Rebecca Sendel

Once-in-a-generation funding initiatives (including the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment - BEAD - program) have created extensive opportunities for unprecedented broadband infrastructure development in underserved and rural communities. While funding programs hold great promise for advancing digital equity, the current broadband workforce is ill-equipped to meet required labor demands. In fact, according to the WEF Future of Jobs report, 61% of workers will require retraining by 2027.      Some present-day challenges include:     A tech talent deficit: Unprecedented demand for install and repair techs, combined with low awareness of the potential for broadband careers among the public and in schools.   Outdated education resources: Technical colleges lack modern broadband education resources which leads to student loss and faculty/employer frustration.      We need new methods to reach high-potential candidates and mentoring to create a scalable, locally sourced workforce.      Calix recognizes that developing effective solutions to bridge the skills gap is vital to customer success. We are tackling these problems head-on with an evidence-based Workforce Transformation program that supports our customers as they find, upskill, retain, and scale teams to meet deployment goals.      Take a look at the program in action through our partnership with Mitchell Technical College and learn how our Workforce Transformation program can help you.    #CalixEducation #WorkforceTransformation #Broadband  https://lnkd.in/eVRemntN 

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There's no bigger vote of confidence for T-Mobile's network than an enterprise-level organization placing their trust in us for mission critical work. That's why I'm so excited the US Navy chose T-Mobile For Business as part of the $2.67 billion Spiral 4 contract! This new contract will give all Department of Defense agencies the ability to place orders for wireless services and equipment from T-Mobile for the next ten years. With Spiral 4, the Department of Defense will have the opportunity to leverage T-Mobile’s leading 5G network for state-of-the-art wireless solutions for voice, data, fixed wireless solutions, Internet of Things and mobility management solutions. It will help ensure robust and reliable connectivity for government activities — from mission critical communications to network solutions that serve military personnel and federal civilian agencies. It's an honor to serve those who serve our Nation! Learn more about the announcement here: https://lnkd.in/gK7bMRsE

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The industry is buzzing about Apple's support for RCS services—it's been a hot topic lately. As someone deeply involved in the RCS world, I can barely contain my excitement. Apple has long favored its messaging platform, iMessage, over adopting RCS. Its reluctance likely stemmed from wanting to ensure user experience and security. The adoption of RCS could ramp up Apple's competition with Meta, although it won't necessarily challenge WhatsApp directly. But it's a positive move for Google and MNOs. With SMS usage dwindling, RCS was being relegated to advertising, reminders, and one-time passwords. A strong person-to-person service is also essential to complement business services, which are now a primary revenue source. Without personal messages, opening rates and campaign ROI would plummet. If Google and Apple push RCS for deeper device integration, it could shake up the OTT/messaging landscape. This could be a game changer for businesses, allowing them to connect more effectively with customers. RCS streamlines enterprise-customer communication, unlike OTT apps that require downloads. With Apple’s adoption, the gap in rich messaging functionality between platforms will narrow. As a leader in the industry, I am eager to see how this shift will reshape the dynamics of digital communication. We all need to be ready as we step into this exciting new chapter. Globe Teleservices Pte. Ltd. GTS TechLabs Rajiv Singla Sudip Chatterjee Pallavi Kudtarkar Awnish Chaudhary Alok Maurya Ranga R S (He/Him) Murthy Muniyappa Prabhat Kumar CERF Solutions Pvt. Ltd. Chris Almeida Akbar Ladak

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"The age-old wisdom of a Native American proverb, “You can’t wake a person who is pretending to be asleep”, resonates strongly with the current malaise pervading the telecoms industry. It is a fitting metaphor for the industry’s collective denial of its own flawed 5G gambits, which is costing it dearly in capital and, more deeply, compromising its long-term viability." Credit: Luke Kehoe, "5G: telcoms’ denial of its flaws and failures is costing them dearly" Short term the industry needs to get back to basics - customers, efficiency, 101 running a good business Long term... #6G cannot be the next #5G https://lnkd.in/eQDy-vj6

