Jesse W.

Join experts from Ciena, TeleGeography, and Colt on May 21 at 10:00 Eastern Time for a live webinar discussing growth in bandwidth demand that is driving new technologies and new trans-Atlantic cables.

7

Telecom vendor selection isn't the same as other procurement. So if your vendor selection process tries to: - Only factor in price, - Rely on outdated information, - Overlook location-specific coverage... ...expect it to create sub-optimal connectivity at best, business disruption at worst. This one-size-fits-all approach might work in centralized procurement but in telecom - it falls short. Which is why I'm equal parts surprised & not surprised it's so common. Surprised because it's clearly the wrong approach. But also not surprised because it's easy to see how we got here... Telecom used to be very centralized. And, at that time, this made perfect sense. The carriers were limited. The options were standardized. Most services didn't leave the bounds of the office. These stakeholders needed to be able to control costs. The process supported that. It was only when remote work did end-users start having sway over connectivity decisions. In response, telecom procurement corrected course. But it over-corrected. And now the correction needs correcting. I'm not saying throw out procurement best practices. But I am saying that it should enable productivity as quickly & efficiently as possible. Eliminate the guesswork. Keep the oversight.

1

Private connectivity fabric is the key to unlocking the full potential of AI. Learn why more and more leaders are turning to this innovative solution from Lumen Technologies:

1

With power comes responsibility, and as T-Mobile continues to shine and transform the industry, we know our actions have an impact. Which is why we make it our responsibility to be a force for good in our business and communities.    Here are a few of my favorite Corporate Social Responsibility accomplishments from 2023: https://lnkd.in/gYmzZrsD

159

4 Comments

Breaking #BuyAmerica #BABA News!! Nokia today announced that it became the first technology vendor to self-certify its fiber products manufactured in the U.S., ensuring each meets the requirements outlined in the BABA compliance and self-certification guidelines for the #BEAD program that were issued last week. BEAD Applicants can now obtain a Certification Letter from Nokia to prove BABA compliance. Click here for Nokia's list of self-certified products. https://lnkd.in/gXWPCUxf Operators and infrastructure players seeking to participate in BEAD and the $42.45bn of available funding will need to ensure - under federal penalty - that certain fiber broadband equipment used in their network buildouts are manufactured in the U.S. To help, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) created a self-certification and compliance framework for manufacturers, allowing each to show its products meet these requirements. Manufacturers that complete the self-certification process are added to a list managed by the Department of Commerce. Focused on reducing the number of fraudulent claims of BABA compliance, the list requires manufacturers to have an officer of the company certify - under fine or imprisonment - that its products are Buy America-compliant. Manufacturers must also be able to provide a BABA certification letter to subgrantees for audit purposes. #internetforall #broadband #digitaldivide #grants #broadbandaccess

114

6 Comments

I enjoyed the discussion and insights from GSMA and others on Private 5G deployment use cases and what it takes to drive adoption.

16

1 Comment

More accolades for T-Mobile from the latest Open Signal report! We swept EVERY category for overall network experience, with upload speed experience more than 2x faster than AT&T and over 1.5x faster than Verizon. Download speed experience is over 3x faster than Verizon and 2.7x faster than AT&T. We also won in #5GExperience categories including download speed and #5G availability, with our users spending over 5x more time connected to 5G than AT&T users and over 8x more than Verizon. See the full list of the latest wins: https://t-mo.co/4cKOO2W #5GConnectivity

23

Lumen: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly Lumen is enjoying a Renaissance under new CEO, Kate Johnson. She recognized the hard truth that Lumen had too much debt and managed to sell the South American and European assets above fair value to Colt and one other player. Less widely known is that Lumen sold off its ILEC business to Brightspeed for $7.5 billion. In addition, she is focusing on fibre-to-the-home deployment as opposed to trying to protect legacy twisted copper wire assets. Many telecom CEOs are unable to make the hard choice of cannibalizing or selling slow growth PSTN services like POTs and DSL in order to deploy new, technologically more advanced services. But the stock market approves the strategy as far sighted. Furthermore, Johnson has recognized that Lumen should finally integrate its five networks into one. These five networks reflect purchases of distressed assets that previous CEOs made over 15 years ago, including Qwest Communications, Time Warner Telecom, Global Crossing, and others. Integration is estimated to slash network expenses by a billion USD a year. If Lumen has integrated these assets in a timely fashion, Lumen's shareholders would be about $15 billion dollars richer today. It would still have its international assets and be a global player. Kate Johnson is making Lumen's focus the AI industry. This is good marketing and investors are likely to buy it short term. Nonetheless, AI has all the marking of a gigantic bubble as the revenue potential of generative AI is limited and certainly not great enough to justify the massive investments in the sector. Large language models are simply gigantic nonlinear statistical models that ape whatever language samples are used to estimate them. Reasoning ability is extremely limited. If a model was estimated using Donald Trump's tweets, it would insist that the 2020 election was stolen and that he is the most oppressed man on the planet. This so-called AI is basically regurgitation. It will be sensible if trained on the Wall Street and New York Times or downright crazy if trained on the proceedings of the Flat Earth Society. It is likely Lumen will benefit from being a partner of the Digital Titans, but I suspect the growth benefit will peter out in a few years when AI undergoes its own crisis just like the bursting of the dotcom bubble in 2000. I would focus more on reducing head count as transport and transit services can be profitable, but only if the company is lean and mean. I wish Lumen the best of luck. #lumen #renaissance #integration #leverage #katejohnson #ai

