide using MEO and GEO, how modern satellite capabilities compare to fiber and more. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

John Janka, chief officer of global government affairs and regulatory at Viasat, spoke with Light Reading at Satellite 2023 last week about the changing communications landscape and how satellite players and policies must evolve. We also discussed the operator's upcoming launch of its Viasat-3 satellite, which Janka said "should be four-times better performing than the best satellite in orbit today." Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode features Nicole Ferrini, climate and sustainability officer for the city of El Paso, Texas, and Gary DePreta, vice president for state, local government and education at Cisco. We discuss a partnership between Cisco and the city of El Paso to launch a portal called El Paso Helps, which connects unhoused individuals and other at-risk community members to essential services, including shelter and housing, addiction and mental health support, and beyond. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

At last week's Satellite 2023 show, Light Reading caught up with Paul Gaske, chief operating officer at EchoStar, parent company to Hughes, to get an update on the company's forthcoming launch of its new satellite Jupiter-3 and how it will improve broadband connectivity. Gaske also discussed direct-to-device communications and the implications for the future of the industry, key regulatory issues for satellite players and more. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jeff Baumgartner, Mike Dano, Nicole Ferraro and Kelsey Ziser discuss Amazon's plan to spend $10 billion on a satellite constellation, an update on Light Reading's Cable Next-Gen event and why Casa Systems' CEO is stepping down today.We also discuss Ciena's plan to launch 1.6 Tbit/s optical services, the possible sale of Infinera and Airspan's offloading of its fixed-wireless access (FWA) business for $60 million in The Notebook Dump for the week ending March 17. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

DENVER – CABLE NEXT-GEN 2023 – As cable operators begin to zero in on the evolution of the access network, it's become clear that the future is not one size fits all. Some operators are enhancing their DOCSIS 3.1 networks, planting the seeds for DOCSIS 4.0, using fixed wireless access (FWA) to extend the reach of wireline networks or even overlaying their existing hybrid fiber-coax (HFC) plant with fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP) technologies.The unedited audio transcript is available in the media player of this episode page. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Just like every other part of the communications landscape, data center networking is changing fast. Sameh Boujelbene, vice president at Dell’Oro Group, projects that we'll see most data center switch sales coming at 400 Gbit/s and higher speeds in the next few years and AI is a huge catalyst for that capacity push.In this episode, we discuss how AI workloads will influence hardware design and data center topologies in the future.The unedited audio transcript is available in the media player of this episode page. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

DENVER – CABLE NEXT GEN 2023 – Light Reading caught up with Diane Christman, the president and CEO of The Cable Center, here this week to discuss the launch of the Syndeo Institute, a new "operational brand" that's being billed as a "modern hub for discovery, education and collaboration" spanning the connectivity, media, entertainment and technology industries.The unedited audio transcript is available in the media player of this episode page. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

DENVER – CABLE NEXT GEN 2023 – GCI's Erik Kuhlmann said the company has begun upgrading its DOCSIS 3.1 cable network to a high-split architecture with equipment from vendors including ATX and CommScope. Kuhlmann, the senior director of engineering and architecture for the Alaskan telecom operator, said the move is designed to help the company provide faster speeds to stay abreast of its rivals and slake customer demand.The unedited audio transcript is available in the media player of this episode page. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

African tech startups brought in $3.3 billion in funding for the first time in 2022.Connecting Africa's Paula Gilbert joins the podcast to explain why the fintech sector is bringing in the most funding, which countries are leading the way for most funding and what these trends mean for the continent as a whole.The unedited audio transcript is available in the media player of this episode page. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We caught up with Julie Kunstler, chief analyst for Omdia's broadband access intelligence service, one of this week's #CableNextGen speakers at OFC earlier this month. During our podcast, Kunstler gave us a preview of Omdia's PON forecast and some perspective from meeting with technology vendors who are making strides in energy efficiency and bandwidth increases allow the way down to the chip level.The unedited audio transcript is available in the media player of this episode page. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode features Doug Maglothin, who was recently appointed CEO of Diamond State Networks (DSN), a group of 13 electric co-ops in Arkansas working to unite fiber networks and provide wholesale broadband statewide.We discuss Diamond State Networks in detail, including its progress in Arkansas so far, the role state and federal funding are playing in its buildout, how Diamond State is working to expand its model beyond the state of Arkansas and more.The unedited audio transcript is available in the media player of this episode page. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jeff Baumgartner, Mike Dano, Nicole Ferraro, Phil Harvey and Kelsey Ziser discuss data center and optical network updates from OFC, Gigi Sohn's withdrawal of her nomination for FCC commissioner and Nokia's plans for a 4G/LTE network on the moon.In addition, we discuss Charter and Comcast's stance on fixed wireless access, whether there are upgrades beyond DOCSIS 4.0, top executive turnover at Verizon, and 5G strategies in 2023 for AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon... all in the Notebook Dump for the week ending March 10. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