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🚀 So cool to read about Verizon in USA TODAY talking about #SuperBundling 🚀 We've been working hard to push the vision of Super Bundling over the last few years, so we're really pleased that Avi Greengart at Techsponential has written this latest research paper about the power of Super Bundling to add value and solve the subscription nightmare created by overwhelming choice and difficulties administrating subs. Companies like #telcos can leverage their existing payment relationship, and first party product sales like cellular and home broadband to also offer streaming entertainment, driving revenue, engagement and reducing churn. Super Bundling with Verizon is the ultimate game-changer: 🌟Save big: With Verizon's super bundles, consumers can save up to $1,000 a year compared to traditional subscriptions. 🌟Manage with ease: Verizon’s user-friendly app empowers consumers to effortlessly manage all their services and payments in one convenient place. 🌟Access unique #bundles: Netflix plus HBO Max for $10 (ad-funded), and over 45 options to choose from #SVOD, #SportsVOD, #gaming, #retail and others, consumers can customize their content experience like never before. 🌟Long-term value: Say goodbye to price hikes! Verizon locks in streaming rates for the duration of the subscription, ensuring consumers get the best value over time. Take a closer look and download the full report “Super Bundles: The Next Big Opportunity Is Adding Streaming Content to Wireless and Broadband,” here (USA TODAY) >> https://lnkd.in/eR76BUqJ

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We got a random price increase for cross connections in a datacenter today and the note they sent just sounds disingenuous to any serious market participant. I'm constantly wondering, do product folks think their customers don't understand the cost structures? Cross connections are nearly 100% margin and folks know this, meanwhile the circuits riding these cross connections are going down in price nearly every year. Power increases and other costs are handled by normal mechanisms in most colo contracts and cross connections are independent of that, conflating them means double-dipping since I can't imagine this vendor would be foregoing annual increases elsewhere in their agreements. Trends like this in datacenter industry pricing are creating super weird economics where folks like (ziply) us are spending engineering effort to meet others in the street instead of within buildings. We have already shifted to not agreeing to share cross connect billings with other carriers in the expensive sites and telling our peers we will share costs for street meets or let them pull into buildings we own. My thesis is that the market is broken for cross connections if it is cheaper to build something in the street than to run a jumper inside a building. I predict a long term breakdown in the ability to hold the line on this pricing, I've been proved wrong so far, but at some point users won't go into spaces with this level of markup and the actual outside plant owners will figure out how to connect to one another elsewhere. In the northwest, in the spirit of diversified interconnection we offer others the ability to pull into our owned COs for interconnection on fixed terms with up to 20 year term lengths. We figure it is mutually beneficial to allow folks to meet in a non-exploitive cross connection environment and as the telco we have offered that since 1996.

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dApps: Real-Time O-RAN RIC Apps ◼ rApps, xApps and dApps - rApps: Applications that run on the non-real-time RIC, responsible for long-term control actions and decision-making that require timescales greater than one second. - xApps: Applications operating on the near-real-time RIC, which handle control loops ranging from 10 milliseconds to a few seconds. They are capable of closed-loop control for use cases like mobility management and network slicing. - dApps: Distributed applications running directly on RAN elements, such as CUs and DUs. They handle real-time control loops below 10 milliseconds, focusing on radio management, resource scheduling, beamforming, and modulation functionalities. dApps provide faster control for these functions by operating closer to the data source, ensuring fine-grained management and reducing overhead. ◼ Need for dApps While rApps and xApps deliver meaningful improvements, their architecture falls short in providing efficient control at sub-10 millisecond scales due to inherent latency in data collection and decision implementation. dApps address this gap by embedding control logic directly into the RAN nodes. They achieve reduced latency, programmability at the edge. ◼ Interaction with the User Plane: Access to low-level user data, such as IQ samples, allows dApps to manage interference, beam directionality, and modulation while maintaining privacy and security. ◼ Challenges and Architectural Evolution The concept of dApps, though promising, presents challenges related to resources, orchestration, and standardization: - Resource Management: With multiple dApps sharing the same physical resources at DUs/CUs, intelligent resource allocation is crucial to avoid conflicts. - Standardized Interfaces: The interfaces connecting dApps to the CUs/DUs need to be defined and standardized to facilitate seamless data collection and control. - Orchestration: An orchestration framework is essential to determine which tasks are suitable for xApps versus dApps and to mitigate conflicts between them. ◼ Proposed Architecture for dApps - dApps as Softwarized Containers - Southbound and Northbound Interfaces - Conflict Mitigation - Intent-Based Orchestration ◼ Real-World Applications - Beam Management: dApps can implement AI-driven beam selection logic to enhance spectrum utilization and reduce interference. - Ultra-Low Latency Applications: By managing scheduling and slicing at sub-10 millisecond timescales, dApps can support ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC). Institute for the Wireless Internet of Things (WIoT), which has been a leader in research on real-time RIC and dApps, published a paper on the topic and made a more detailed proposal at the last RIC Forum. Collaboration between industry and research is crucial to realizing this vision, addressing challenges in standardization, resource management, and orchestration. Tommaso Melodia Salvatore D'Oro Michele Polese #ORAN #OpenRAN #RealTimeRIC #dApps

