The Five Nine

We kick off the new season of The Five Nine with a debate around the question on everyone’s mind: is AI a threat or an opportunity for telecom companies? We’re keeping things all in the family today, with Fierce Network Research’s Mitch Wagner and Linda Hardesty offering fresh perspectives from each side. #AI #networks #connectivity See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week we’re taking a look at the big bottleneck that could bring the AI revolution to a screeching halt: power. AI requires a lot of high power chips deployed in a LOT of data centers. But while hyperscalers have plans to build up new data centers to support AI demand, they’ve run into power shortages in key areas. They’re particularly feeling the crunch in the U.S. So, we sat down with a pair of guests to figure out how we got into this mess, whether new nuclear plants could be the answer to hyperscalers’ prayers and what needs to be done to get us to where we need to be. We chatted with Mark Nelson, founder and managing director at consulting firm Radiant Energy Group, and Aalo Atomics CEO Matt Loszak to get some answers.  To learn more about the topics in this episode:  Will new nuclear arrive in the US in time to save data centers? A big battle over data center power bills is looming Here’s what hyperscalers, OpenAI say they need to build an AI empire Energy companies are struggling to keep up with data centers’ monster appetite Here’s why Trump’s energy policy matters for cloud providers See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week, we sat down to unpack one of the biggest emerging concepts in the broadband space – the open access network.  Open access, like any broadband network, is no cakewalk and comes with its own share of challenges. But it also presents underrated opportunities for the industry, particularly in the United States where the model is less often used.   Utopia Fiber and Gigapower are two of just a handful of open access players in the U.S.   Utopia reaches nearly two dozen cities in Utah and has also been involved in projects in Idaho, Montana and California. Gigapower, meanwhile, is a joint venture between AT&T and investment company BlackRock which is initially aiming to achieve 1.5 million passings in 8 markets.   So, we sat down with Utopia CEO Roger Timmerman and Gigapower CRO Jeff Seidenfaden to chat about what makes open access unique, how each has made things work, and what pages other operators can take from their playbook.   To learn more about the topics in this episode:   Gigapower CEO says open access network is ‘picking up speed’ as JV expands to NM CEO Exclusive: Utopia Fiber chief thinks AT&T isn't really doing open access  UTOPIA continues to weave web of ISPs SiFi, Sumo Fiber: Open access networks aren’t a piece of cake See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Guest host Liz Coyne wrangled an exec from Nokia Bell Labs to talk about the company’s recent mission to the moon. The mission came as Nokia Bell Labs celebrated its 100th anniversary but the landing didn’t go quite as expected.   Nokia’s Thierry Klein, President of Bell Labs Solutions Research at Nokia, tells Liz all about why the company is aiming for the moon in the first place, what it learned from the mission and what’s next. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week, we delve back into the intersection of AI and networking, and more specifically what enterprises need to know and prepare for as AI moves to the edge. Just how distributed will AI really be? How will enterprises decide what workloads go where? And what should they be thinking about and planning for to make the AI-driven future a reality? We sat down with GTT SVP of Product Engineering to sift through these thorny questions and provide some guidance on how to handle the AI wave to come. To learn more about the topics in this episode: What happens to AI factories when AI moves to the edge? Telcos have the perfect edge cloud infrastructure for AI up their sleeve Op-Ed: Telco optimism springs at MWC with the hopes of AI at the edgeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Fierce Network crew made it back safe and sound, for the most part, from Mobile World Congress 2025 in Barcelona. But the show, which is essentially the official start to the year in telecom, gave us a lot to think about. We spent the week digesting what all the announcements from the show mean for the industry and now we're looking forward to what the rest of 2025 has in store for operators. Here’s what we have our eyes on. To learn more about the topics in this episode: Nokia’s not getting hung up on missed lunar phone call FNTV: Orange isn't giving up on APIs MWC 2025 coverage hub See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The hotels are booked, the bags are packed and at the end of this week, the flights will be boarded. But what will we find when we get there? That’s the question we’re going to tackle today and the answers just might surprise you. With me are Fierce Network’s editor-in-chief Liz Coyne, executive editor Monica Alleven, Senior Reporter Dan Jones and our Research guru Mitch Wagner. This podcast is written and hosted by Diana Goovaerts. It is edited by Diana Goovaerts and Matt Rickman. Liz Coyne is our executive producer. To learn more about the topics in this episode: MWC 2025: Will it be hot or not? What to expect when you’re expecting… to attend MWC25 Catch all the MWC news as it rolls in right here See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week, we delve into the nitty gritty of one of the biggest turnaround stories in telecom in recent years: that of Frontier Communications.   