Satellite, AI and 6G

Back in the studio, the lads are delighted to be joined by returning special guest, Opensignal analyst Sylwia Kechiche. This being the first pod after MWC, they review the main themes taken from the show. They start by reflecting on the prominence of satellite connectivity as talking point at the show, reflecting on confusing market messaging on the matter. The various manifestations of AI are then discussed, before they conclude by reviewing the early hyping of 6G and asking whether it’s justified.

The guys wasted no time in bringing you their special podcast recorded from the show floor in Barcelona. Overwhelming demand means they’re delighted welcome no less than four guests, but are slightly more organised about it than last year. First they’re joined by Ray Dolan from Cohere and Mike Dano from Ookla. Both are familiar faces but there was still plenty to catch up on, including talk of satellites and network sensing. Eventually they give way to Queen of Props, Totogi’s Danielle Rios, and industry expert Dan Warren. Among the topics the four then discuss are network software and, of course, AI.

As has become tradition, the guys are delighted to welcome back special guest Analyst Dean Bubley, to look ahead to the main themes of this year’s big telecoms trade show. They start with the obvious – AI – but strive to inject focus and substance into this ubiquitous and often hyperbolic topic by discussing agents, automation, and APIs. They then move on to the matter of sovereignty and how viable it is for countries to become more self-sufficient in a time of ultra globalisation. The final big theme is satellite telecoms, with direct-to-device likely to be a hot topic at the show. They conclude by examining recent conjecture on the effect AI will have on the world and its workers.

For the second day in a row the lads were delighted to welcome a special guest, this time Fran Heeran, head of telecoms at Red Hat. For once they waste little time before moving on to the main topic of Red Hat and getting to the bottom of what it does. Spoiler alert: it’s open-source software for enterprise, which includes telecoms, so they explore topics such as virtualization, containers, and assorted other software arcana. They eventually move on to look ahead at some of the likely innovations and opportunities offered by 6G before concluding by exploring some of the practical telecom applications of AI.

Openreach, PSTN and AI by Telecoms.com

Just Iain and Scott this week as their guest had one of those ubiquitous UK winter bugs. After acknowledging some recent social engagements, they get into the matter of data sovereignty, which has become even more important since supposedly allied countries started threatening each other. The main question concerns how viable it is for Europe to be less reliant on world superpowers. That naturally leads to more general geopolitical chat before they conclude by discussing the business and societal implications of jobs being automated away by AI.

The lads were delighted to welcome special guest Ibrahim Eldeftar, who heads up Cognitive Software and Services at Ericsson. What does that mean, we hear you ask. Well listen in and all will be revealed. They start by explaining what rApps are and why we should care about them. The broader context for them is network automation, something that is being accelerated by recent developments in AI, so they explore that too, as well as Ericsson’s programmable networks strategy. They eventually move on to talk about AI in a broader context before concluding with a look at Nokia’s latest quarterly numbers.

The lads celebrate a premature end to dry January with a nip of Irish Whisky, courtesy of special guest Luke Kehoe of Ookla. Luke has been into all things telecoms since childhood, which leads to a broad and organic chat, encompassing smartphones, components, AI, and wearable technology. They eventually move on to discussing some of the big news from last week, concerning new EU legislation that affects telecoms and the drama involving US President Trump, before concluding with a look at Ericsson’s latest quarterly results.

The guys were delighted to welcome special guest, fellow hack Kieran Smith of the Financial Times, to another sober episode of the pod. Among Kieran’s areas of focus at the FT is the UK altnet sector, so, after reflecting on Iain’s underground field trip, they start with a deep dive into a market that looks set for significant consolidation and disruption this year. They eventually move on to reflect on the latest round of redundancies and what that says about the state of the industry, before concluding with a look at the recent spat between the UK and AI platform Grok.

The lads are back in the studio after an extended Christmas break and are managing to stay off the beers for a bit. After reflecting on the festive period and subsequent sobriety they start by reflecting on the CES tech trade show, which was dominated by talk of AI-powered robots. This prompts the inevitable agonising over the infusion of AI into everything and what that means for increasingly obsolete humans. They eventually move on to discuss one of Iain’s stories, which questions the real world utility of 5G standalone, before concluding by reflecting on the broader implications of recent US aggression towards Venezuela.