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My colleague, Geoff Blaber recently attended Intel's Vision 2024 conference in the USA. Geoff published our latest instant insight report diving deep into the announcements at the event detailing the company's AI ambitions. The battle for the ownership of the white-hot deployment of AI was writ large across the event. Intel Corporation was keen to remind the world that it too has a huge part to play in the market as it accelerates. Key Takeaways 🔘 Intel Gets Real: While acknowledging AI's hype, Intel cut through the noise by highlighting the real challenges enterprises face in rolling out AI: unclear ROI, data quality woes, privacy concerns, and more.  🔘 Intel's Strategy: It's clear that Intel understands it takes more than just chips to succeed. It’s emphasis on system-level offerings – a mix of silicon, software, and engineering support – is targeted at lowering costs and simplifying AI adoption. This feels very aligned with the wider industry's needs. 🔘 Challenging NVIDIA: Intel is boldly taking on Nvidia by positioning its products around power, performance, and openness. It’s support for open-source frameworks like PyTorch indicates a future where developers aren't locked into a single ecosystem. Get the Full Scoop: Read CCS Insight's Instant Insight report for a deep dive on Intel's strategy and what it means for telecoms. Find out more: https://lnkd.in/eBZaqYC7 #IntelVision2024 #AI #EnterpriseSolutions #Telecoms #Innovation

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For those who know me, collaboration and teamwork are at the core of everything I do. I'm pleased to share my blog post on the 'Power of Strategic Partnerships.' Discover how KORE can be your ideal partner for your IoT needs! Dive in and explore the possibilities! #partnerships #colloboration #IoT

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If you are a telecom CTO remember this: eBPF is more than just a cool new technology. It's a fundamental shift in how we approach networking. It's about: - Agility - Control - Efficiency - Innovation David Soldani of Rakuten says "Our paper has IEEE Access Paper on eBPF for Telco achieved significant recognition with 7 citations and 8,031 full-text views." I ran the paper through Google NotebookLM to make it faster to process. If you want to listen you can find the generated recording here: https://lnkd.in/eMwzkCxQ You can also ask questions directly the paper and have it answer. Here is the original cited IEEE Paper. https://lnkd.in/eV-M6JzQ Rakuten Symphony Rakuten Mobile, Inc. #eBPF

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I’ve spent the past few days diving deep into the current landscape of Voice-AI systems, particularly their impact on large enterprise CX/AI. These products can be broadly categorized into two main types: 1. Traditional “intent-first” NLU-based applications (from companies like Cognigy, Kore.ai, and others). 2. Newer “LLM-first” applications (from companies like retell.ai, bland.ai, vapi, and many others). My take: While the LLM-first approach is the shiny new toy everyone wants to play with, I predict a small backlash or retrenching in favor of the proven intent-based traditional NLU/ML systems - at least as far as large enterprise is concerned. 🔹 Value of the Traditional NLU/Intent-First Approach: • Tested & ready for large enterprise deployment today (performant, resilient, scalable, suits privacy requirements). • No hallucination = reduced corporate risk. • Lower latency. • Lower cost (important when handling tens of thousands of calls). • More precision and control over data gathering. • Offers better tools like code nodes for advanced work (i.e., not a walled garden). 🔹 Value of the LLM-First Approach: • LLM naturally leads to more human-like conversations. • Can simplify some aspects of conversation design. • Can streamline the collection and structuring of data. • Taps into the huge corpora of information in the foundation models. My conclusion is that the intent-first approach (often served with a small side of LLM) still makes the most sense for large enterprise CX/AI. LLM-first is interesting, but many vendors are still in the “Y-combinator stage,” far from achieving validation in large enterprises. The cost profile of these tools, in terms of all-in cost per minute, suggests they won’t gain much traction in enterprises until costs come WAY down. Additionally, there are issues of hallucination, scalability, and the risk of exposing corporate information to the public hosted model providers. This is why I think enterprises will keep an eager eye on LLM-first solutions but continue buying and deploying traditional NLU-based solutions, often built from best-in-breed components. What also intrigues me is that these LLM-first solutions seem to have such limited ambition. They are quite cookie-cutter (hey ma, look at me! I connected voice to OpenAI!). I actually believe there are untapped opportunities to deploy LLMs effectively for large enterprise within the context of CX/AI, and the small army of LLM-first cos seem to be missing the boat. Follow us at Jambonz over the next year to see our take on this as it unfolds through a series of product releases.

