DNA, MWC & P5G

In this episode, Ben & Dean discuss the recent Connectivity Summit event in Brussels and what it told us about the EU DNA Digital Network Act proposals. Dean gives a preview of what to expect in Barcelona at MWC, and also a quick update on the state of Private 5G markets. Benoit highlights an upcoming BEREC event about FTTH and copper switch-off.

00:33 - Last week, Dean and Ben met in Brussels at the Forum Europe event on Connectivity, which brought together regulators, policymakers, telcos, industry associations, vendors and a slew of consultants to discuss the DNA proposals. 

It covered a lot of ground, from satellite and spectrum, to overall telecoms consolidation and investment plans. But while it had a lot to say about 6G and sovereignty, the fixed broadband world and contentious issue of "voluntary conciliation" for IP interconnect and other disputes got much less airtime. We discuss the good & bad outcomes. (Dean's LinkedIn write-up of the Brussels event is here).

16:10 - Dean kicks off the segment what to expect as themes at MWC in Barcelona, starting with Sovereignty, Satellite & Automation. Yes, there will also be a bit about spectrum, 6G and network APIs as well, but they probably won't be the stars of the show in terms of announcements and on-stage discussion. We also dive into the difference of sovereignty for telcos vs cloud. (Dean's next Unthinkable Lab workshop will cover telecom & tech sovereignty & resilience issues on April 23 - Link)

25:25 -  A quick segment on growth of private cellular networks, and the role of telcos in P5G, plus a comparison with Wi-Fi for enterprise wireless. (Dean's write-up of the recent Uptime Private 5G event is here).

30:01 - Upcoming events:

- See Benoit at BEREC's workshop on European Copper Switch-Off (link)

- See Dean at the IWCE event on Critical Comms, courtesy of the Safer Buildings Coalition, on a panel about in-building emergency comms (link) and at vCon Spring (link) to discuss vCons and AI+voice for telcos.

Hot takes on the EU DNA proposals

In this episode, Ben & Dean give their initial opinions on some of the most important elements in the official European Commission DNA document, as well as the tone of the official press conference and speech by EVP Henna Virkunnen.

We'll be honest - we haven't yet read every last word of the 340 page document, together with its annexes and impact assessments. There's certainly going to be a lot more to discuss in future podcasts, but we wanted to get our initial "hot takes" out there as quickly as possible. (And the transcripts are automated & unchecked, sorry)

We talk about changes in access nework regulation, spectrum harmonisation, IP interconnect policy, satellite, sovereignty issues, copper switch-off, 6G, Wi-Fi, BEREC & RSPG and more - although each of those really merits a deep-dive on its own. (Not to mention other aspects such as numbering we don' t tackle at all).

For those of you wanting to skip straight to the section on IP Interconnect and voluntary "conciliation" - we know it's probably the most contentious -  it starts at 19:10

A link to the download page for the document itself: https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/library/proposal-regulation-digital-networks-act-dna

Also, check both Dean's & Benoit's LinkedIn timelines for discussion over the past few days from the leaked draft & wider issues on the DNA

https://www.linkedin.com/in/benoitfelten/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/deanbubley/

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In this 2026 New Year edition of DBTT we give analysts' takes on what to expect this year, in the areas of:

• Connectivity: What to expect in the evolution path of 6G (and spectrum, standards and AI-Native), FTTH uptake and Copper Switch-Off in Europe, and Satellite constellations, D2D and broadband
• Datacentre Infrastructure: We talk about the likely continued buildout of DCs, with multiple factors influencing location and investment. We talk about shifting dynamics in semiconductors, optical networks and energy supply
• AI Impact: Dean & Ben talk about where AI is having an impact, and why it might take some time to show through in enterprise productivity and economic stats. Also touches on the blurring boundaries of training and inference, and what that might mean for networks
• Regulation: We're anticipating the DNA publication - and wondering when and where it might have effects, and its alignment with other regulatory developments. Also there's Section 230 in the US and a possible redefinition of what it means to be a platform or publisher. And spectrum, again!
• Geopolitics: Sovereignty is certain to be a top theme in 2026, but what does it mean? What are the dynamics to expect between US, Europe, China and elsewhere? Is free speech a defining issue? What about underlying tech stacks? And what else might surprise tech/telecoms on the global stage?

That's a lot to try to fit into 30 minutes, so we don't delve too deeply. We'll pick up on multiple themes in future editions in greater detail, especially after the expected release of the EU DNA on January 20th.

A few links to resources we mentioned : 

- This is Dean's analysis of the GSMA spectrum forecast for 2040

- French Competition Authority on Energy/Environmental impact of AI

- The January 15th Unthinkable Lab workshop on AI / APIs

- 6G Myths & Mistakes

As always, if you like our podcast, please share and give it some visibility, like and subscribe !

In this edition of DBTT we give analysts' takes on a number of recent events, news and trends in telecoms including: 

• Dean has been to several industry events lately, including the Mplify NaaS event, FYUZ and Wi-Fi Now (write-ups are here, here & here). Benoit has been thinking about fibre take-up and personal data ownership.
• The recently published Final Opinion on the Upper 6GHz spectrum band by Europe's Radio Spectrum Policy Group (RSPG). What are they suggesting, and what might it mean for 5G & 6G, Wi-Fi and the broader wireless ecosystem? Dean has also written a full article on this.
• A view on the trend of "enshittification" of online services and applications, as per Cory Doctorow's thesis. What does it mean for the Internet? Does AI make it worse? And what could be done at a systemic level or via policy to limit it? Does personal reputation or better filtering / curation help?
• We discuss recent layoffs at large telecom operators and what this might indicate about the industry's health and future prospects. Is this just reflecting the end of a capex cycle and the adoption of software-based networks needing less headcount? Is AI to blame? What does it tell us about the future of the telecoms industry?

 As always, if you like our podcast, please share and give it some visibility, like and subscribe !

In this edition of DBTT, we cover a number of recent events and industry developments, including:

- Some thoughts on the Nvidia / Nokia partnership and investment, including the possible implications for 6G, edge compute and datacentres

- A recent report by French regulator ARCEP about Internet traffic trends and dynamics, not just on the access network but also in the transport / interconnect domain. (Link to English version). Benoit has had a chat with them about the report & also has thoughts on why other regulators should do something similar... 

- .. and then we both have some thoughts on what regulatory "simplification" might look like, especially in Europe, against the backdrop of both the (delayed) EU DNA and also the AI Act and other policy initiatives. Dean reviewed a Connect Europe on simplification. (Link) 

- US spectrum issues that arose during a recent visit by Dean to Washington DC, unpicking what might be the outcome of the OBBBA mandate to identify and auction 800MHz for mobile use.

- Thoughts on the combination of Voice & AI, which came out of Dean's recent UnthinkableLab workshop (link & link). In short, telcos have to work out how to infuse AI into their voice infrastructure and services, both for consumer and B2C / CPaaS applications.

There's also a YouTube video version of this podcast, which will be live later this week. (Link)

Introducing Dean & Ben Talk Tech. Two well-known industry analysts talk about telecoms, cloud, AI and adjacent sectors' technology and regulation / policy.

The first episode covers:

• 5G evolution
• FTTH market structure & Benoit's new report on the French fibre market
• Dean's takeouts from the recent Techritory conference in Riga, Latvia
• Developments with the upcoming European Commission Digital Networks Act
• Thoughts on the recent Ofcom auction of mmWave spectrum in the UK

This first edition is relatively low on "production values" and has minimal editing and fun stuff like intros/outros, but we'll work on that as we get used to the format. We may also invite guests at a later date.