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Windstream CMO: SD-WAN stalled, not squashed by pandemic Sep 15, 2021

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Windstream CMO Mike Flannery joins the podcast to discuss why enterprises didn't deploy SD-WAN as widely as the industry anticipated they would at the start of the pandemic. Flannery explains how concerns around cost and ease of use stalled SD-WAN deployments for remote workers, but the tide is changing as remote access tools improve and enterprises budget for a long-term distributed workforce. "Organizations still had quite a bit of their overhead tied up in physical locations and networking services," explains Flannery. "Investment in a home-based SD-WAN would have been a materially additive cost at a time when business revenues were under pressure as a result of the pandemic." In addition, Flannery shares insights on whether customers are on board with and fully comprehend SASE, the networking and security convergence trend recently coined by Gartner. He also explains which industries have been more bullish about readily adopting SASE and SD-WAN.

The Leading Lights finalists: Part I Sep 15, 2021

Show notes

Light Reading's editors are in the middle of judging the 2021 Leading Lights Awards and this is the first in a three-part podcast series discussing the Leading Lights finalists. On this podcast, Light Reading's Phil Harvey, Kelsey Ziser and Mike Dano discuss trends they're seeing, what's happening in the awards categories that they're judging and what they've learned from the contest entries as they dig in and prepare to announce this year's winners. The categories covered in this podcast include: Best New Open RAN ProductMost Innovative Hybrid Networking StrategyMost Innovative SD-WAN Product/Service EvolutionOutstanding Use Case: Service Provider Security (can include SD-WAN)Best New 5G Core ProductMost Innovative 4G/5G Business ServiceMost Innovative 4G/5G Consumer ServiceOutstanding Use Case: Edge ComputingBest New Optical Networking/IP ProductCompany of the Year (Private)The Light Reading Hall of FameOutstanding Optical/IP Networking Components Vendor

Matrixx CTO: How modern charging, billing unlocks new mobile services Sep 14, 2021

Show notes

Marc Price, CTO of Matrixx Software, joins the podcast to explain how operators can rethink traditional mobile pricing models for 5G services. Price recently spoke at Light Reading's BIG 5G Event to discuss new monetization opportunities and the benefits of an open cloud-native network core for 5G. Price explains how Matrixx is supporting Visible, the MVNO run by Verizon, and why that approach fits a growing market that wants customer service on completely different terms. "It's much more like the Amazon experience. As customers procure a service or want a new feature … it's all done directly through the phone and the service," Price said. Price also recounts Matrixx's work with Australian service provider Telstra on digital billing services. "Telstra uses Matrixx for the lion share of [Australian] customers, and because of the real-time experience, they realize that there's no reason to separate pre-paid and post-paid customers," said Price. This shift has improved the customer experience, reduced the number of calls to customer service and thereby saved Telstra money, he said.

Big 5G Recap: Going hybrid in the mile-high city Sep 14, 2021

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Light Reading's Jeff Baumgartner and Mike Dano join Phil Harvey to recap the Big 5G Event and discuss what has happened lately with in-person events, what seems to be working well as folks start traveling more and how things could be just a little bit better in these "new normal" times.

How 'as a service' might supercharge private 5G Sep 13, 2021

Show notes

The private wireless networking trend has been a hot-button issue in the global wireless industry for months now. The notion, after all, is tantalizing: What if software and equipment vendors could sell their networking wares to enterprises, utilities, ports and other such customers in addition to wireless network operators? Already, some vendors believe the space is showing signs of maturity. "Private 5G is really taking off," said Todd Krautkremer, CMO of private networking equipment vendor Cradlepoint. Ericsson acquired the company last year in a $1.1 billion deal. Krautkremer explained that the sector is growing in part because of the new business models available to potential customers, specifically the "as a service" model. It allows schools, government agencies and other private 5G networking customers to pay for their networking needs under an "as you need it," Netflix-style model, rather than buying the network outright as one might a DVD. "People want the value of private 5G but they don't want to build a mini carrier network," Krautkremer explained. "They want it to act a lot like Wi-Fi does in the enterprise."

Verizon's Peselli on enterprises' evolving network consumption model Sep 13, 2021

Show notes

Massimo Peselli, SVP of Global Enterprise for Verizon Business, provides insight into how the pandemic has changed the way "enterprises consume the network." "Over the last 18 months we developed this concept of network-as-a-service, which is our response to cloudification of the application," says Peselli. "It's basically a concept where customers are consuming the network on a consumption-based model." Peselli explains how customers can utilize Verizon's cloud to reduce the hardware needed to support their network operations, and how 5G is advancing the network-as-a-service approach. This interview was recorded at the Big 5G Event in Denver.

Private 5G represents 'turning point' for John Deere Sep 13, 2021

Show notes

John Deere's Kiel Ronning provides some fresh insight into how 5G-powered private networks are weaving their way into smart manufacturing, enabling the company to take advantage of low latencies, speed and other important performance metrics that make factories run more efficiently and flexibly. Ronning also considers how private networks will play into John Deere's short- and long-term plans and how the company can integrate IoT devices into private network environments. "We think this is a key turning point for us to ... introduce cellular connectivity in our factories so that we can take advantage of the low-latency, high-bandwidth and QoS components that come with that," he says. This interview was recorded during the Big 5G Event in Denver.

Light Reading Recap: Week ending Sept. 10 Sep 13, 2021

Show notes

Last week's telecom news highlights included more trouble for Norwegian operator Telenor as it moves away from Myanmar. We also muse about the changing shape of Verizon's deal with the NFL and why 5G networks are still struggling to prove their worth to consumers.

AT&T's Katibeh on bridging the digital divide Sep 10, 2021

Show notes

Mo Katibeh, SVP of network infrastructure and build for AT&T, examines several new use cases for how the service provider is addressing the 5G customer experience for both consumers and enterprises. "In 2020, we achieved 200 million people, or PoPs, covered with our sub-6GHz 5G, and across the last year we've been able to expand that out from 200 to 250 million people across 500 markets, so very broad availability," said Katibeh. Katibeh also speaks to AT&T's efforts to close the digital divide and what's next for the operator's future fiber and 5G network buildouts. "Over the last few years, we've committed over $1 billion toward closing the digital divide," said Katibeh. "Across the next three years, we're going to commit $2 billion," Katibeh says AT&T's approach to the digital divide includes providing affordable broadband to areas with limited Internet access, through charitable contributions and also assisting students in accessing broadband to complete their homework from any location. In addition, AT&T is working with customers to deploy new 5G use cases across a number of verticals, including agriculture – one use case Katibeh mentioned centered around deploying IoT sensors to improve wine production. AT&T also recently teamed up with an AR application that makes the "images jump off the page" in children's books, said Katibeh.

The Divide: New map shows 60M Americans lack Internet Sep 09, 2021

Show notes

On this episode, we hear from Eric Frank, CEO of LightBox – a real estate information and technology platform – on his company's just-released nationwide Internet connectivity map, revealing that roughly 60 million Americans are disconnected. That number far exceeds the FCC's most recent estimate of 14.5 million. We discuss the various data sources that went into producing LightBox's map, what it tells us about the bigger picture of the digital divide in the US, and how LightBox hopes to use its map to work with the FCC and state governments on closing the broadband gap.

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