The Fast Mode Podcasts: Breaking News, Analysis and Updates From Telecoms Industry

In this episode of The Fast Mode Podcasts, Tara Neal speaks with Sridhar Kuppanna, CEO of ST Engineering iDirect, on how the future of converged 5G-NTN connectivity will be built on standardised, interoperable architectures that enable seamless multi-orbit services.

They also discuss how:
- Satellite is evolving from a niche technology into a fundamental part of the global connectivity ecosystem
- AI and agentic automation will simplify satellite network operations by automating service delivery, predicting network issues and enabling self-healing capabilities
- The industry is shifting towards software-defined, cloud-native and multi-orbit architectures, allowing operators to unify management across GEO, MEO and LEO networks
- Collaboration across the satellite, telecom and cloud ecosystems will be essential to building open, standards-based platforms

To learn more, visit: www.idirect.net

#NTN #5G #Satellite #NetworkTransformation #AI #AgenticAI #CloudNative #DigitalInfrastructure #Interoperability #OpenStandards #MultiOrbit #Connectivity #STEngineeringIDirect

In this episode of The Fast Mode Podcasts, Tara Neal speaks with Ilan Avner, Director of Product Management at AudioCodes, on how Voice AI is rapidly moving from experimentation to enterprise deployment.

They also discuss how:
- Intelligent voice bots and AI-powered agent assistants are transforming contact centres by improving customer experiences, increasing automation and enabling human agents to work more efficiently
- Enterprises can overcome key production challenges such as telephony integration, latency, human-agent escalation, noisy environments and maintaining conversational context
- Teams should prioritise flexible, vendor-agnostic platforms that support evolving AI models and meet enterprise-grade scalability, security and compliance requirements

Learn more: www.audiocodes.com

#VoiceAI #ConversationalAI #EnterpriseAI #AgentAssist #ArtificialIntelligence #GenerativeAI #AudioCodes

In this episode of The Fast Mode Podcasts, Tara Neal speaks with Raj Shastri, VP of Mergers and Acquisitions at Telenor, on how telcos are expanding beyond traditional connectivity, and why strategic mergers and partnerships are becoming essential for building the platform capabilities required for the industry's next phase of growth.

They also discuss how:
- Telecom M&A is shifting beyond market consolidation to acquiring capabilities in AI, IoT, cybersecurity, data centres and digital platforms
- Platform businesses combining connectivity with software and services are emerging as a key growth engine for telcos
- Telenor is positioning itself for the future by focusing on AI- and cloud-native transformation while continuing to invest beyond its traditional telecom business

Learn more: www.telenor.com

#MergersAndAcquisitions #IoT #Cybersecurity #DataCentres #CloudNative #PlatformBusiness #EnterpriseTechnology #Telenor

In this episode of The Fast Mode Podcasts, Tara Neal speaks with Ankur Kapoor, Executive Vice President and Chief Network Officer at T-Mobile US, on how the Un-carrier is leveraging AI, 5G-A, and autonomous networking to drive ahead its customer-centric connectivity gameplan, while laying the foundation for the next 6G era.

They also discuss:
- 5G Advanced is transforming networks from delivering faster connectivity to proactively predicting, adapting to and resolving customer issues in real time
- T-Mobile is embedding AI across its radio, core and operational networks to enable autonomous optimisation, network slicing and innovative services such as live translation
- The company's early investment in a nationwide 5G Standalone, cloud-native architecture has accelerated the deployment of advanced network capabilities and differentiated customer experiences
- Looking ahead, T-Mobile sees 6G as a natural evolution of its AI-first strategy, with AI-RAN and physical AI paving the way for next-generation consumer and enterprise applications

Learn more: www.t-mobile.com

#TMobile #5GAdvanced #AgenticAI #AutonomousNetworks #6G #AIRAN #Uncarrier

In this webcast, Masarra Mohamed, Senior Research Analyst, CPaaS at IDC, and Kunal Shukla, SVP & GM, Head of Network APIs at Vonage join Tara Neal of The Fast Mode to discuss the growing challenge of digital identity fraud and how network APIs are transforming identity verification.

They explore how:
Identity fraud has become automated, AI-driven and increasingly convincing, making traditional authentication methods such as passwords and OTPs insufficient
Telcos can use trusted, real-time network intelligence through network APIs to enable continuous identity verification
Nnetwork APIs are evolving telcos beyond connectivity providers into trusted digital identity layers
Widespread adoption depends on industry-wide standardization, interoperability and simpler commercial models

To learn more, visit www.vonage.com and www.idc.com

#DigitalIdentity #NetworkAPIs #Cybersecurity #FraudPrevention #DigitalTrust #OpenGateway #CAMARA #Telecom #AI #AgenticAI