Robert Condon

At Money20/20 Europe this June, we spoke to Ella Guiladi of Ericsson Mobile Financial Services on the evolving landscape of digital finance & the promising future of telco-fintech partnerships. Find out more below in our exclusive interview. #Fintech #Telco #Cybersecurity

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As our policy makers and candidates ready themselves for the Election of a new Parliament, please consider what YOU will do to enable BT Group to deliver the digital infrastructure the UK needs to supercharge the UK's productivity. With limited manoeuvre for the next Government (whichever flavour) to increase funding to drive the productivity improvements the UK needs, enabling and accelerating the rollout of digital infrastructure needs to be high on the list of Top Priorities. We also need a sensible debate with policy makers on the recovery and removal of obsolete tech. This is a huge opportunity but needs planning support.

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Having given some thought to the spectrum policy questions posed by the European Commission's white paper "How to master Europe's digital infrastructure needs", especially in relation to strengthening EU coordination on auction timing, the thoughts of my colleague Janette Stewart and I are summarised in this article https://lnkd.in/eWFPmizV.

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As our policy makers and candidates ready themselves for the Election of a new Parliament, please consider what YOU will do to enable BT Group to deliver the digital infrastructure that will supercharge the UK's productivity. @BTGroup needs a fundamental shift in planning and policy to install and run the digital infrastructure we all deserve. With limited manoeuvre for the next Government (whichever flavour) to increase funding to drive the productivity improvements the UK needs, enabling and accelerating the rollout of digital infrastructure needs to be high on the list of Top Priorities. Also we need a sensible debate with policy makers on the recovery and removal of obsolete tech. This is a huge opportunity but needs planning support.

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I've recorded this short video segment about some key issues in telecoms policy and regulation, along with Information Labs and Caroline De Cock. I cover areas that regulators should be looking to enable, and also things to avoid. The video covers the need for new sources of investment in networks, new metrics & KPIs for telecoms, how to think about specific technologies - and how good analogies assist our thinking, but how badly-chosen metaphors can cause harm. #telecoms #5G #telecompolicy #regulation #satellite #spectrum

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Kudos to Linda Hardesty for asking the thoughtful questions! - A U.K. research group predicts that in 10 years many young people will have never subscribed to fixed-line broadband - They already satisfy most of their internet needs over their phones - 6G researchers say cellular will have the speeds and capacity to handle most users' broadband needs in 10 years In the words of T-Mobile CEO Mike Sievert, "Wireless is where the future lies." 🔮 Which all sorta begs the question,..how much of the $42 billion BEAD should be allocated to wireless infrastructure? 🤔 Maine Department of Economic and Community Development Maine Connectivity Authority Janet Mills Angus King U.S. Senator Susan Collins Rich Miner #genz #wireless #5G #6G #lastmile #broadband #internet #future #bead

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I've been attending an event by Rakuten Symphony this morning. The title was about redefining telecoms. While there was certainly some interesting and useful discussion, it actually emphasised how much the industry is struggling to redefine itself. Part of this the inertia and tyranny of legacy systems and thinking, partly the struggle to get by with restrained incomes. However, the lack of commercial decision-makers in the same room as voices involved in cost reduction and technology introduction is telling. Indeed, several speakers flagged up the breaking down of silos as crucial to really being able to make serious strides forward. It also limits what conversations and concepts are even on the table for future generations. What are consumers willing actively to pay for? A fresh focus on leveraging existing capabilities in new ways might be constructive. For example, telcos got spooked over location based services, but positioning and location are still potentially useful. And the insights which can be extracted from telco data are numerous: from a granular understanding of humidity or air quality to tiny ground vibrations tracking earthquakes/ traffic etc, just from network performance data. Building business cases and capabilities around this kind of stuff could be a real reinvention.

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A new substack, a home for my writing about tech, telco, networks, security and public policy. Let me know what you're interested in reading about. There is change on the horizon, we should be debating the benefits and pitfalls.

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NEW Following years of work, the US wireless industry appears poised to embrace rich messaging services based on the RCS standard. Now, some in the sector are turning their sights to rich calling services. Last year, the global GSMA wireless industry trade association issued a white paper on "5G New Calling" (5GNC). The document helps to lay out a vision of voice calling on steroids, a service that could combine video, text, images, documents and various audio services in a way that would "transform a regular call into a more rewarding or more efficient communication medium." The GSMA's document offers a handful of examples of what 5GNC might eventually support: Restaurants could deliver their menu to a caller over a voice call, essentially talking them through their options while the caller places their order. Retail stores could offer a real-time translation service that would deliver captioned comments atop a video call. Family members could use augmented reality calling that overlays effects onto each caller, such as "happy birthday" balloons in the background of a video call. And executives could share files and other documents inside of a voice call. The GSMA said that many such features could be delivered over a "mini app" structure using operators' IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) technologies. "The New Calling Mini-App is more akin to WebApps currently being defined in the W3C Consortium. A New Calling Mini-App is generally invoked during a call or prior to the completion of the call establishment to provide multiple features for users to improve their experience," the association wrote. MORE; https://lnkd.in/gnFMzYdi

