Light Reading Podcasts

This week: Mission Telecom's Mark Colwell and Computers 4 People's Dylan Zajac discuss their non-profit efforts to connect communities in need to broadband, including through their recently launched Shield 5G Home Hotspot. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

ESG's Jim Frey joins the podcast to discuss why developing the right tools to provide oversight and coordination across agentic and GenAI technologies will be key to network planning and performance. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Light Reading's Mike Dano joins the podcast to discuss the FCC's planned investigation into EchoStar's nationwide 5G network buildout, why it matters (and why it seems 'gross') and what to watch for next. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dell'Oro's Jeff Heynen joins the podcast to discuss how the uncertainty swirling around BEAD cast a shadow at Fiber Connect 2025 and how vendors are gearing up for an MDU revival. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week: Marissa Mitrovich, VP of public policy at the Fiber Broadband Association (FBA), on the growth of FTTH access across the US, the state of the BEAD program and what's on tap for the 2025 Fiber Connect conference. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this podcast, Heavy Reading analyst Sterling Perrin sits down with Ciena's Sr. Director of Product Line Management, Rafael Francis, and VP, Product Line Management, Tim Pearson, to review the key findings and what they mean for the future of coherent routing in telecom.For additional information, the related Heavy Reading white paper with the full survey results can be accessed here: https://www.ciena.com/insights/white-papers/ip-over-dwdm-global-survey-analysis Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Light Reading's Jeff Baumgartner joins the podcast to discuss the $34.5 billion Charter-Cox merger, what the deal means for the companies and sectors involved, and what risks and opportunities for the deal are on the horizon. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on Telecom East, Ross O'Brien of Delta Analysis talks about Huawei's challenge to Nvidia, Samsung's chips problems and how a small operator in the Philippines lost its spectrum. Then, Marc Einstein from Counterpoint Research joins to discuss Japan's telecom landscape. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There comes a point when the adage "there's an app for that" becomes too on-the-nose.Enterprises need to be able to manage numerous networking and security applications from multiple vendors, but balancing multiple APIs and licenses across those applications creates complexity, Nabil Bukhari, CTO of Extreme Networks, told Light Reading at the company's Extreme Connect event in Paris this week.During this podcast, Bukhari explains the challenges enterprises face in networking and security application management and how the use of AI can simplify network automation and connectivity. But, AI should be used for more than just automating tasks, it should also automate business outcomes, he adds. That could mean "automating the entire process your [networking and security] teams would do anyway" by using AI to troubleshoot problems, remediate issues and catalogue the steps AI took to solve the issue, he says. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week: Angela Siefer, executive director of the National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA), on the impact of President Trump 'ending' the $2.75 billion Digital Equity Act and how advocates can fight to restore it. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Light Reading's Mike Dano joins the podcast to discuss how the 'rip-and-replace' program led to an odd network launch plan for Gogo, plus broader impacts of the federal program's delayed implementation and what to expect next. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week: Joshua Edmonds, CEO of DigitalC, on the nonprofit ISP's history providing connectivity and digital skills training in Cleveland, and how DigitalC is working to meet its subscriber goals and commitments to the city. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode: Light Reading editors discuss Trump's tariff policies and their immediate impact on telecom, how the industry is reacting to rampant uncertainty and how things might change in the next several months. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Telecom East podcast hosts Robert Clark and Ross O'Brien analyze the mobile industry's 6G reset and dissect Huawei's latest financial numbers. Later, they discuss the hot Southeast Asian data center business with Lionel Yeo from STT GDC. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week: Missouri State Rep. Louis Riggs and Benton's Drew Garner join the podcast to discuss their collaborative effort with over 100 state lawmakers to urge the Trump administration to let states proceed with BEAD. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Christian Nascimento explains how Comcast Business has expanded the capabilities of a 'dedicated' Internet service armed with symmetrical speeds and service level agreements across both HFC and FTTP. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Verizon's Shamik Basu explains how the service provider is working with customers to manage their Internet of Things (IoT) infrastructure, and why the operator is partnering with Skylo and Singtel to expand IoT connectivity. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week: How the Delta Montrose Electric Association used federal funds and fiber-deploying horses to bring broadband to rural regions of Montrose County, Colorado, including Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Michael Collette, the new CEO of Run3TV, discusses how the company's app framework is setting the stage for a wave of apps and services to run on ATSC 3.0, the new IP-based broadcast platform that's been branded as 'NextGen TV.' Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this podcast Nokia's Geert Heyninck dives into the future of fiber broadband, exploring the latest trends, the rise of multi-gigabit speeds, technological advancements, and real-world use cases shaping the industry. Whether you're an operator, enterprise, or tech enthusiast, stay ahead of the curve with discussions on the next-generation broadband. #sponsored Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

'SuperFrank' Copsidas discusses why low-power TV stations are keen on 5G Broadcast and explains why he's confident that 5G Broadcast tech is poised to be featured in a wide array of smartphones. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

PwC's Dallas Dolen digs into the financial impact the tech, media and telecom sectors could see in the wake of President Trump's sweeping tariffs and weighs in on what companies might do to mitigate their effects. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

