Telecoms.com Podcast

CityFibre, broadband and BT 06.07.2026 1t 33min

The lads are delighted to welcome back special guest Neil McRae, in his first appearance as CTIO of CityFibre. Pausing only for a semi-regular check in on the current state of AI, they get straight into hearing about Neil’s new gig and his plans for the technological side of UK fibre wholesaler CityFibre. This leads naturally to a look at the wider broadband market and the challenges it faces, as well as a review of potential consolidation in the UK market, before they conclude by analysing BT’s latest strategic move.

AI optimisation, DTW and IoT 29.06.2026 1t 50min

The lads are delighted to welcome back special guest Paul Nolan of PR agency CC Group Hoffman. Pausing only to reflect on the delights of summertime Copenhagen, they start by exploring research Paul’s company has done into GEO – generative engine optimisation. With content increasingly discovered through AI searches, they discuss what it takes to make the most of this new knowledge paradigm. They eventually move on to discuss Scott’s visit to the recent DTW trade show before concluding with Iain’s critique of how the IoT opportunity has been treated.

Rakuten, Ericsson and social media 19.06.2026 2t 4min

The pod is back after a break for Scott’s summer holiday and the lads are delighted to welcome back special guest Geoff Hollingworth of Rakuten Symphony. They start with an introduction to Rakuten, which is a major player in Japan across a number of consumer technology sectors, which leads to discussion of a recent Rakuten Symphony report critiquing the traditional telco business model and suggesting improvements to it. They eventually move on to talk about Ericsson, which Iain recently visited in Sweden and has announced a new CEO, before concluding with an examination of a UK move to ban social media for under-16s.

Huawei, VodafoneThree and EU 29.05.2026 1t 49min

This is your last pod for a few weeks as Scott is selfishly going on holiday, sorry. There’s no guest this week, which gives the lads the opportunity to dive a bit deeper into the news. They start by assessing the significance of a Huawei announcement that it has invented a new way of making semiconductors, which could have the broader significance of making China more resilient in its tech cold war with the US. They eventually move on to discuss falling headcount at VodafoneThree before concluding with a look at the EU’s protectionist dilemmas.

Hyperoptic, fibre and BT 26.05.2026 1t 37min

The lads are delighted to welcome special guest Dana Tobak, CEO of UK altnet Hyperoptic. Dana is one of the founders of Hyperoptic, so they start by discussing the thinking behind that and how Hyperoptic differentiates itself in a crowded UK fibre broadband market. That inevitably leads to an exploration of the broader competitive environment and economics of that business, before they conclude with a look at recent news from BT.

Regulation, spectrum and Ofcom 21.05.2026 2t 8min

The lads are delighted to welcome telecoms consultant (and Iain’s mate) Amit Nagpal of Aetha Consulting to the pod this week. Pausing only to mix some psychedelic G&Ts, they eventually get into talking about Amit’s main area of professional interest – telecoms policy. That leads to talk of how 5G is going in various parts of the world, including the various spectrum it uses and how regulators have helped or hindered its progress. They conclude with a look at some recent direct-to-device news and the role of UK comms regulator Ofcom in policing online speech.

Security, geopolitics and BT 11.05.2026 2t

The lads are delighted to welcome back returning special guest – analyst John Strand. The implications of policy and regulation on the global telecoms industry are a major focus of his work, so they start by reflecting on the importance of secure 5G networks in that respect. That inevitably leads to lots of spicy chat about geopolitics and especially the impact of American activity, while hopefully not straying too far from the name of the pod, before they conclude by analysing a recent move by BT to revitalise its brand.

FWA, Samsung and AI 05.05.2026 2t 5min

No guest this week, so you get the usual more meandering, self-indulgent fare from the lads. They set the scene by doing a taste test of Irish whiskies kindly donated by recent guests, before they eventually get around covering a bit of telecoms news. They start by discussing Nokia’s sale of its fixed wireless access business and that broader sector, before moving on to analyse Samsung’s performance in the networking sector and concluding with some handwringing over the societal impact of advances in artificial intelligence.

Cambridge Consultants, robots and Nokia 27.04.2026 2t 8min

The lads are delighted to welcome their second guest from Cork in Ireland in a row – Frank Long from Cambridge Consultants. At MWC this year, Cambridge Consultants demonstrated an advanced robot, so after learning about the company more broadly, they get into exploring the confluence between robotics, AI and telecoms, including physical AI and 6G, with the inevitable dystopian detours. They eventually get on to discuss Nokia’s latest quarterly numbers and what they suggest about the direction of the company.

IBM, Ericsson and satellite 20.04.2026 2t 9min

The lads hobble back into the studio this week to chat to special guest Eoin Coughlan of IBM. Helped along by the medicinal effects of an excellent Irish beverage, they start by exploring what IBM’s interests are in the telecoms industry and in AI. IBM is involved in the ‘plumbing’ for both, as it is many other industries, so they have a deep dive into the practical implementations of AI. They eventually move on to other news, including Ericsson’s latest quarterly earnings announcement and the acquisition of satellite company Globalstar by Amazon.