Frontier recently made headlines when Verizon agreed to pay $20 billion in cash to acquire the company as part of a bid to drastically expand its fiber footprint. That deal is now expected to close in Q1 of 2026. But while it’s flying high now, Frontier’s fortunes weren’t nearly as positive just a few short years ago.   Back in April 2020, the company actually filed for bankruptcy. And while it emerged from bankruptcy a year later, CEO Nick Jeffrey had his work cut out for him righting the ship.   We’ve all seen Frontier’s upbeat PR in recent years as its pivot to fiber revived the company’s revenue. But we wanted the details on just how big a lift the transformation was. We sat down with Jeffrey to hear more about the state of the company when he first joined, how the company navigated through transformation initiatives that fell flat and whether leadership really always knew they’d be successful.  This podcast is written and hosted by Diana Goovaerts. It is edited by Diana Goovaerts and Matt Rickman. Liz Coyne is our executive producer.  To learn more about the topics in this episode:  Here’s how Frontier used AI to revive its ailing B2B business  https://www.fierce-network.com/broadband/heres-how-frontier-used-ai-revive-its-ailing-b2b-business   Verizon's $20B Frontier buy is all about 'convergence, baby' https://www.fierce-network.com/broadband/verizon-rumored-buy-frontier-its-convergence-game   Frontier wants to become the ‘un-cable’ ISP https://www.fierce-network.com/broadband/frontier-wants-become-un-cable-isp   Frontier plans 495,000 new fiber passings in 2021  https://www.fierce-network.com/operators/frontier-plans-495-000-new-fiber-passings-2021   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week, we explore the rise of sovereign clouds across the globe.  You’ve probably heard of GDPR by now, or at least data privacy. And while sovereignty is sort of in a similar sphere, it’s more about data direction than privacy.   We sat down with Vultr’s Kevin Cochrane to examine what sovereignty means, how it’s accomplished and the impact AI could have on the landscape.  This podcast is written and hosted by Diana Goovaerts. It is edited by Diana Goovaerts and Matt Rickman. Liz Coyne is our executive producer.  To learn more about the topics in this episode:  ‘There’s no escaping’ digital sovereignty, Google Cloud exec says https://www.fierce-network.com/cloud/theres-no-escaping-rise-digital-sovereignty-google-cloud-exec-says   How Trump 2.0 could transform American cloud, AI, broadband and more https://www.fierce-network.com/cloud/how-trump-20-could-transform-american-cloud-ai-broadband-and-more   Nations declare independence with 'sovereign clouds' https://www.fierce-network.com/cloud/how-sovereign-clouds-help-build-great-nations   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week, we sat down to pull back the curtain on the idea factory chugging along behind the scenes at one of the largest hyperscalers: Google Cloud.  CTO Will Grannis heads up Google Cloud’s Office of the CTO, or OCTO, which is comprised of senior Google technology experts and former enterprise CTOs. Together, this team sifts through the company’s big ideas to figure out what will work and what won’t.   And while the world hears about it when Google Cloud knocks it out of the park with an idea, there are many, many others that never make it to prime time. Failure, Grannis told us, plays a big role in Google Cloud’s Office of the CTO.  Together, we walk through the lifecycle of an idea at OCTO, how to home in on the good ideas and why failing often and fast is actually a good thing.  This podcast is written and hosted by Diana Goovaerts. It is edited by Diana Goovaerts and Matt Rickman. Liz Coyne is our executive producer.  To learn more about the topics in this episode:  Google Cloud could overtake Microsoft’s No. 2 cloud position this year  https://www.fierce-network.com/cloud/google-cloud-overtake-microsofts-no-2-cloud-position-year   Exclusive: Google Cloud CTO talks tech, failures and what the future holds https://www.fierce-network.com/multi-cloud/exclusive-google-cloud-cto-talks-tech-failures-and-what-future-holds  Google Cloud brains say AI, sustainable finance, energy and privacy are trends to watch https://www.fierce-network.com/public/google-cloud-cto-office-brains-watch-these-6-cloud-trends   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week, we’re taking a look at what the future holds for operators when it comes to the mobile core.   The march to the cloud has been a steady but rather slow journey for operators. And nowhere is this more true than for mobile core services. But that could soon change, thanks to a recent deal Alianza struck to acquire Metaswitch from Microsoft.   Here’s what Alianza’s CEO Brian Beutler had to say about the state of the market today and what’s on the horizon.  This podcast is written and hosted by Diana Goovaerts. It is edited by Diana Goovaerts and Matt Rickman. Liz Coyne is our executive producer.  