OFC23 – San Diego – DZS CEO Charlie Vogt said his company is one of the few that can help service providers of all sizes upgrade their fiber access networks while saving them operating costs in their middle-mile transport networks.The unedited audio transcript is available in the media player of this episode page. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Entering its 16th year and having obtained its driver's license, Light Reading's Cable Next Gen Technologies & Strategies event will be held March 14 and 15 in downtown Denver. After going all-digital due to the pandemic, this will be the first time the event will be live and in person since 2019.A lot has happened in the cable tech world since then. Many operators back-burnered their hybrid fiber-coax (HFC) upgrades in 2020 to deal with the near-term surge in network traffic. Three years later, that's all on the front burner again as operators push ahead with upstream enhancements to their DOCSIS 3.1 networks and start to plant the seeds for DOCSIS 4.0.The unedited audio transcript is available in the media player of this episode page. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

MWC23 – While electric vehicles are reducing reliance on gas, EVs plus the transition to more renewable energy sources put "tremendous pressure on the grid," said TJ Fox, SVP of industrial IoT and automotive for Verizon.The unedited audio transcript is available in the media player of this episode page. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

OFC23 – San Diego – As the conference kicked off we sat down with Scott Wilkinson, lead analyst for optical components at Cignal AI. Wilkinson explained why Cignal AI's forecast for 100ZR module shipments was doubled for 2025 and how pluggable optics are being used in a wider range of applications.The unedited audio transcript is available in the media player of this episode page. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

MWC23 – The medium-Earth orbit (MEO) satellite space just got a little busier with SES' launch of its O3b mPower satellites.John-Paul Hemingway, chief strategy and product officer for SES, said the initial launch of two satellites last December went as planned and the satellites are "all performing well." SES plans on two more launches in Q2 of this year for a total of six satellites in the constellation.The unedited audio transcript is available in the media player of this episode page. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

OFC23 – San Diego – As OFC kicks off this week, Omdia's research director for transport networks and components, Ian Redpath, gives us an overview of the slew of coherent pluggable optics announced in the past few weeks. The approaches vary, but vendors are stepping up with new offerings as network operators look to pluggables – once purely the domain of data center applications – for metro networking applications.The unedited audio transcript is available in the media player of this episode page. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Brent Legg, executive vice president of government affairs at Connected Nation (CN), joins the podcast to discuss the organization's partnership with entrepreneur and investor Hunter Newby to build and operate 125 new carrier-neutral Internet exchange points (IXPs), and its application for an NTIA Middle Mile grant to fund five of those projects.Learn more at connectednation.org/ixp.The unedited audio transcript is available in the media player of this episode page. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

MWC23 – As the connected vehicle market relies more on edge computing resources, cars can benefit from lower latency connections, avoid traffic congestion and access roadside assistance faster.These are just a few of the capabilities AT&T is working on for connected vehicles, explains Cameron Coursey, VP of AT&T connected solutions, in the podcast.The unedited audio transcript is available in the media player of this episode page. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

MWC23 – One new area where private 5G networks are gaining traction is within stadiums to support the fan experience.Boingo Wireless CEO Mike Finley provides an update on the company's private wireless deployments, such as its partnership with the San Diego Padres last fall.The unedited audio transcript is available in the media player of this episode page. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

MWC23 – As many enterprise employees continue to split their time between the home office and on-premises locations, service providers are tasked with delivering managed SD-WAN and SASE services that secure enterprise applications anywhere.Anne-Gaelle Santos, business development manager for Fortinet, explained that Fortinet works closely with service provider customers to develop managed SASE and SD-WAN services to secure the mobile workforce.The unedited audio transcript is available in the media player of this episode page. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Before execs and reps of small and midsized cable ops headed to Capitol Hill to raise concerns with government officials here on Thursday, many offered a preview of sorts of those discussions the day before at the ACA Connects Summit.The unedited audio transcript is available in the media player of this episode page. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

MWC23 – As MWC wraps up, Iain Morris, Mike Dano and Kelsey Ziser ruminate on T-Mobile's 5G voice service plans, how hyperscalers are trying to differentiate themselves and investment plans for future 5G and 6G deployments.The unedited audio transcript is available in the media player of this episode page. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Joey Wender, director of the capital projects fund at the US Treasury Department, joined the podcast at the ACA Connects Summit this week in Washington, DC, to talk about his department's progress awarding roughly $5 billion in broadband funding for states.The unedited audio transcript is available in the media player of this episode page. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

