Telco in 20

Artificial intelligence (AI) is poised to transform telco, but many operators are struggling to fully embrace its potential. This episode’s guest, strategic HR veteran Jim Abolt, believes they need a critical shift in thinking to reach their goal to become AI-first organizations. He shares insight into what most companies are getting wrong about AI transformation, and offers a practical framework...

A recent Infosys report found that telcos use only 48% of the cloud services they commit to. Fortunately, the Big 3 hyperscalers offer significant discounts to enterprises that commit to spending targets, helping operators reel in cloud costs. A great example is Amazon Web Service’s (AWS) Enterprise Discount Program (EDP). But many telcos leave millions on the table by not using the right strategi...

Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming industries at breakneck speed, with new capabilities emerging almost daily. As telcos race to harness its potential, questions around ethical use, safety, and practical implementation loom large.  In this episode, I dive deep into the world of AI with Neerav Kingsland, head of business development at Anthropic, makers of the AI model Claude. The company...

This podcast has hit a major milestone—the 100th episode! Can you believe it? Did you know that only 7% of all podcasts make it to this number? We've talked cloud, crushed myths, and pushed boundaries for 100 straight. But we're just getting started. I’ve dropped an episode every two weeks over the last four years, and during that time I've witnessed a dramatic shift in telcos’ attitude towards pu...

TM Forum's Open Digital Architecture (ODA) and open APIs are aimed at revolutionizing telco BSS/OSS systems, and with successful adoption, they promise to enhance vendor interoperability. But implementing them comes with significant challenges for operators and vendors alike. In this episode, I sit down with Caroline Chappell, founder and director of ccsquared and a former partner at Analysys Maso...

In 2007, Safaricom PLC (Safaricom) and Vodafone invented M-PESA, a mobile payment system that has transformed financial services in Kenya and beyond by bringing banking capabilities to unbanked populations. M-PESA has become a cornerstone of the Kenyan economy and helped Safaricom build a reputation for innovation.  In this episode, I'm talking with Fawzia Ali, chief consumer business officer at S...

The telco industry is in the midst of a generative AI (GenAI) revolution, with vendors and operators racing to integrate this technology into their products and services. In this episode, I sit down with John Abraham, principal analyst and leader of the digital enablement practice at Appledore Research. We dive into how vendors are applying GenAI to their products, major trends in BSS, how the cos...

From streamlining network operations to boosting customer experiences, artificial intelligence (AI) is helping trailblazing telcos stay competitive in a rapidly changing landscape.  For this episode, I explore Canadian telco TELUS’ AI transformation with its Chief Insights Officer, Jaime Tatis. We talk about how the operator is already using AI to reduce costs, increase efficiency, and get its wor...

It's no secret that telcos across the globe are grappling with how to monetize their 5G networks. But in Africa, only 1% of operators have implemented 5G, which puts them in a unique position to take advantage of new technology like AI and the public cloud, and apply them to old 2G and 3G networks. I recently appeared as a guest on the Ali Talks Tech podcast, which focuses on Africa's changing tec...

Singtel is a leading mobile network operator (MNO) in the Asia-Pacific region with a reputation for innovation. Its pioneering culture is one of the reasons why Anna Yip, the operator’s CEO of business development and deputy CEO for Singapore, is constantly on the lookout for creative ways to build new revenue streams, customer satisfaction, and subscriber loyalty.  Anna recently toured the United...

It's hard to believe it's been three years since CLOUD CITY stole the show at MWC 2021 and I boldly proclaimed the dawn of the public cloud era in telecom. It’s amazing how far the industry has come in its public cloud journey since then. Juha Korhonen, a forward-thinking telco transformation leader, recognized the potential of the public cloud back then. At the time he was the head of innovation...

I've spent the last four years championing the game-changing benefits of the public cloud for telcos, from cost savings to faster innovation. While some operators are embracing the cloud (like the O2 Telefonica Germany deal that was announced last week to run their 5G network 100% on AWS), others are doubling down on building their own private cloud—but all signs point to a turning tide.  To get a...

Microsoft has been quick to pick up the GenAI reins, making huge investments in OpenAI and strategic acquisitions like Inflection AI. Now, the hyperscaler wants to help telcos bring AI into their organizations in meaningful ways.  For this episode, I spoke with Jason Hogg, GM for AIOps within Azure for Operators, about where telcos are on their AI journey, how Microsoft is helping them prepare dat...