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O-RAN RIC vs. SON: Evolving RAN Optimization and Management The most frequent question O-RAN Alliance gets from people new to RAN Intelligent Controller (RIC) is how they differ from traditional Self-Organizing Network (SON). Here's a summary of what you need to know. Here, SON means traditional SON. Of course, you may call RIC, especially near-RealTime RICs, Next Generation SON, but the scope of RIC is broader. Original article: https://lnkd.in/eMrJBnDS 1. Optimization SON: Traditionally, SON focuses on optimizing management-plane operations of network elements and setting cell-level parameters. O-RAN RIC: The RIC extends these capabilities into both the control plane and user plane, optimizing Radio Resource Management (RRM) for control-plane procedures and fine-tuning user/bearer/session/flow-level parameters. This happens on a per-User Equipment (UE) basis across the RAN protocol stack, providing a much more targeted and effective network optimization. 2. Intelligence SON: SON offers cell-level analytics and performance data correlation across the RAN stack. O-RAN RIC: In contrast, the RIC facilitates UE-level cross-layer analytics and state/data correlation across the RAN protocol stack. This allows for a deeper, more granular understanding and management of network behavior, significantly enhancing the intelligence applied in real-time network decisions. 3. Interfaces SON: Interfaces in SON systems are typically proprietary. O-RAN RIC: The RIC uses O-RAN standardized open interfaces (A1, E2, etc.), which foster a multi-vendor interoperable environment. This openness not only enhances flexibility but also supports a broader ecosystem of network elements and applications, promoting innovation and cost-efficiency. 4. Granularity SON: SON operations are usually coarse-grained and not real-time, focusing on broader network trends and adjustments rather than immediate, situational reactions. O-RAN RIC: The RIC can offer fine-grained and near-real-time control (10 ms to 1 second) using low-latency control loops. This capability is crucial for applications requiring immediate response, such as real-time LLM-based interpreter services. 5. Policies SON: Policies in SON are typically pre-built and static. O-RAN RIC: RIC supports adaptive training and on-the-fly updating of policies and objectives. This dynamic approach allows the network to continuously learn and improve, adjusting to real-time network conditions and user demands. 6. Performance Monitoring SON: In SON, continuous performance monitoring is often unstandardized, varying significantly between implementations and vendors. O-RAN RIC: The RIC standardizes procedures for continuous performance monitoring. This integration not only enhances performance visibility but also ensures that network adapts intelligently based on ongoing performance data. #ORAN #OpenRAN #RIC #SON #RealTimeLLM

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These are the kinds of partnerships that will be necessary to reach the unserved. There have been novel examples for over a decade but they need to become more common. We should also look at multi carrier builds with multiple operators and utilities sharing the infrastructure cost.

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Always scary listening to yourself, especially when "swearing in church" 😊. This is quite enjoyable since we are just speaking - ZERO corporate messaging! At least until we get right to the end when I couldn't help myself. Rakuten has a very clear customer promise... “We're trying to sell technology to people who don't care. Why are we doing that? Why are we screaming from the rooftops that you can get 5G here? Nobody cares, nobody cares, because it makes no difference to them. If we were selling hotel rooms, we'd sell a hotel room for the same price in Manhattan as we were in Oklahoma City. I mean, it's, we don't, I think we've lost touch as an industry with what we need to have as a customer promise. I think initially, because our customer promise was so tied to technology, it was a lot easier. So do voice everywhere, we're building networks that do mobile voice. So that's really simple. We've got disintermediated from the customer experience with smartphones. That's why the app economy took off and 4G was pulled through. It didn't lead it. It pulled through. We were hoping, by the way, as an industry, that someone invents something that pulls us through again. But (the fundamental problem) we haven't got a customer promise. Now, let me flip to my day job. And this conversation has had nothing to do with my day job, which is why I've enjoyed it so much. Rakuten has a very clear customer promise... Listen to the end to understand what that is. And thank you to Monica for being a wonderful host!Always scary listening to yourself, especially when "swearing in church" ��. This is quite enjoyable since we are just speaking - ZERO corporate messaging! At least until we get to the end... Let me highlight that bit... “We're trying to sell technology to people who don't care. Why are we doing that? Why are we screaming from the rooftops that you can get 5G here? Nobody cares, nobody cares, because it makes no difference to them. If we were selling hotel rooms, we'd sell a hotel room for the same price in Manhattan as we were in Oklahoma City. I mean, it's, we don't, I think we've lost touch as an industry with what we need to have as a customer promise. I think initially, because our customer promise was so tied to technology, it was a lot easier. So do voice everywhere, we're building networks that do mobile voice. So that's really simple. We've got disintermediated from the customer experience with smartphones. That's why the app economy took off and 4G was pulled through. It didn't lead it. It pulled through. We were hoping, by the way, as an industry, that someone invents something that pulls us through again. But (the fundamental problem) we haven't got a customer promise. Now, let me flip to my day job. And this conversation has had nothing to do with my day job, which is why I've enjoyed it so much. Rakuten has a ver... Listen to the end to understand what that is. And thank you to Monica Paolini for being a wonderful host!

