Light Reading Podcasts

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jennifer Artley, SVP of Strategic Initiatives for Verizon Business, catches up with Light Reading after her keynote on Verizon's private 5G network deployment at the Port of Southampton, the UK's largest port.Southampton struggled to provide reliable Wi-Fi onsite and partnered with Verizon and Nokia to become the first mainland UK port with access to a 5G network. The UK port now uses 3.7GHz spectrum, which is similar to the midband C-band in the US. In addition, the network spans seven transmission sites running Nokia equipment, whereas the port's Wi-Fi network uses 200 access points."With this private 5G network, we closed those [Wi-Fi] dark spots completely in a more cost-effective way than it would have been to put fiber in place," said Artley.The first use case tested at the port on the private 5G network centered around health and safety by using drones to inspect cranes after storms.Artley also explains how Verizon is collaborating with other verticals to improve customer experience through 5G deployments.This interview was recorded at the Big 5G Event in Denver. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

One of the FCC's former commissioners believes that Congress is poised to quickly approve around $65 billion in infrastructure spending on broadband in the US.However, he cautioned that telecom industry executives may have to wait for a year or more before they can expect to receive a portion of that funding."We're weeks away from something passing," Mike O'Rielly, a former FCC commissioner who is now principal at MPORielly Consulting, said.But he said the money contained in that legislation will likely be contingent on the FCC developing new maps showing the location of broadband services in the US. "Most of the money now is tied to new FCC maps," he explained. This interview was recorded at the Big 5G Event in Denver. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Gordon Mansfield, AT&T's vice president of converged access and device technology, joined us here to offer an update on the company's deployment of a 5G standalone core and the anticipated benefits that will come from it. Mansfield also shed more light on AT&T's C-band spectrum deployment, the company's plans for open RAN and how AT&T's fiber buildout fits in with the company's network and service convergence strategy. This interview was recorded at the Big 5G Event in Denver. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Boingo CTO Derek Peterson provides an update on the company's partnerships with service providers on 5G deployments and how Boingo is supporting contactless experiences at airports. In addition, Peterson shares Boingo's approach to private networks and offers a sneak peek on his panel about virtualizing the 5G core. This interview was recorded at the Big 5G Event in Denver. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sidd Chenumolu, Dish Network's vice president of technology development, offers an update on the company's national 5G network buildout and what Dish hopes to learn as it moves ahead with its first 5G service deployment in Las Vegas. Chenumolu also illuminates why Dish is a big proponent of open RAN, why interoperability is critical, and how Dish is positioning itself as the prime system integrator for its ambitious 5G network rollout. This interview was recorded during the Big 5G Event 2021 in Denver and first published on Light Reading. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Lumen's Mike Benjamin joins the podcast to discuss the recent ReverseRAT update, a malware scheme that was used to target government and energy-sector organizations in India and Afghanistan. Benjamin and his team at Lumen's security research division, Black Lotus Labs, have been closely following the Remote Access Trojan (RAT) threat. The new iteration ReverseRAT web camera access and the ability to steal files via USB drives, explains Benjamin. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Stephen Stokols, the Dish Network executive in charge of the company's growing camp of mobile brands, said Dish might not be done buying mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs). This interview was recorded at the Big 5G Event in Denver on September 1. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, we hear from Wanda Tankersley, chief operating officer (COO) at MTA (or Matanuska Telecom Association), a telecommunications co-op in Alaska. We discuss the unique middle-mile challenges to providing broadband in a rural and rugged state like Alaska, as well as the company's AlCan ONE project, the first all-terrestrial fiber line connecting Alaska to the Lower 48. We also get into MTA's recent efforts to connect students to high-speed Internet, the impact of supply chain and labor shortages on its plans to expand, and more.[Ed. note: Tankersley refers to MTA's coverage area as the size of West Virginia; however, the correct size comparison is the state of Massachusetts.] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This podcast will explore some of the key trends driving telecommunications networks, the challenges and opportunities for network operators, and how new innovations in optical transmission technology are helping to move the industry forward and enable exciting new services.This podcast is sponsored by Infinera. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.