The pod is delighted to welcome back special guest Neil McRae, Chief Network Strategist at Juniper Networks. The main theme of the chat was derived from recent quarterly earnings announcements by Ericsson and Nokia, which were very similar as they’re both suffering through what could be described as a telecoms recession. There also were plenty of networking tangents, including some DIY stories from Neil.

Iain and Scott are forced to do this pod over Zoom due to producer Pierre selfishly taking an Easter holiday. The main theme of their conversation is Huawei’s recently announced 2023 financials, which seem a lot more healthy than any of their Western equivalents. That leads naturally to an examination of how effective US sanctions against Huawei and China have been, before they conclude with a broader look at the geopolitical environment that is behind all these shenanigans.

The pod is delighted to welcome special guest Alex Lawrence, Editor of 6G World, for this week’s episode. Unsurprisingly, the spend the first half of the recording discussing 6G, including what it might be and whether or not we should even bother with it. Since 6G’s success may be determined a more helpful regulatory environment, they move on to the topic of telecoms regulation, before concluding with a review of Ericsson’s recent news.

The pod was delighted to welcome its first ever special guest from Microsoft – Shawn Hakl VP of 5G Strategy. They start by asking for an overview of what Microsoft’s interest is in the telecoms sector these days, which has increased significantly in recent years. That leads naturally to a review of the role the public cloud plays for operators, before they conclude by asking Shawn about the 5G part of his job title.

No guest this week so you get a looser version of the podders, including some extra fruity language.

The pod is delighted to welcome special guest Rafael De Fermin, SVP of the Nokia Networks Infrastructure business in Europe. They start by exploring exactly what Rafa’s bit of the company does, which leads to a broader discussion of the fixed-line world, on which mobile technology is increasingly reliant. They eventually move on to chat about trade shows, including the recent MWC and the surprisingly big LEAP, before concluding with a quick look at Apple’s battle of wills with the EU.

The traditional Mobile World Congress show floor recording of the pod is brought to you from the media centre this year. Once more they were delighted to welcome journalist George ‘available’ Malim as a special guest and start by reflecting on the dominant theme of the show – AI. They move on to share some of their other observations and experiences form MWC 24 until the video crew tell them to shut up because it has better things to do.

This special episode of the pod, recorded early to allow you to listen to it on the plane to Barcelona, features special returning guest – Analyst Dean Bubley. Most of the time is spent anticipating the key themes of discussion at the show, including 5G, AI, APIs and regulation, with an emphasis of cutting through the hype. Thery eventually move on to breaking news around European telecoms regulation before concluding with a quick look at Vodafone’s latest Open RAN announcements.

The pod was delighted to welcome returning special guest William Webb this week, who’s got a book out. The book focuses on how UK regulation is standing in the way of our strategic communications aims and how to fix it. Inevitably that leads to a few Ofcom and regulatory tangents, including recent developments in the EU. They move on to discuss the vision for 5G articulated at a recent Ericsson event, which includes another look at Open RAN, before concluding with a look at a neologism that describes how internet platforms inevitably deteriorate.

The pod was delighted to welcome super-sub Gabriel Brown, Analyst at Heavy Reading, who stepped in at the last minute after another guest pulled a sickie. They stated by reviewing a BT network update meeting all three attended that morning, with a lengthy tangent onto a TM Forum AI-themed gathering the day before. They move on to hear about Iain’s trip to Glasgow with Three, before concluding with a look at a deal between Disney and Epic and how it might revive the metaverse.

A last-minute guest cancellation opens the door for Iain and Scott to try some of the weapons-grade beers they were previously too scared to attempt. They decide to tackle 6G first, while they’re still capable, inspired by Iain’s recent dinner with Interdigital. That leads on to a couple of angles concerning the global semiconductor market before they conclude with some recent intrigue involving Meta, DT and the policing of online speech.