To learn more about the topics in this episode:  Exclusive: Alianza buys Metaswitch from Microsoft in deal years in the making https://www.fierce-network.com/cloud/exclusive-alianza-buys-metaswitch-microsoft-deal-years-making   Exclusive Op-Ed: Alianza resurrects Metaswitch from Microsoft grave https://www.fierce-network.com/cloud/exclusive-op-ed-alianza-resurrects-metaswitch-microsoft-grave   Beyond VoIP: Alianza, AWS partner to push legacy telco ‘crap’ to the cloud https://www.fierce-network.com/apps-services/alianza-aws-partner-push-legacy-telco-crap-cloud  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week, we’re taking a look at what the recent U.S. election means for telecom and tech policy in the years ahead.      Donald Trump just won a second term in the White House, but this go around could be very different from the first thanks in part to the entrance of new key characters - like Elon Musk and Robert Kennedy – into the equation.      To sift through the implications of another Trump term on telecom and tech policy at the FCC, FTC and beyond, we spoke with Blair Levin, who is a non-resident senior fellow at The Brookings Institution and an analyst with New Street Research. We also spoke with veteran tech and telecom analyst Jack Gold.      They told Fierce that another Trump term could mean big changes for BEAD, AI and even cloud computing costs.      Here’s what they had to say about the issues they’re watching.     To learn more about the topics in this episode:  What the Trump win means for the FCC and telecom policy https://www.fierce-network.com/broadband/what-trump-win-means-fcc-and-telecom-policy      What the Trump win could mean for the BEAD program https://www.fierce-network.com/broadband/what-trump-win-could-mean-bead-program     What the Trump win could mean for wireless and spectrum https://www.fierce-network.com/wireless/trump-and-wireless-first-glance     What the Trump win means for cloud policy  https://www.fierce-network.com/cloud/what-trump-win-means-cloud-policy  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week, we’re venturing into the thorny territory that is cloud security.   In a newly issued security report, Google Cloud noted that new tools are lowering barriers to entry for malicious actors, and will make it easier for them to launch attacks in the year ahead. The report also noted that something as seemingly small as a compromised identity can have an outsized impact on an enterprise given the widespread use of integrated hybrid on-prem and cloud environments.   But what are enterprises even responsible for when it comes to cloud security? In the multi-cloud universe, is achieving zero trust access even possible? And is AI about to upend everything entirely?  We went in search of answers to these questions and ended up on the horn with Andrew Gault, CEO of virtual networking company ZeroTier. We talked through what’s most important when it comes to enterprise cloud security, the ways in which the security landscape is changing and how AI could change the game entirely. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week, we’re returning to the intersection of AI and network transport.   We recently spoke with Lumen Technologies CEO Kate Johnson about how AI is impacting the network, demanding ever-larger pipes for data transport and training. That’s, of course, a boon for a company like Lumen, which has now signed partnership deals with cloud companies and AI pioneers Amazon, Microsoft, Meta and Google.  And yet, AI itself is rapidly evolving. Within the next few years, analysts have predicted AI will shift from being mostly training workloads to being mostly inferencing use cases  So, we posed a new version of the question to Zayo chief product officer Bill Long: what happens when AI moves to the edge?  We spoke with Long about what demand looks like now from various players in the market, how the landscape might shift with the rise of inference, and his prediction that a fresh wave of bandwidth demand could catch the industry off guard. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week, we're getting a behind the scenes look at the private networks that power our ports and industrial campuses and keep us connected both underground, in the subway, and inside stadiums. As consumers, we're used to being connected to sprawling cellular networks from the likes of AT& T and Verizon in the U. S., BT, and Deutsche Telekom in Europe. SK Telecom, Telstra, Vodafone, you know, all those big operators. But private networks are a bit different. How? Well, though they use the same cellular equipment, they're generally smaller than commercial cellular networks. They also provide dedicated bandwidth and can be deployed by companies and venues to ensure that the data that flows over them is more secure than it might be on public networks. Many companies are now moving away from traditional distributed antenna systems and towards private networks, whether those be 4G or 5G.  To make sense of it all and explain why the rising tide of private network deployments matters, we linked up with Boldyn Networks. Here's what Justin Berger, Group Chief Strategy Officer, told us. To learn more about the topics in this episode: Boldyn’s CTO Marc Rohleder is on a mission to take tech to new frontiershttps://www.fierce-network.com/private-wireless/boldyns-new-cto-marc-rohleder-mission-take-tech-new-frontiers Boldyn gains 50 private networks with Edzcom acquisitionhttps://www.fierce-network.com/private-wireless/boldyn-gains-50-private-networks-edzcom-acquisition Private Wireless Networks https://www.fierce-network.com/keyword/private-wireless-networks  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.