VMO2, Huawei and AI doom 07.04.2026 1t 56min

A rare Zoom pod this week as overwhelming audience demand persuades Scott to overcome his aversion to the format. They start by exploring the news of UK mobile operator announcing the winners of its latest RAN upgrade work. The most fun part of this news was attempts to influence the narrative around it and subsequent minor PR drama. They eventually move on to examine Huawei’s 2025 revenues before concluding by pondering what effect AI is having on our ability to think.

AI grid, Nokia and social media 30.03.2026 1t 59min

The lads manage to squeeze in a second recording in a week and this time it’s a rare pod when there’s no guest. As a consequence, Iain and Scott are able to do a deeper dive into recent news and they select announcement made by Nvidia to discuss first. Specifically the US tech giant has refined its pitch to the telecoms industry under the concept of the ‘AI grid’, so they explore that and ponder its appeal to the telecoms industry. They eventually move on to look at some of the business challenges faced by Nokia before concluding by analysing the implications of recent legal rulings against social media platforms.

Netomnia, altnets and fibre 25.03.2026 2t 8min

The lads are delighted to welcome special guest Jeremy Chelot, CEO of UK altnet Netomnia, to this early pod. Jeremy is very much in the news these days thanks to his company’s acquisition by Nexfibre (not VMO2) to create a major challenger to Openreach in the UK fibre market. They start by exploring Netomnia’s business and the rationale behind the acquisition, before moving on to examine the dynamics of the UK altnet market and concluding with a discussion of some of the technologies it relies on.

Satellite, AI and 6G 16.03.2026 1t 58min

Back in the studio, the lads are delighted to be joined by returning special guest, Opensignal analyst Sylwia Kechiche. This being the first pod after MWC, they review the main themes taken from the show. They start by reflecting on the prominence of satellite connectivity as talking point at the show, reflecting on confusing market messaging on the matter. The various manifestations of AI are then discussed, before they conclude by reviewing the early hyping of 6G and asking whether it’s justified.

Live from MWC 2026 06.03.2026 1t 51min

The guys wasted no time in bringing you their special podcast recorded from the show floor in Barcelona. Overwhelming demand means they’re delighted welcome no less than four guests, but are slightly more organised about it than last year. First they’re joined by Ray Dolan from Cohere and Mike Dano from Ookla. Both are familiar faces but there was still plenty to catch up on, including talk of satellites and network sensing. Eventually they give way to Queen of Props, Totogi’s Danielle Rios, and industry expert Dan Warren. Among the topics the four then discuss are network software and, of course, AI.

MWC 2026 preview 27.02.2026 1t 54min

As has become tradition, the guys are delighted to welcome back special guest Analyst Dean Bubley, to look ahead to the main themes of this year’s big telecoms trade show. They start with the obvious – AI – but strive to inject focus and substance into this ubiquitous and often hyperbolic topic by discussing agents, automation, and APIs. They then move on to the matter of sovereignty and how viable it is for countries to become more self-sufficient in a time of ultra globalisation. The final big theme is satellite telecoms, with direct-to-device likely to be a hot topic at the show. They conclude by examining recent conjecture on the effect AI will have on the world and its workers.

Red Hat, software and 6G 17.02.2026 1t 58min

For the second day in a row the lads were delighted to welcome a special guest, this time Fran Heeran, head of telecoms at Red Hat. For once they waste little time before moving on to the main topic of Red Hat and getting to the bottom of what it does. Spoiler alert: it’s open-source software for enterprise, which includes telecoms, so they explore topics such as virtualization, containers, and assorted other software arcana. They eventually move on to look ahead at some of the likely innovations and opportunities offered by 6G before concluding by exploring some of the practical telecom applications of AI.

Openreach, PSTN and AI 13.02.2026 1t 56min

Openreach, PSTN and AI by Telecoms.com

Sovereignty, geopolitics and automation 09.02.2026 1t 47min

Just Iain and Scott this week as their guest had one of those ubiquitous UK winter bugs. After acknowledging some recent social engagements, they get into the matter of data sovereignty, which has become even more important since supposedly allied countries started threatening each other. The main question concerns how viable it is for Europe to be less reliant on world superpowers. That naturally leads to more general geopolitical chat before they conclude by discussing the business and societal implications of jobs being automated away by AI.

Ericsson, AI and Nokia 02.02.2026 1t 57min

The lads were delighted to welcome special guest Ibrahim Eldeftar, who heads up Cognitive Software and Services at Ericsson. What does that mean, we hear you ask. Well listen in and all will be revealed. They start by explaining what rApps are and why we should care about them. The broader context for them is network automation, something that is being accelerated by recent developments in AI, so they explore that too, as well as Ericsson’s programmable networks strategy. They eventually move on to talk about AI in a broader context before concluding with a look at Nokia’s latest quarterly numbers.