I asked John Strand, of Strand Consult, on the Good, Bad and Ugly Telco Podcast after I read his Research Note on the misinformed (and it turned out predictable outcome) takeover of TDC seven years ago.  To give some context to this, TDC was the well capitalised incumbent operator with over a century of service, and it is now facing an uncertain future.

To quote John’s Research Note

In a significant development, three prominent Danish pension funds ATP, PFA, and PKA are divesting their 50% stakes in TDC to Macquarie[their partner], marking the culmination of a troubled seven-year partnership. This research note examines the flawed strategy behind the 2018 acquisition, the subsequent financial deterioration, and the lessons for the telecommunications sector. Strand Consult’s assessment of the flawed deal from 2018 is validated.

John is a very clear thinker and speaker, and he related the full story very well.  It’s even more shocking as he clearly predicted what the outcome would be.

The focus on Financial Engineering, as opposed to Customer Innovation and Marketing, ultimately means that the that many billions of Kroner have been written off.

You can find the full Research Note here:

https://strandconsult.dk/the-three-danish-pension-funds-atp-pfa-and-pka-sell-their-share-of-tdc-to-macquarie-at-a-big-loss-what-went-wrong-and-whats-ahead/

John can be contacted via his website or via LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/strand-consult/

If you have an interesting topic or story you’d like to talk about on the Good, Bad and Ugly Podcast in the areas of Innovation, Product Marketing, Market Trends, contact me via LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/paddyflynn/

We were delighted to talk to our good friends Luke and Deryck in this Telco Industry Review Special

Luke Kehoe is a well-known Industry Analyst with Ookla, he provides very insightful and data based reporting on the state of the Telco, Mobile and Fixed, and the implications for the future of the industry.

Deryck Fay is an experienced Requirements Guru, Product Owner, Agile Transformer and author ‘Connecting A Nation’ which relates the story of the growth of the Telco Industry in Ireland over 160 years and significantly the story of the first Trans-Atlantic cables in the late 1800’s.

In a lively and wide ranging discussion we cover all topics from the current slowdown in Data growth to the future markets that will bring growth and new players.

Enjoy this one hour special that is available here on Audio and on Video on YouTube at:

https://www.youtube.com/@GoodBadandUglyTelecomsInno-h4t

Thanks to Luke and Deryck for being great guest and analysing the biggest issues in Telecoms today.

Luke Kehoe can be contacted at:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/luke-kehoe/

Deryck Fay can be contacted at:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/deryckfay/

Producer - Pat Flynn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/paddyflynn/

The Good, Bad and Ugly Theme (less than 30 seconds) was composed by the great Ennio Morricone

Music credits to the relevant artist and composers.

We were delighted to talk to our good friend Dr Roslyn Layton talking about how we can ensure that the Mobile and Broadband Industries become attractive for investment.  We are in the sorry state where the long-term Capital Return in the Mobile and Broadband industries are effectively zero or negative.

In comparison the Big Tech Industries who are the main users of these Networks have returns up to 9,000% in the long term.  And they are resisting any change in the Telecoms Business Model, a model designed for different times.

The Regulatory environment for Mobile and Broadband companies in Europe is not supportive, mergers and shared costs are being resisted by Regulators.  Europe is missing between €50 to €200 Billion in under-investment in its networks today.

Roslyn argues that we need flexible two-sided business models where the Consumer of the Data and the Originator of the Data contribute to the Investment in the Network.  Fixing this issue is also one of the most Humanitarian things we can do for developing and poorer markets.

Thanks to Roslyn for being a great guest and analyzing the biggest issue and most important issue in Telecoms today.

Roslyn can be contacted via:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/roslynlayton/

Producer - Pat Flynn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/paddyflynn/

Music credits to the relevant artist and composers.

We were delighted to talk to our good friend Michael Becker about Personal ID and Personal Data online.

Michael is an expert and visionary in this important and constantly developing area that is becoming more and more critical to the Digital World.

Michael updates us on the Mobile Ecosystem Forum Conference in London on the 21 / 22 May 2024. The conference is free and both in person and online – register below.

If you need to know more about Online ID, Online Age verification and managing personal Data, then this is the event that will guide you and answer your questions.

Contacts:

Michael Becker

https://www.linkedin.com/in/privacyshaman/

Register for the Mobile Ecosystem Forum ID and Data Conference in London 21 May.  The Conference is free and also hybrid, so its both “In person and online”:

https://mobileecosystemforum.com/event/mef-connects-personal-data-identity/

Producer - Pat Flynn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/paddyflynn/

We were delighted to talk to Matthew Hewston, who is Co-Founder of PassionFruit.  Matthew has a background in Marketing and spent five years at Google developing his skills and networks.