New Street Research analyst and former FCC official Blair Levin joined the podcast live at the ACA Connects Summit this week to talk about the state of broadband in the US, and the urgency around re-funding the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP). The unedited audio transcript is available in the media player of this episode page. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

MWC23 – ETSI CTO Adrian Scrase appreciates that the telecom industry is planning ahead for 6G but said there's still much work to be done in supporting 5G deployments and moving the needle on 5G standalone networks.The unedited audio transcript is available in the media player of this episode page. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

MWC23 – T-Mobile in the US recently announced a teaming with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to sell its private wireless networking offerings through AWS' new "Integrated Private Wireless" program.T-Mobile's Mishka Dehghan, SVP of the operator's strategy, product and solutions engineering, told Light Reading that the partnership is an expansion of T-Mobile's previously announced Advanced Network Solutions (ANS) business division.The unedited audio transcript is available in the media player of this episode page. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

MWC23 – BT's chief security and networks officer, Howard Watson, spoke to Light Reading about ongoing conversations around net neutrality and fair contribution, as well as 5G.The unedited audio transcript is available in the media player of this episode page. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Orange's executive vice president for technology and innovation, Michaël Trabbia, said the telco remains confident about open radio access network (RAN) technology, which it sees as part of the company's broader network cloud transformation.The unedited audio transcript is available in the media player of this episode page. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

MWC23 – Video transport company Net Insight has launched an overlay network service to solve the timing and synchronization problem plaguing 5G transport, according to Heavy Reading.Senior Principal Analyst Sterling Perrin explained that Net Insight is using virtual private network (VPN) tunnels to address the timing and synchronization issue – a solution the broadcast industry is bringing to telecom.The unedited audio transcript is available in the media player of this episode page. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, we hear from Tiago Rodrigues, CEO of the Wireless Broadband Alliance (WBA), a nonprofit organization working to improve Wi-Fi technologies and services worldwide.We discuss the importance of Wi-Fi access and harmonizing standards, as well as the relevance of emerging technologies like WBA's OpenRoaming to closing the digital divide, and why WBA is pushing governments to open more Wi-Fi spectrum or risk widening the global connectivity gap.The unedited audio transcript is available in the media player of this episode page. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Service providers jump at any chance to tout the revenue potential of private 5G networks, but there's a ways to go before they permeate most enterprise verticals.Omdia Principal Analyst Pablo Tomasi said that while private 5G networks are being deployed for mining applications and ports, verticals such as manufacturing are slower to get on board. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jeff Baumgartner, Mike Dano, Nicole Ferraro and Kelsey Ziser discuss the FCC's efforts to end digital discrimination, data center sustainability, Altice USA's efforts to get back on track and how to survive Mobile World Congress in the Notebook Dump for the week ending February 24.If you want to skip around and listen, here are a few more things covered in this interview:FCC is required by infrastructure law to include broadband labels, prohibit digital discrimination and more. (00:43)Analyzing the impact of data center sustainability efforts is no small task. (05:31)Altice USA CEO implements new fiber and mobile strategies. (07:32)Mike has stickers of 80s action stars in his notebook. (11:10)The Light Reading editors prepare to descend on Barcelona, Spain, for Mobile World Congress… along with 80,000 other attendees. (12:20)Nicole wants everyone on their best behavior during Broadway shows. (17:13) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jeff Baumgartner joins the podcast to discuss Roku and Xperi/TiVo's recent earnings results and where they stand in the smart TV market. We also discuss some rivalries emerging among the smart TV players.Here are a few topics we covered:TiVo to enter European smart TV market (00:51)TiVo's evolution from DVR to smart TVs (04:26)Roku's decision to design and build its own smart TVs could put it in competition with its TV OEM (original equipment manufacturing) partners (07:41) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

