Forget your Spotify Wrapped list. This story is all about podcasts you shouldn’t have missed. The Five Nine spent the back half of 2024 delving into some of the hottest topics we’ve been covering to expand the conversation in new directions.
We’ve picked the top three out of the latest season’s 12-episode run. If you haven’t heard them yet, you’ll definitely want to give them a listen to set the stage for where things are headed in 2025.
Without further ado:
-
Building a new network – and telco – for AI with Lumen
In one of our most-listened-to episodes, we sat down with Lumen Technologies CEO Kate Johnson to delve into how artificial intelligence (AI) is changing not just the network, but the culture inside telecom companies.
When Johnson left Microsoft to take the helm at Lumen in 2022, she faced an uphill battle transforming the ailing company. But by leaning into hard changes – and thanks to a fortuitously timed AI-boom – Lumen has been able to pitch itself as THE network needed to support the next wave of technology.
A big Microsoft partnership and $5 billion worth of AI networking contracts later and voila. The tide has turned.
As telcos the world over grapple with AI, we set out to learn more about what went into developing Johnson’s strategy for the company, how AI is shaping its plans, and how Lumen is hoping to defend its position against fast followers to its playbook.
-
What is broadband access without affordability?
The United States government is poised to spend more than $42 billion on broadband expansions across the country in a quest to bring internet connectivity to every citizen. And there’s no question that the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program will be transformational for the country.
But there’s one big question looming: what happens if people who need broadband service can’t afford it?
We sat down with Gigi Sohn, a former FCC nominee who is currently the Executive Director of the American Association for Public Broadband, and Jake Varn from the Pew Charitable Trusts’ Broadband Access Initiative team to chat about the end of the Affordable Connectivity Program and what will happen to programs like BEAD if affordability isn’t accounted for.
-
Have we been doing automation all wrong?
Fully autonomous networks are something of a holy grail for telcos and data center operators alike. And yet, progress has been slow at best.
But….why?
Well, it has a little to do with the way networks are architected. But the biggest problem – at least according to Nokia exec Mike Bushong – is that vendors are trying to solve for the wrong problem.
We sat down with Bushong to get the scoop on where automation efforts went wrong, where things stand today, and what can be done to get the industry on the right track.
You can catch our whole slate of episodes from 2024 right here.