We’ve often lamented the lack of marketing innovation in the Telecoms and the PassionFruit team have come up with a great proposition to totally change the marketing of Telecoms services.

The availability of eSIMs and the tried and tested MVNO business model can be allied with the Marketing Power of the community of new Creators out there.  We talk in some detail about how this works and it’s a great idea in my opinion.

Let’s listen and learn and think about how this can refresh Telecoms marketing.  Enjoy!

Contacts:

Matthew Hewston

https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewhewston/

https://www.netinfluencer.com/passionfruit-verizon-att-mobile-networks/

Producer - Pat Flynn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/paddyflynn/

We were delighted to talk to James Williams, well known Telecoms Industry Enabler and Communicator.  James is now VP Business Development for XConnect (a Somos company).

We talk about James’s career and how he moved into Telecoms.  We discuss the power of Mobile Operator Brands and how the potential market share for Messaging Services in the SME sector is still not being tapped into fully.

James points out the importance of the Phone Number, which can be argued to be more important than a National ID card, for example.

Finally we finish on James’s surprising hobbies and how he relaxes when at home.

It was great to get James’s insightful comments delivered in a very clear manner.  Finally, as always, we play out on James’s choice of a floor filler song.  Enjoy.

Contacts:

James Williams:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrconnectivity/

Producer - Pat Flynn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/paddyflynn/

We have a very interesting guest on the Podcast this week.  Deryck Fay has written a fascinating book about the history of Telecoms in Ireland called “Connecting a Nation” and it’s a very surprising history.  Its starts in the 1850s, yes, when the first sub-sea cables were being laid and Ireland was the natural hub for the first Transatlantic cables.  Later its proximity to Nova Scotia made it the natural hub for the first Marconi radio services.

We then talk about the state of Telecoms during the rise of the new, and in fairness not well off, Irish state.

Finally, we get on to the last decades when there was huge investment in Telecoms and there was the tremendous growth of Mobile and the Internet and Ireland became a leader in many ways.

Deryck is a great raconteur and he tells the story with clarity and insight that I found fascinating.

I couldn’t quite find the music that Deryck wanted but you’ll see I got a close second with a famous clip of Albert Reynolds talking about a plane hijacking.  The other voice briefly in the background is the late great Charlie Bird, journalist.

Enjoy

We were delighted to talk to Luke Kehoe, Telecoms Analyst and World Traveler.  Luke has moved to Beijing to study, and he gives us his impression of the city, the food, and the consumer digital ecosystem. 

• Luke updates us on a range of important Telecoms Industry topics. He comments on the state of the Global RAN market, contrasting growth across the various regions.

There are also some very interesting and surprising new market entrants with strong brand recognition coming from different business sectors. 

It was great to get Luke’s insightful comments delivered in a very clear manner.  Finally, as always, we play out on Luke’s choice of a classic and inspirational song.  Enjoy.

Contacts:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/luke-kehoe/

http://www.lukekehoe.com/

Producer - Pat Flynn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/paddyflynn/

We were delighted to talk to Niall Norton, ex-CEO of Openet (an Amdocs company)  about the success that Openet is now.

Niall talks about his early career and how he gained experience across a number of industries before deciding to move into the Telecoms Software Infrastructure space.

Over the years Niall and the Openet team built the company into an incredible success and secured some of the largest Mobile Operators in the world as customers.

Niall touches on a number of key points that made the company successful including the quality of engineering, seamless deployment and an excellent product management function.

Niall also talks about his plans for the next step in his career in terms of Mentoring, Advising, Teaching with his Consulting Vehicle, Clever Communications.  He prefers to be ‘deep’ with a small number of people rather than ‘shallow’ with a wide number of people and is looking forward to his new projects.

Finally, as always, we play out on Niall’s choice of a classic and inspirational song.  Enjoy.

Contacts:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/niallnorton/

https://www.openet.com/data/

We were delighted to talk to Neil Wisdom, CEO of Siprotect about Fraud and Hacking in Voice and VOIP.

Neil's company provides a comprehensive suite of solutions to detect and prevent this hacking, using a range of techniques such as their software solution which implements Firewalling, Session Border Controllers and the latest intelligence on what’s actually happening in the wild.  Neil also talks about the impact of DORA and the NIS 2 Directive on Operators and Enterprises in general.

He discusses the Honey Pot information gathering that Siprotect has implemented and how the company can lock down specific User Agents.

Ultimately, Neil believes that human analysis of the data and the risks is still important for an top down view

Finally, as always, we play out on Neil’s choice of a humdinger of a record.  Enjoy.

Contacts:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/neilwisdom/

https://siprotect.com/