Staying Connected

Network as a Service (“NaaS”) is an interesting concept.  Who wouldn’t want to buy network services like a water utility – pay only for what you use?  Unfortunately, NaaS often encompasses a wide range of commercial and technical aspirations, rather than discrete vendor service offerings.

In this 9-minute podcast, Ben Fox, one of TC2’s Managing Directors, and Joe Schmidt discuss what they think the key attributes of NaaS are and how vendors could develop solutions that offer real value to enterprise buyers.

If you would like to learn more about our experience in this space, please visit our Technology Consulting & Strategy Development Services and Success Stories webpages.

Cisco recently announced a 10% increase in its global list pricing.  While the price increase is an average increase across Cisco’s product portfolio, it still stings, and will affect almost every enterprise that runs a network or has networking needs.

In this 9-minute podcast, Ben Fox, one of TC2’s Managing Directors, and David Lee, TC2’s Technology Director, talk with Joe Schmidt about why Cisco is increasing its pricing and provide some tips for helping companies keep their networking equipment costs in check.

If you would like to learn more about our experience in this space, please visit our Hardware & Licensing and Success Stories webpages.

On this special two-part podcast, TC2’s Joe Schmidt has assembled six of his favorite guests from past Staying Connected episodes for a rapid-fire review of the important ICT events of 2021.

In this part one, LB3’s Andrew Brown looks at the impact of E911 regulation and the continuing saga of USF, Laura McDonald reviews some predictions she made about vendor developments and security issues, and TC2’s Theresa Knutson closes out the podcast with a discussion of TEM services and how the telecom companies are beginning to sunset technologies like POTS and ISDN.

On this special two-part podcast, TC2’s Joe Schmidt has assembled six of his favorite guests from past Staying Connected episodes for a rapid-fire review of the important ICT events of 2021.

In this part two, TC2’s David Lee focuses on the technical reasons why high-profile hacks were perpetrated and assesses the market for unified communications, LB3’s Kevin DiLallo shares valuable insight about the state of wireless services, including 5G, and the vendors, and TC2’s Ben Fox wraps up the podcast sharing his views on managed services and hypothesizes that cloud deals will increase in importance to enterprises in the years ahead.

On November 29, 2021, we recorded a podcast about a dispute between the FCC and the FAA, the respective regulators for the communications industry, and the aviation industry.  The dispute revolves around the wireless carriers’ use of C-Band spectrum to deliver 5G and the aviation industry’s use of nearby spectrum to control aircraft. 

In this 7-minute podcast Steve Rosen, a Partner at LB3, David Lee, TC2’s Technical Director, and Joe Schmidt provide an important update on this developing situation.  A key takeaway is if nothing changes and AT&T and Verizon Wireless keep to their January 19 schedule to turn up 5G service, expect disruptions to air freight and passenger air service – which is not what the economy needs right now.

For a bit of background history on this evolving event, you can listen to Steve, David and Joe’s prior podcast “5G Deployment and Radio Altimeters – a Clash of Industries and Regulators.”

If you would like to learn more about our experience in this space, please visit our Mobility Services – In-Country, Regional, Global and Success Stories webpages.

When negotiating mid-market deals enterprises require a different perspective than they employ in their big business deals.  Even though requirements may be just as complex as in those larger deals, the dynamics of the procurement are decidedly different. 

In this 6 minute podcast TC2 Directors Tony Mangino and Joe Schmidt discuss why scale matters in ICT procurements and offer advice to help mid-market clients realize maximum value from their ICT deals.

If you would like to learn more about our experience in this space, please visit our Strategic Sourcing and Success Stories webpages.

There is a fascinating dispute unfolding between the wireless communications industry and the aviation industry, or rather, a dispute between their respective regulators, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).  The dispute revolves around the wireless carriers’ use of C-Band spectrum to deliver 5G and the aviation industry’s use of nearby spectrum to control aircraft.

Listen to this 12-minute podcast as Steve Rosen, a Partner at LB3, David Lee, TC2’s Technology Director, and Joe Schmidt explain this technical and legal conundrum and why it will be a regulatory and economic train wreck if the dispute doesn’t get sorted.

If you would like to learn more about our experience in this space, please visit our Mobility Services – In-Country, Regional, Global and Success Stories webpages.

When you buy technology, the easy choice is to buy it from your incumbent supplier, and frankly, if you have a good relationship with that supplier and a contract with competitive pricing, that’s probably the right choice.  When you’re looking at new technology like SD-WAN, however, handing the business to your incumbent supplier requires further thought.

Listen to this 6-minute podcast as TC2 Directors Keith Cook and Joe Schmidt discuss how doing your due diligence and competitively sourcing your SD-WAN solution will deliver big benefits for your company.

If you would like to learn more about our experience in this space, please visit our SD-WAN & Transformational Network Services and Success Stories webpages.

If you’re a buyer of ICT and network services, you’re probably quite familiar with SIP trunking, MPLS, UC, cloud, and many other go-to solutions used in the enterprise.  You may, however, be less familiar with legacy services such as POTS, FX, ISDN, and TDM.  These are the technologies that have been in the ground for decades and are being targeted by the ILECs and CLECs for discontinuance. 

Listen to this 9-minute podcast as TC2 Directors Pat Gilpatrick and Joe Schmidt provide a brief history lesson on these legacy technologies, explain why the carriers want you off of them and how they are using massive price increases to “motivate” you to migrate, and what you can do to address this changing market dynamic.

If you would like to learn more about our experience in this space, please visit our Technology Consulting & Strategy Development Services and Success Stories webpages.

Companies are increasingly re-evaluating their needs for Unified Communications-as-a-Service (“UCaaS”) solutions, and many are taking steps to address their quickly changing UCaaS requirements.  This is particularly important in the age of COVID when the necessity to support work from home and the hybrid office are at the forefront.

In this 12-minute podcast, TC2’s Technical Director, David Lee, and Joe Schmidt discuss some of the key inputs for evaluating UCaaS solutions including building a strategy, procuring the solution, and selecting the right provider and feature set to meet your company’s needs.

If you’d like to learn more about our experience in this space, please visit our Unified Communication & Collaboration and Success Stories.