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Interesting, if we are now at or near 'peak CAPEX' for telcos, which has historically been around 16-20% of revenue, will some of that now be turned towards R&D to bridge the monetization gap highlighted in the blog here? Pointless building a car and then not fuelling it. #telco #monetization #bss #revenuemanagement #billing

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Resilient network, resilient communities, and a resilient planet 🌎 In 2023, T-Mobile focused on how to use our scale and resources to benefit our customers and our planet. We’re moving forward together toward a cleaner, more equitable future. Read our full 2023 Corporate Responsibility Report here! ➡️ https://lnkd.in/g9WYTnR9

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OpenCape proudly stands alongside a coalition of diverse organizations—from municipalities and non-profits to healthcare providers and businesses—all united by a common concern: the lack of viable internet options on Cape Cod. Despite Comcast's claims of comprehensive coverage, which are based on self-reported data, our coalition knows the reality is starkly different. With $147 million in BEAD funds ready to be distributed via the Commonwealth, we are determined to showcase the true extent of the internet service gap. To achieve this, we urge residents to participate by simply taking 3 speed tests at fixcapeinternet.com This data will provide irrefutable evidence of underserved areas, essential for advocating for improved broadband access across the region. To empower our existing and prospective coalition members in spreading this crucial message, we've developed a comprehensive toolkit, available on the site. It includes postcards, emails, social media ads, scripts, and informative one-sheets—all designed to facilitate easy communication with constituents in multiple languages about the urgent need for better internet infrastructure. By leveraging these resources and encouraging community involvement, we aim to ensure that every resident and business on Cape Cod has access to reliable, high-speed internet. Our collective efforts will challenge the status quo and pave the way for a more connected future for all who call this region home. Take Action Today! www.fixcapeinternet.com. Please share and repost! #opencape #InternetForAll #MAdigitalequity #fiberbroadband #stopthemonopoly #capecod

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This morning, we announced another quarter of outstanding results on our Q2 2024 earnings call, proving once again that our unique formula of best value, best network, and best experience drives differentiated outcomes. Here are some of my favorite highlights: 📈 Customer Growth: Our durable and differentiated profitable growth model led to another quarter where we outperformed our peers across the board. We added 1.3M postpaid net customers, our highest EVER Q2 postpaid phone net adds, crossing the incredible milestone of 100 million postpaid customers—a testament to our industry-leading growth. We also reached 5.6M customers for our high-speed internet product, with an industry-best 406k net additions. 💰 Financial Growth: We are successfully translating our customer growth into outsized financial gains. We led the industry in key year-over-year growth areas, including Service Revenue (+4.4%), Core Adjusted EBITDA (+9.4%), and Adjusted Free Cash Flow of $4.4 billion (record high and +54% YoY). These results show that our customers recognize we are the best at connecting them to their world. Reaching the 100 million postpaid customer milestone is a clear signal that we’re rapidly evolving from challenger to leader. On our way to becoming a truly digital-first company, we now have one super app #TLife which combines several domains including account management, rewards, Magenta status, broadband management, peace of mind, and much more. As we hit the halfway point, 2024 is shaping up to be another historic year full of profitable growth. Our confidence in our strategy is reflected in our raised full-year customer and adjusted free cash flow guidance. I’m incredibly proud to be part of the Magenta leadership team that keeps delivering such incredible results. Together, we’re driving T-Mobile to new heights! Check out more Q2 highlights and the full earnings call below ⤵️ https://lnkd.in/gCGs3jyx

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Interesting to see how T-Mobile reduces churn through its new initiative IntentCX and partnership with OpenAI in an interview with Mike Sievert. T-Mobile's "intent-driven AI-decisioning platform," called IntentCX, will use secure access to T-Mobile data to understand customer intent and sentiment in real time. The last mile is to provide pro-active & predictive Human-In-The-Loop orchestration through multi-intent based pairing and triaging when it matters while managing queue-complexity; especially complex intents which require immediate 'expert' intervention to prevent churn. #intentcx #sentiocx #tmobile #ai #genai #openai

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