Telecom Top 5
Telecom Top 5 is a weekly telecom news update for telecom professionals from ISE Magazine, delivering the most pressing recent developments in broadband, fiber optic, wireless, 5G, network engineering, BEAD, cloud and virtual networks, legislation, and much more. Tune in each week for a rapid news update that covers the week in telecommunications. Your host, Joe Gillard, is Executive Editor of ISE Magazine, a print and online publication for telecom professionals. In this podcast, Joe will curate the latest breaking stories, industry trends, research, and tech innovations and summarize it for you in a digestible format. Occasionally, Joe will also feature interviews with industry professionals who can add color, context, and industry knowledge to what’s going on and how it affects you and your colleagues. Telecom Top 5 hopes to save you time by allowing you to soak in the telecom news you need to know quickly, whether you’re in the car, at the office, or taking a walk.
Episodes
Tuesday Oct 12, 2021
PON Deployments: 3 Key Steps You Can Take to Future Proof Your Network
Tuesday Oct 12, 2021
Tuesday Oct 12, 2021
In this podcast, we’ll discuss the steps and considerations that service providers can take to ensure the network is not only ready for today’s subscriber needs and demands but also for the future of broadband demand. We’ll look at the many options available, particularly focusing on the options that claim to make upgrades very simple.
Join us for this podcast to hear about PON technologies and upgrading from GPON to the next PON. Also, learn more about access network architectures and how smart choices made at the time of every upgrade can significantly improve your ability to simplify the network and your next upgrade.
Topics of discussion:
10G PON, 25G PON and 50G PON, are they ready for deployment?
Should service providers be focused on a multi-protocol module, or combi-PON, to upgrade from GPON to XGS-PON? What impact does it have on PON deployments?
Aggregation is the key area that has been affected by the increased bandwidth, but are there other areas in the network architecture that service providers should focus on to simplify their network architecture or ensure it’s ready for the future?
To learn more about Calix and PON Solutions, visit Calix’s website: calix.com/solutions/technologies/10g-pon-solutions
Thursday Sep 30, 2021
Thursday Sep 30, 2021
The approach to real-time data management had dramatic implications for faster network deployment, service activation and reparation, and better reporting. But what did it cost to change? Not surprising, there were hard and soft costs.
Although it seems self-evident that accurate and real-time data can provide the best operational and strategic value, it came at the expense of letting go of familiar methods and integration into existing environments. These insights are shared to help guide the costs to make the change.
Topics of discussion:
Why has it taken so long for telecommunications to adopt a geospatial approach to building and managing their assets?
What is the return on investment for leveraging GIS-based technology?
How would we start down this path?
What are some tangible approaches to consider?
What are the motivating factors for this change to leverage GIS-based technology in telecommunications?
Thursday Aug 12, 2021
Unique Challenges and Considerations for Rural Network Deployment
Thursday Aug 12, 2021
Thursday Aug 12, 2021
Join us as we discuss the unique challenges faced by service providers when designing and installing rural networks. Rural networks are more challenging on many fronts, including density, network reach, labor availability, operation, and maintenance. But with great challenges come great opportunities, and here you will learn about leveraging the network you build for revenue-generating opportunities as well as strategies to simplify and address some of these challenges.
Topics of discussion:
Why is there such a large focus on rural deployment?
Why do rural deployments pose a challenge for service providers?
What are the strategies that can be employed to simplify and address some of these challenges?
Deploying just an FTTH network in such low-density environments may challenge the business case. Is there any other revenue-generating opportunities the network can be leveraged for?
What is CommScope doing to help solve the challenge of deploying a rural network?
Thursday Aug 12, 2021
Flexible Product Offerings for Data Centers and Enterprise Applications
Thursday Aug 12, 2021
Thursday Aug 12, 2021
There’s simply no doubt that the world of data centers and enterprise networks are extremely critical to our current way of life and for the foreseeable future. Can one even imagine where we would have been the last year and a half with the Covid-19 pandemic and the inability to work remotely, communicate via video, and supply ourselves with essentials without ever leaving our homes?
Of course demand changes like this most always drive an increased need for flexibility. And that’s no different in Data Centers and Enterprise Networks where increased amounts of fiber, changes in density and changes in technology regularly require changes to the hardware holding the network together.