Last week at the NOVACOM 1-to-1 Telco Summit in Kenya, I connected with fellow podcaster Ali Hussein Kassim, host of Ali Talks Tech , which focuses on Africa’s changing tech landscape. We decided to record a joint episode about Totogi’s recent work with Zain to restore critical mobile services in Sudan after they were knocked out due to the ongoing civil war.  Abdalla Hamid, Director of IT at Zain...

The hyperscalers are spending billions to build regions in Africa, setting the stage for the public cloud to revolutionize the continent’s telcos. With regulations easing and the number of affordable SaaS solutions growing, African telecoms are poised for an era of growth and success.  Are the continent’s telcos ready to make the most of all the public cloud offers? In this episode, I talk with Sh...

If you’re partnering with one or more of the hyperscalers, their roadmap is your roadmap. It’s important to know where they’re steering their ships, and a great way to gain insight into this is to follow their CAPEX spending.  For this episode, I talk with Charles Fitzgerald, managing director at Platformonomics. His annual Follow the CAPEX report tracks spending by the Big 3 hyperscalers—Amazon W...

Despite having "as a service" in its name, traditional Unified Communications-as-a-Service (UCaaS) deployments often fail to deliver on the promise of a true SaaS platform. One company, Alianza, has figured out a way to move UCaaS to AWS, offering a genuine SaaS solution that leverages the scalability and resilience of the public cloud. I sat down with Brian Beutler, founder and CEO of Alianza, to...

Last week I gave my FOURTH keynote talk at Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2024 when I opened the second annual MVNO Summit to a standing-room-only crowd of industry leaders. Most were from MNOs, MVNOs, and digital brands that want to be at the forefront of an AI-powered revolution in telco business support systems (BSS).  In my talk, I introduced a new AI-first, fully customized BSS solution that ble...

New Zealand Mobile Network Operator (MNO) 2degrees is taking a fresh approach to its wholesale business and relationships with MVNOs. Instead of struggling with sharing its tech stack or setting up expensive separate stacks for MVNOs, the company is tapping Totogi's multi-tenant charger to streamline their onboarding and support, and to capture additional revenue.  In this episode, 2degrees Head o...

Startup MVNO MobileX is going after the US market with the belief that most mobile subscribers don’t know how much data they need. Instead of pushing unlimited plans, the company offers an AI-based tool that analyzes each subscriber’s usage and creates personalized plans for them.  I spoke with MobileX CEO Peter Adderton last year, and now he’s spilling the beans on what’s been happening with Mobi...

It’s been a year since the GSMA announced its Open Gateway initiative and the telco industry is working to figure out how to monetize network APIs to their full advantage. For this episode, I talk with McKinsey & Company Partner Ferry Grijpink about the API economy and what operators need to do to capture revenue and build their strategic position. Listen now to hear:  Ferry’s advice for telecoms...

BT Group started its journey to the public cloud years ago, which has put the company in a strong position to take advantage of the strategic capabilities of artificial intelligence (AI). For this episode, I talk with Josie Smith, chief architect, digital, at BT Group, about the company's efforts to reduce its applications from thousands to hundreds, bring AI into the organization, and drive monum...

It’s time to announce our top episode of 2023! It’s been an incredible journey for the Telco in 20 podcast—now clocking in with well over 100,000 total listens. We’ve had some great guests this year, like Mats Granryd from the GSMA, McKinsey & Company Partner Ferry Grijpink, and Microsoft’s Rick Lievano.  There were tons of popular episodes, which made it a race to the finish line to name our Best...

Today’s telcos have all but given up on monetizing the insatiable growth of mobile data usage, instead settling for one-size-fits-all pricing plans. But rather than give up the fight, Totogi is using the public cloud, AI, and data-driven algorithms to help the industry adopt dynamic, personalized pricing that maximizes the bottom line. In this episode, Totogi’s Chief Operating Officer Cyrus Mistry...

When innovative new tech comes along, established software vendors face a balancing act between maintaining existing solutions for current customers and adopting disruptive new tools to stay competitive. For this episode, I talk with Bruce McClelland, President and CEO of Ribbon Communications, about his billion-dollar company’s efforts to juggle both priorities, its adoption of cloud-native softw...