AT&T's new "Gigapower" fiber joint venture with BlackRock Alternatives initially will focus on 1 million to 1.5 million locations outside AT&T's wireline footprint. Meanwhile, Charter Communications and Comcast are embarking on major hybrid fiber/coax (HFC) upgrades. And fixed wireless access (FWA) remains a tool of interest in the broadband investment community.Those were some of the topics covered on this Light Reading Podcast with Jack Burton and Jay Rolls, two cable and broadband vets at Broadband Success Partners, a telecom consulting firm primarily focused on providing tech due diligence to investors exploring opportunities in broadband. It's an active segment, as the firm worked on 32 deals last year and recently held 35 meetings at the recent Metro Connect show in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. As for that AT&T-BlackRock deal, it was treated like a "completely new entity," said Burton, a principal at Broadband Success Partners who is late of Cablevision Systems and Altice USA. "We had to look at that as if it was a startup." On the cable side, operators are exploring multiple upgrade paths, including a move to DOCSIS 4.0 or a more incremental move featuring "high-split" upgrades paired with a spectrum expansion to 1.2GHz that Rolls, a former Charter CTO, likes to refer to as "DOCSIS 3.5." "I think there's a lot of life left in [DOCSIS 3.1]," he said. If you'd like to skip around and listen, here are a few topics that were discussed: A brief overview of what Broadband Success Partners is and does (1:02) The role Broadband Success Partners played in the recently announced "Gigapower" fiber joint venture between AT&T and BlackRock Alternatives and how the open access network model will apply (4:53) Why the open access model is gathering more interest in the US and a review of the variations in the open access model that are emerging (6:33) Some detail on how a new type of open access project in Colorado took shape (8:20) Thoughts on how cable operators are pursuing HFC upgrades and why this round of upgrades is different than past versions of DOCSIS (12:24) Some theories on why Charter is taking a multi-faceted, multi-phased approach to its HFC upgrade rather than going with a uniform approach across all markets (16:36) Why Comcast's path to DOCSIS 4.0 using Full Duplex DOCSIS appears to be gaining a bit more interest in the cable world (19:30) Speculation on why Comcast went with FDX and if that decision traces back to its use of millions of Digital Terminal Adapters to fuel its all-digital video transition (22:37) How fixed wireless access technology is fitting into the broadband equation for investors who are interested in sizing up broadband opportunities (25:07)— Jeff Baumgartner, Senior Editor, Light Reading Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Amol S. Naik, SVP of public policy and community engagement for Ting Internet at Tucows, joins the podcast to discuss how fiber infrastructure is shaping economic development in Ting's service areas. Naik also provides an update on Ting's role as the anchor tenant for an open access broadband network in Colorado Springs and shares his forecast for how the rollout of BEAD funding will go.Here are a few topics we covered:Background on Ting and the areas the Internet service provider serves (00:42)Economic impact of fiber broadband deployments (2:59)Broadband is becoming a key amenity in communities nationwide in the US (4:44)Update on Ting's involvement as the anchor tenant in an open access broadband network in Colorado Springs (6:47)Impact of fiber investments on smart cities and carbon emissions (8:38)Opportunities and challenges states face in applying for BEAD funding (11:07) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this episode: Connect Humanity's Christopher Worman and Makaia's Catalina Escobar join the podcast to discuss how global broadband barriers are making it harder for civil society organizations to reach impacted communities. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Phil Harvey, Jeff Baumgartner, Mike Dano, Nicole Ferraro and Kelsey Ziser discuss Gigi Sohn's third round at a FCC chairman hearing, North Carolina's broadband initiatives, Comcast's new Xfinity 10G campaign and new opportunities in private wireless  in the Notebook Dump for the week ending February 17. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Qualcomm launched a new 5G chip for smartphones, which Light Reading's Mike Dano says will likely be commercially available this fall. We discuss why this chip is faster, what it means for service provider customers and when it will be included in new smart phones. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Over the past year, electric power distributor EPB has deployed 25-Gig services in Chattanooga, Tennessee as part of a $70 million fiber upgrade plan.EPB VP Katie Espeseth joins the podcast to explain what the 25-Gig services and fiber deployments mean for economic development in the region. She also touches on potential opportunities for Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) funding, and why EPB is leading a testbed for quantum computing applications. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From FedEx to the NFL, Extreme Networks is working with a range of customers on cloud adoption and monetizing data analytics. CEO Ed Meyercord joins the podcast to explain why Extreme is focused on becoming more software-centric, how the company works with customers to better utilize their data and why digital twins can speed up network transformations. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode features Michael Weening, CEO of Calix. We discuss the company's perspective on the digital divide and Calix's role as "enablers of the disruptors" in the broadband market. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Verizon Frontline's Maggie Hallbach said her team has spent two years and more than $100 million to ensure public safety agencies are connected during Super Bowl 57 and beyond. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Inside State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, AT&T has boosted the network's capacity by deploying more than 2,000 wireless network antennas, supported by more than 12 miles of fiber and power cables, according to Dave Carroll, a network planning AVP at AT&T. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode features Trooper Sanders, CEO of Benefits Data Trust (BDT), on the importance of the FCC's Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) and how BDT is helping more people access the monthly broadband subsidy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.