Telecoms.com Podcast

Join an engaging discussion as the hosts dive into China's DeepSeek, exploring its implications in the AI race against the US. With laughter and Terminator references, they analyze Nokia's impressive quarterly performance amidst shifting telecom dynamics. Plus, there's a humorous take on Meta's attempts to mend fences with Trump. From personal anecdotes about sobriety to the intertwining of telecom and AI, this conversation blends serious insights with lighthearted banter, making complex topics accessible and entertaining.

In the last relatively sober pod of the month, the lads are delighted to welcome special guest Jussi from Hamina Wireless. Pausing only to introduce Iain to the Finnish drink lonkero, Jussi introduces his company’s focus on the optimisation of wifi. That leads to plenty of tangents around indoor connectivity, private 5G, etc, before they eventually move on to discuss Ericsson’s latest quarterly numbers and conclude with a look at America’s big Stargate AI infrastructure announcement.

Finally back in the studio, the lads are joined by Paul from CC Group PR and his colleague Rich, who ensures an extra long recording by his constant interruptions. They start by talking about an imminent webinar, hosted by CC and featuring elite telecoms hacks, that aims to set the scene for the Mobile World Congress trade show, leading to plenty of tangents around the show, journalism, and PR in general. They eventually move on to cover a couple telecoms moans about how rubbish the EU is, before concluding with a review of a new book about Huawei.

The hosts dive into the ongoing US-China dynamics, spotlighting Huawei's pivotal role amidst geopolitical tensions. They share personal reflections on Dry January and discuss innovation stagnation at CES. The rise of Open RAN in telecom sparks a debate on industry shifts, and there's a humorous take on the hypothetical future of Canada as the 51st state. Attention also turns to AI's integration in tech and the implications for free speech, particularly regarding Meta's evolving stance on censorship in the current digital landscape.

The podcast year culminates in its traditional Christmas quiz, hosted by Elena from Liberty Communications. Pausing only to reflect on a big day out for Iain and Scott the day before and a farcical attempt to use a beer hat just before recording, they eventually get into the quiz. Expect rabid competitiveness, buzzer drama, and unbridled tangents, but you’ll have to listen to the end to find out who wins. Have a great Christmas and see you in the (sober for a bit) new year.

Two hosts share insights from a lunch with Nokia and the AI startup Nscale, highlighting its promise in the booming data center arena. They discuss the turbulent state of Open RAN technology, examining investment hesitations and revenue drops. An emerging data center venture takes center stage with its innovative GPU-as-a-service model. The conversation also touches on the competitive dynamics within the telecom industry, underscoring the challenges and opportunities around mobile data growth and energy strategies in the Nordics.

The lads are feeling the pace after a busy few days but find the energy for the second pod of the week, this time featuring special guest Jim Fagan, CEO of EXA Infrastructure. They start by learning more about Jim’s company, during which they learn a lot about fibre, datacentres and much more. That eventually leads to a discussion about subsea cables and why people keep sabotaging them, before they conclude by reviewing the Salt Typhoon and Vodaphone/Three news.

This unprecedented episode of the pod not only took place in the middle of the week, but also featured a dialled-in special guest in addition to Ray from Cohere in the studio. They start by finding out what Cohere does (spoiler alert: it has invented some cleverness that makes better use of radio waves), which gets into the weeds regarding radio technology in general. Cohere recently won a Glotel award in partnership with Vodafone Spain, so they eventually patch in Paco from that company to join the fun, before concluding with some broader musing about the future direction of the industry.

One of the pod’s most regular guests – William Webb – returns because he’s written yet another book. They start by exploring the core theme of his book, which is that 6G is currently headed in the wrong direction and his proposal for a course correction. They eventually move on another of William’s favourite topics – the slowdown in global mobile data growth, before concluding with a look at Nokia replacing Huawei at Deutsche Telekom.

Just Iain and Scott this week as they record ahead of the Glotel Awards evening. Pausing only to reflect on Iain’s hangover they start by discussing claims that T-Mobile US may be on the verge of ditching Nokia as a RAN vendor, which largely revolve around the pros and cons of using fans to keep things cool. They eventually move on to a story Iain wrote examining US vendor Mavenir’s struggles with 5G, before moving on to Scott’s pet topic of how geopolitics impacts the telecoms sector.