During the Cable Next-Gen Technologies & Strategies conference, cable execs discussed using AI and ML to improve customer experience, how their mobile service offerings are performing and why some are deploying DOCSIS 3.1 over 4.0. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nokia's Vice President and General Manager for the Optical Networks Division, James Watt, discusses key challenges for hyperscalers and data center operators, and how the combined optical networking expertise and capabilities of Nokia and Infinera will create differentiated value in the era of AI. #sponsored Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosts Robert Clark and Ross O'Brien look at China's parallel digital universe and Jio's global O-RAN ambitions, and they speak with Dell'Oro's Stefan Pongratz about the massive drop-off in the RAN market. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this podcast, John Deere's Jason Wallin explains the company's strategy for deploying private 5G at its Davenport Works connected factory and why the company deployed two digital twins at the facility. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week: Ryan Polk and Steve Song from the Internet Society join the podcast to discuss the rise in subsea cable cuts and the role of resilient Internet infrastructure in preventing and recovering from outages. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this podcast, Nokia's Stephan Litjens explains how the private network landscape is changing, and how Nokia partners with service providers to address the private network needs of enterprise customers. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this Light Reading Extra podcast, Verizon Frontline's Maggie Hallbach explains how the service provider is supporting the delivery of data insights and providing smaller temporary mobile assets to assist first responders during natural disasters. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this Light Reading Extra podcast, SES' Nadine Allen explains how the satellite operator is applying AI, ML and SDN to improve application and network performance, and how the company is providing connectivity to underserved areas. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Verizon CTO Yago Tenorio joins the podcast to discuss how the service provider is bringing AI capabilities closer to customers, and why it's working with AT&T and T-Mobile on developing telco APIs. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Opensignal's Sylwia Kechiche joins the podcast to explain what customers really want from their wireless service providers, and why fixed wireless access (FWA) is a growing 5G use case. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode features Dr. Paroma Sanyal, principal at the Brattle Group, a consultancy working on a range of issues including telecom, finance and consumer protection. We discuss a study released by the Brattle Group last month exploring the economic benefits of broadband and the massive economic savings offered by the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), which ran out of funding in 2024. For healthcare alone, the Brattle Group found that, by enabling access to telehealth, the ACP would have saved an estimated $28.9 billion to $29.5 billion in annual healthcare costs, or "quadruple the annual funding" ($7.3 billion) to run the ACP. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosts Robert Clark and Ross O'Brien cover SK Telecom's AI revenues, Goldman Sachs tapping into Asia's data center boom and some 5G standalone stats. They're joined by Telstra CEO Roary Stasko to discuss the role of the global cable operator in the age of hyperscalers and how to deal with subsea cable threats. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How cable company Optimum prepares for inclement weather, and why extreme heat can create the most network management headaches. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Light Reading's editors discuss what they've seen and experienced at MWC Barcelona as the telco industry continues its years-long push to tame artificial intelligence and machine learning while ushering in a world where networks connect a little more smoothly via APIs and more broadly via satellite clusters. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Boingo CEO Mike Finley joins Senior Editor Kelsey Ziser in a brief chat at MWC Barcelona to discuss the company's advancements in providing connectivity to large venues and stadiums. He highlights how Boingo can use AI to improve network monitoring and how venues can provide advanced services with robust networks underpinning their operations. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

At MWC Barcelona, AT&T's Scott Agnew, president of FirstNet, discusses the public safety network's capabilities and technology direction as competitors attempt to make inroads in the market. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Brian Hurley joins the podcast ahead of the ACA Connects Summit (March 4-6) to preview this year's conference, the trade group's overarching message of 'let's build' and what policy changes ACA is pushing in pursuit of that goal. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of the Light Reading Podcast, EXA Infrastructure CEO Jim Fagan examined what's driving new data center launches and demand for data center interconnect services. While AI plays a role in this shift, demand for cloud services is also increasing. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ericsson CTO Erik Ekudden is optimistic about growth in the fixed wireless access, AI and private networks market. But, competition is fierce and enterprises still need convincing to ramp up deployments of private 5G networks. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Policy expert and former FCC official Blair Levin joins the podcast to discuss changes on the horizon for BEAD, spectrum policy, US broadband strategy, USF reform and much more amid the new Trump administration and a new FCC. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Peter Jarich, head of GSMA Intelligence, joins the podcast to discuss the organization's new study focused on carriers AI strategies, what carriers are spending on AI and what kind of returns they hope to get from AI strategies. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Facing subscriber losses and rising competition, Comcast and Charter are adopting low-latency tech and convergence strategies to stand out in broadband. They're also exploring a video refresh. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Light Reading met with Verizon on-site at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans to get a closer look at the network infrastructure the operator has installed to ensure fans can post selfies to social media and send updates to friends and family. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Danielle Perry, board member at the National Lifeline Association (NaLA), joins the podcast to discuss the results of NaLA's consumer survey showing the significant consequences felt by low-income Americans since the ACP ended. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Copper network retirement and transition initiatives are 'definitely picking up,' says TXO's Dave Evans. TXO, which aids such projects, believes this represents a $7 billion opportunity to telcos based on current copper prices. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week: Angela Siefer, executive director, National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA), joins the podcast to discuss the group's plans to use federal grant funding to support digital navigator programs and more. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Many direct-to-device messaging services remain in the development stage, and the market for D2D messaging is small. That makes the ROI for these services hazy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Evolution Digital CEO Chris Egan on why his company's investment in Ubiety could clear a new way for Evolution's broadband partners to differentiate and generate more value from their services. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

At CES, Light Reading chatted with Xumo President Marcien Jenckes about the performance of Xumo's smart TV business, plans for retail and market expansion, and the company's 'deep interest' in exploring the operator distribution model for Xumo TVs. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.