8

This public admission illustrates the managerial challenges facing the wholesale telecommunications industry. Lumen has five separate networks as result of the acquisition of Qwest (2010), Time Warner Networks (2014), Lumen itself, Centurylink (2017), and Global Crossing (2011). Many of these acquisitions included a lot of debt and because the networks were not integrated, network costs have remained much higher than necessary. Lumen management just recently announced they plan to assimilate all these separate assets into one, unified network. Note that all these acquisitions should have been integrated immediately, not 14 to 7 years after the fact. We are looking at probably a cumulative loss of $10 billion on the bottom line due to the integration delays. Done promptly, integration would have kept Lumen a global player with South American and European assets all of which have been sold. On the bright side, if network savings are a billion dollars a year, this would help reinvigorate Lumen and give it a brighter future. #lumen #networks #integration #opex #savings #synergies

37

5 Comments

CompaxDigital teams up with T-Mobile to empower US MVNOs CompaxDigital, a leader in digital solutions for the telecommunications industry, has announced a strategic agreement with T-Mobile establishing a relationship aimed at enabling Mobile Virtual Network Operators (#MVNO) across the United States. The collaboration will leverage T-Mobile's network alongside Compax’s advanced BSS/ i-new OSS platform, empowering MVNOs with complete end-to-end services they need to thrive in an increasingly competitive market, delivering seamless connectivity and next-generation experience to their customers. Frank von Seth, CEO of i-new at CompaxDigital said: “Our work with T-Mobile is a testament to our dedication to providing MVNOs and BrandVNOs with the best tools and solutions available. Together, we will enable a new era of connectivity that prioritizes flexibility, scalability, and customer satisfaction.” Dan Thygesen, SVP & GM of T-Mobile Wholesale and head of T-Mobile’s growing wholesale business, added, “We are thrilled to join with CompaxDigital to empower MVNOs with America’s largest 5G network. This exciting collaboration underscores T-Mobile’s commitment to customer-centric solutions and will enable CompaxDigital to deliver exceptional connectivity, remove barriers to innovation, and create more opportunities as their customers evolve.” The collaboration between CompaxDigital and T-Mobile is set to launch in the first months of 2025, with initial MVNOs expected to be onboarded swiftly.

14

1 Comment

Since connectivity is key to survival, learn how Windstream can support your always-on journey with robust networking solutions: https://okt.to/NrBn9l #BusinessGrowth #SDWAN #BusinessContinuity #NetworkConnectivity #TeamWE

3

Lycamobile is asking the FCC and the US Department of Justice to intervene in its fight against T-Mobile. "T-Mobile's actions towards Lycamobile raise concerns of anticompetitive conduct," the #MVNO wrote in a new filing to the FCC. "The totality of T-Mobile's conduct points to an attempt to lessen competition in the MVNO space – consistent with [T-Mobile's] incentive and ability to do so," #Lycamobile told the FCC. "Ultimate consequence is less competitive discipline on market participants, leading to higher prices and/or lower quality for consumers." As Light Reading previously reported, the fight between Lycamobile and T-Mobile stretches back to 2022, when T-Mobile filed a lawsuit against Lycamobile. The fight between Lycamobile and T-Mobile accelerated dramatically in April 2024. That's when Lycamobile took its complaints against T-Mobile public in an effort to block T-Mobile's proposed $1.3 billion acquisition of Mint Mobile. However, Lycamobile's complaints against T-Mobile were filed well after the #FCC's comment deadline for T-Mobile's Mint Mobile transaction. The agency approved T-Mobile's purchase of Mint Mobile in late April, and T-Mobile closed the deal on May 1. In its latest FCC filing, Lycamobile argues that T-Mobile is using its purchase of Mint Mobile to put further pressure on Lycamobile in the US. https://lnkd.in/gHdHPUeA

11

2 Comments

Ugh - not good news for the #ucaas ecosystem. Another writedown for Vonage, as the synergies for Ericsson to help carriers sell API-led applications and solutions to enterprises aren't happening, at least fast enough. Actually, this has minimal impact on #ucaas, but the game plan here is based on Vonage having a strong installed base for comms solutions to pave the way #network and #wireless services. UC Today #ucoms

7

🚨 Attention OEMs and VAR partnerships! 🚨 Introducing T-Priority powered by T-Mobile For Business “T-Priority: A Solution Built for Tomorrow’s Emergencies. Ready Today. T-Priority is a first-of-its-kind solution to keep first responders connected in the 5G era of public safety. The world’s first network slice for first responders helps ensure best-in-class connectivity, not just day-to-day, but also in times of extreme congestion, and supports a wide range of data-intensive applications that make up an increasing share of traffic in the day-to-day lives of first responders. …It makes sure they get lower latency and faster 5G speeds more consistently for data-intensive communications tools by giving them up to 5 times the network resources of the average user. “ - T-Mobile For Business

20

When it comes to private #5G, the clearest trend we're seeing at Spirent Communications is for smaller and simpler systems. Read more about where the market goes from here. https://okt.to/ctiQAG #5G #Industry40

3

This standards initiative from TM Forum could help reduce the variation in B2B interfaces between FTTH wholesalers & access seekers. That can reduce costs for both parties. Good to see both altnets & incumbents collaborating here. If/when consolidation happens between FTTH providers, adherence to a common (modern API) TMF standard could also reduce the fallout for the ISP/Access seeker customers too. Some will say we could have done with such a cross-country standard "x" years ago. True, but its not too late to yield benefits.

52

2 Comments