Of course, all of this drives massive growth in those things that data centers and enterprise networks provide, and with that growth is the inevitable change… and change of course inherently drives the need for flexibility.
On this podcast we will explore a variety of common products that are available in the marketplace that provide a greater level of flexibility – and therefore lower costs and more efficiency – when that inevitable need to change comes.
Topics of discussion:
Is it possible to change genders on MPO or MTP connectors?
What about polarity?
What are some advantages to look for in fiber splice cassettes that make them more flexible for installation?
Explain pliable type ribbons, such as free form, and what makes them more flexible for use in the data center environment.
Are there large fiber count cabinets available that can perform multiple fiber handling functions?
Wednesday Aug 11, 2021
How to Become a 5G Market Leader in Challenging Times
Wednesday Aug 11, 2021
Wednesday Aug 11, 2021
Service providers are facing an incredible challenge, which is also a tremendous opportunity. Today, the demand for 5G deployment and the promise that it can bring to communities is at an all-time high.
Companies who find innovative ways to adapt will be the ones to claim the lion’s share of the emerging market. However, getting there requires change. In this podcast, John Sciarabba, CEO of Alden Systems, explains exactly what changes your company can make now to capture more business in the future — even beyond broadband deployment. “It’s really about being positioned for what’s next,” Sciarabba says.
Our current climate is unique because we haven’t seen this kind of volume of work involving so many areas of a company at once, while also requiring coordination among multiple companies within the industry. If any one area can’t keep up with demand, it can bottleneck the whole process.
In this podcast, we discuss:
Project to Process — How this crucial mindset shift will position your company to gain efficiencies without adding more resources
How the data you capture can affect processes downstream
How to use your data to drive better decisions and reduce unnecessary trips to the field
The most impactful way to utilize “human capital” through automation
As the work of 5G deployment and collaboration becomes exponentially more complex, the gains for companies who implement process improvement now grows immensely. Learn how you can reap the benefits by tuning in to this podcast.
Wednesday Aug 11, 2021
How to Become a 5G Market Leader in Challenging Times
Wednesday Aug 11, 2021
Wednesday Aug 11, 2021
Service providers are facing an incredible challenge, which is also a tremendous opportunity. Today, the demand for 5G deployment and the promise that it can bring to communities is at an all-time high.
Companies who find innovative ways to adapt will be the ones to claim the lion’s share of the emerging market. However, getting there requires change. In this podcast, John Sciarabba, CEO of Alden Systems, explains exactly what changes your company can make now to capture more business in the future — even beyond broadband deployment. “It’s really about being positioned for what’s next,” Sciarabba says.
Our current climate is unique because we haven’t seen this kind of volume of work involving so many areas of a company at once, while also requiring coordination among multiple companies within the industry. If any one area can’t keep up with demand, it can bottleneck the whole process.
In this podcast, we discuss:
Project to Process — How this crucial mindset shift will position your company to gain efficiencies without adding more resources
How the data you capture can affect processes downstream
How to use your data to drive better decisions and reduce unnecessary trips to the field
The most impactful way to utilize “human capital” through automation
As the work of 5G deployment and collaboration becomes exponentially more complex, the gains for companies who implement process improvement now grows immensely. Learn how you can reap the benefits by tuning in to this podcast.
Friday Jul 30, 2021
Accelerating the Internet’s Backbone Capacity, What’s Next Post Pandemic?
Friday Jul 30, 2021
Friday Jul 30, 2021
The COVID-19 pandemic forced populations to make an immediate shift to working and schooling from home full-time, driving all of us to connect via the Internet. At Telia Carrier, we saw a 56% year-on-year traffic growth which remains high. The pandemic highlighted the Internet’s essential role. By providing the critical foundation of the Internet and enabling the core services that facilitate ubiquitous conferencing and e-learning, backbone networks have enabled us to stay in touch.
Our reliance on the Internet also exposed the lack of reliable broadband, especially in rural areas of America. According to the FCC, it is estimated that at least 6.3 million households in electric co-op service areas lack reliable, high-speed internet access, which can lead to a loss of $68 billion over 20 years. Electric cooperatives in the US are addressing this deficit by building broadband communications to bridge the digital divide between urban and rural populations. Service providers connecting to these rural consumers need more diversity in routes between major markets. Telia Carrier is continually expanding across the US to build a more scalable network.