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Last week i wrote that BT Group and EE had raised concerns about the forthcoming potential merger between Vodafone and Three UK, specifically around spectrum issues. Well, it seems the #MNOS are getting out in front of those issues with the announcement this morning of an extension to their network sharing organisation Cornerstone, but crucially with an agreement that the new enlarged entity would have an agreement to sell spectrum to Virgin Media O2. This may help with potential regulatory issues, plus the announcement that £11bn will be invested in #infrastructure is likely to go down well. #connectivity #networks #privatenetworks #private5g #investment #innovation #mnos #2g #3g #4g #5g #UK #towers #masts #realestate #growth #mobile #mobilenetworks #telecoms #telecommunications #technology Reuters https://lnkd.in/esTVb6VB

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Set to be a game-changer for the Indian telecommunication landscape, the Telecommunication Act, 2023, was enacted with the vision of heralding a new era of innovation, competition, and universal connectivity. This forward-looking legislation seeks to dismantle the decades-old cumbersome licensing regime, derived from the 138-year-old 1885 Telegraph Act, replacing it with a streamlined authorization framework that promises to simplify compliance and enhance consumer protection. The Act addresses several long-standing ease-of-doing business (EoDB) issues, such as the right of way (RoW) hurdles; establishment of Digital Bharat Nidhi (erstwhile Universal Service Obligation Fund) to support services in underserved rural, remote, and urban areas; administrative allocation of satellite spectrum; utilization of spectrum in​a  technologically neutral manner; protection against unsolicited communication for users; concerns of telecommunication cyber security, encryption and data processing, among others. My article in Communications Today - "Authorising change from 1885 Telegraph to modern day telecom - TRAI's blueprint for India's 'Future-ready telecom sector’" Read the complete article here: https://lnkd.in/gztnFUax Broadband India Forum Department of Telecommunications ( DOT ) Telecom Regulatory Authority of India(TRAI) #Telegraphact #telecomact2023 #EoDB #RoW #digitalbharatnidhi #authorization #1951 #telegraphrule #VSAT #cug #VNO #DCIP

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Today we have published a report looking at the current state of the UK broadband market as we all look towards Ofcom's upcoming market review. We advocate for three crucial areas to safeguard the UKs digital future: 1 A stable regulatory environment which continues to attract much-needed investment in the UK’s digital infrastructure. 2 A regulatory framework which ensures a consistent and equitable playing field for all operators. 3 A market characterised by sustainable competition rather than fragmented sub-scale operators. #digitalinfrastructure #fullfibre

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🤝 UKTIN exists to connect difficult-to-find relationships for new entrants to the market. UKTIN trainer, Christopher Pett, explains why we new voices, technology, and intellectual property to enter the telecoms sector as fast as possible. He also shares his insights on: 🛰️ How the telecoms industry is currently evolving ⚡ The technologies that will provide the solutions of the future 🗺 How early-stage deep tech companies can find a route into telecoms Read more: https://lnkd.in/e3GaJ9st #AI #Blockchain #CyberSecurity #Quantum #Space #Telecoms #Photonics

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This is worth a read, in my humble opinion. A piece I put together for VanillaPlus based on our recent Position Paper with ng-voice about the need for IoT connectivity providers to include a scalable native IP voice service (VoLTE/VoNR) in their portfolio. #IoT

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Note that Telia, which she previously ran, does not own most of the infrastructures over which it operates. Does the cut back in BT capex indicate that BT will similarly become an anchor tenant for many of its current full-fibre competitors? If so, we can expect a win-win for all concerned, provided Ofcom does not get in the way by seeking to regulate the process of competition grounds. #INCA #FCS #DPA https://lnkd.in/eS8eGfQP

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Telecom finally looks like a stable sector after years of consolidation & leverage issues now gearing up for a tariff hike. My favourite exclusive break Vodafone-Idea merger shook the industry #throwback here reminiscing those historic days of telecom industry’s structural changes & am glad I was a participant in some way :) #telecom #merger #acquisition #consolidation #stocks #exclusive #newsbreak

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We have just published the first results from our Q3 2024 consumer survey (links in the comments below). We surveyed 20,000 people across 18 countries asking about the telecoms services and service providers they use. This is teaser from that data, showing the providers with the highest NPS for a few, selected countries. The full deliverable has NPS, plus other measures (satisfaction with price, network etc.) for almost 200 service providers. MVNOs and challengers continue to dominate the top spot in most countries, but established operators also do well in certain countries. We will be producing plenty more on this data in the coming months, starting with a series of country reports. Let me if you have questions or would like more information. A couple of notes on the data: we only include providers where the sample was large enough to be reliable (T-Mobile's FWA offer is excluded for this reason); cultural differences mean that you should not compare the results across countries (that is, we cannot say that Consumer Cellular is 'better' than Tesco Mobile simply because it has a higher NPS).

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Scoop: Multiple sources familiar with the matter said Ericsson is winding down Emodo, the advertising business it launched in 2017. "With Emodo's business shifting away from mobile operators, the strategic fit for Ericsson has been reduced in recent years," an Ericsson spokesperson said in a statement. "Furthermore, despite a significant effort from the team to gain momentum, Emodo has not achieved key financial goals for the business." So once again the marriage between telco and adtech hasn't been a long-lasting one. For adtech, it's seemed like a dream combination to piece together validated user and location data from mobile carriers for use in marketing. But telcos are often hesitant to make big swings with sensitive user info and the culture doesn't always jive with the fast-paced ad industry. Read more at Business Insider https://lnkd.in/e5McJY7u #adtech #ericsson #emodo #mobileads

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