This week’s pod was recorded remotely because Scott was larging it in the Canary Islands. After reflecting on Scott’s weekend on the lash, they start by reviewing data showing the telecoms recession is set to get worse before it gets better. They move on to assess China’s ability to manufacture cutting-edge chips before concluding by discussing a popular story of Iain’s regarding German policy towards Huawei.

The guys were delighted to welcome special guest Darren Pearce, CEO of telco circular economy specialist TXO. Accordingly they started by exploring the various opportunities for used kit and generally getting schooled on the nuances of that industry. They then move on to Scott’s coverage of the London Mayor gaslighting his public, before concluding by discussing Iain’s story about Telefónica Germany moving to a cloud core.

It was ‘just the two of us’ after a guest had to bail at the last minute. The lads both covered reports that the US is revoking many licenses granted to its companies to do business with Huawei, so the main segment focuses on that and the broader US/China tech cold war. Iain was getting Open RAN withdrawal so they then decided to give him a fix, before concluding with a look at a hilarious misstep taken by Apple with its new advert.

The lads were delighted to welcome long-time industry friend Howard Jones of Vorboss onto this week’s pod. That familiarity resulted in an exceptionally long period of rambling before they eventually got to the point. They started with an introduction to Howard’s company, which then led to lengthy tangents about the whole UK telecoms sector, and was interspersed with thoughts on the current state of PR.

The pod is delighted to welcome special guest Igor Leprince, CEO of Boldyn Networks, to this week’s episode. After lamenting the Scott’s roaming experience in Venice, they start with an introduction to Boldyn and where it fits into the broader telecoms mix. That leads natural to an exploration of the neutral host market in general before they conclude with an analysis of America’s decision to reintroduce net neutrality rules.

The pod is delighted to welcome back special guest Neil McRae, Chief Network Strategist at Juniper Networks. The main theme of the chat was derived from recent quarterly earnings announcements by Ericsson and Nokia, which were very similar as they’re both suffering through what could be described as a telecoms recession. There also were plenty of networking tangents, including some DIY stories from Neil.

Iain and Scott are forced to do this pod over Zoom due to producer Pierre selfishly taking an Easter holiday. The main theme of their conversation is Huawei’s recently announced 2023 financials, which seem a lot more healthy than any of their Western equivalents. That leads naturally to an examination of how effective US sanctions against Huawei and China have been, before they conclude with a broader look at the geopolitical environment that is behind all these shenanigans.

The pod is delighted to welcome special guest Alex Lawrence, Editor of 6G World, for this week’s episode. Unsurprisingly, the spend the first half of the recording discussing 6G, including what it might be and whether or not we should even bother with it. Since 6G’s success may be determined a more helpful regulatory environment, they move on to the topic of telecoms regulation, before concluding with a review of Ericsson’s recent news.

The pod was delighted to welcome its first ever special guest from Microsoft – Shawn Hakl VP of 5G Strategy. They start by asking for an overview of what Microsoft’s interest is in the telecoms sector these days, which has increased significantly in recent years. That leads naturally to a review of the role the public cloud plays for operators, before they conclude by asking Shawn about the 5G part of his job title.

No guest this week so you get a looser version of the podders, including some extra fruity language.