From a technology perspective building and operating a multi-layer architecture requires a transition to more open optical and packet networking allowing the use of technologies like 400ZR pluggables, lowering the cost of entry, creating a more cost-effective solution for service providers and leading to greater network expansion. Telia Carrier was the first to test 400ZR coherent connections between Cisco’s NCS 5700 and Cisco 8000 platforms over a third-party open line system and plans to rollout these solutions in the coming months.
Telia Carrier is also trailblazing a path in the 4G subsea market by evolving its networks to support the explosive traffic growth and high-bandwidth services driven by the cloud and video streaming. Telia Carrier and Aqua Comms recently completed a successful trial of a 400 Gigabit Ethernet service the two plan to offer between New York and Frankfurt, Germany.
In June, Telia Carrier officially became a standalone company with a new owner, Polhem Infra – which is focused on long-term infrastructure investment – allowing Telia Carrier to accelerate the network growth. This podcast will share fresh perspective from Telia Carrier’s CEO about the future of the company, the role of empowerment in building a culture of excellence, thoughts on the Digital Divide, and this unique time we are living in to reimagine and rearchitect the Internet backbone.
Topics of focus:
The impact of COVID-19 on our business and on the network
How we are rearchitecting the Internet backbone
Our recent 400G trans-Atlantic trial
Telia Carrier’s network expansion in the Americas
Staffan’s vision for the next five years
Wednesday Jun 16, 2021
How Can You Innovate and Improve Your Broadband Installation Quality, Speed, and Cost?
Wednesday Jun 16, 2021
Wednesday Jun 16, 2021
How are Broadband Service Providers (BSPs) leveraging technology tools and field-proven processes to improve operational workflows, collaboration and documentation during the installation process? How can this help reduce repeat install visits and ensure you deliver quality, speed, and lower your costs?
Join us in this podcast discussion to learn:
Innovative and modern approaches to improve installation processes.
Best practices and standardization techniques that will help improve your installation quality to deliver services faster, at lower cost, and without sacrificing quality.
The technology tools available to help your installation process be easily repeatable and more efficient for contractors and technicians.
Tuesday Jun 15, 2021
Easy and Fast Fiber Deployment with the FutureFLEX Air-Blown Fiber Solution
Tuesday Jun 15, 2021
Tuesday Jun 15, 2021
Sumitomo Electric Lightwave was the first company to bring Air-Blown Fiber (ABF) technology to the United States over 30 years ago, and since then is the market’s leading company to provide the best ABF solution. Sumitomo’s FutureFLEX® Air-Blown Fiber® provides innovative ways to create a network path with 3 easy steps using 5 components.
Topics of discussion:
What are the 5 components of Air-Blown Fiber (ABF) technology? (Also see below for the list.)
What are the 3 steps to creating a network path with FutureFLEX? (Also see below for more details.)
How is Freeform Ribbon used in ABF?
How has ABF been helpful in generating fiber optic technology for businesses/organizations?
What is the process of installing ABF technology?
Why should people be looking into having ABF installed into their everyday technology use?
How do you think ABF is going to change the future of technology?
Friday Jun 04, 2021
Why is Everyone in the Industry Talking About ADSS?
Friday Jun 04, 2021
Friday Jun 04, 2021
As we all know, there are a ton of buzzwords and hot topics being thrown around the industry these days; 5G, IoT, Future Proofing, etc. However, there’s one topic that seems to be on everyone’s minds but, for some reason, doesn’t get quite as much attention: ADSS (All-Dielectric Self-Supporting).
So today, we’re going to dive into all things ADSS: what makes it unique, why it’s a hot topic, and most of all, why you should care. And who better to accompany us on this exploration than one of the foremost authorities on ADSS, PLP (Preformed Line Products).
Topics of discussion:
What exactly is ADSS, what makes it unique, and how does it differ from lashed messenger?
What are some of the use cases for ADSS?
How does ADSS impact the make-ready process? Do reduced labor costs outweigh higher materials costs?
What are some critical things that listeners should be aware of regarding the installation of ADSS?
What applications do you see for ADSS in the next few years?
How has PLP supported the growth and adoption of ADSS, and how have you been able to maintain this kind of leadership position?
What are the first steps you recommend when tackling a new ADSS project?