The Week with Roger

Analysts Don Kellogg and Roger Entner evaluate AT&T’s new OneConnect plan, examining its impact on both consumer value and the competitive landscape, as well as new price increases for existing subscribers.

00:00 Episode intro

00:26 New OneConnect plan overview

04:01 ARPU is waning as a metric

04:30 AT&T's strategy with the plan

05:23 Price increases on existing customers

06:21 Will price hikes backfire?

07:54 The company remains focused on the long term

08:33 Episode wrap-up

Tags: telecom, telecommunications, wireless, prepaid, postpaid, cellular phone, Don Kellogg, Roger Entner, AT&T, OneConnect, convergence, fiber, cable, FWA, ARPU, ARPA, T-Mobile, bundling, price increases, churn, revenue, EBITDA

Analysts Don Kellogg and Roger Entner unpack this week’s top telecom news, including the FCC’s new foreign router ban, the digital divide in switching, and how telecom delivers value amid an inflationary environment.

00:00 Episode intro

00:26 Effects of the foreign router ban

02:21 Router ownership may represent a new digital divide

03:34 Telecom has bucked the affordability crisis

05:00 Value has increased regardless of price

05:38 Episode wrap-up

Tags: telecom, telecommunications, wireless, prepaid, postpaid, cellular phone, Don Kellogg, Roger Entner, routers, FCC, chips, China, supply chain, FWA, switching, AT&T, rural, affordability, hot spots, data, value

Analysts Don Kellogg and Roger Entner discuss the fierce competition between fiber, cable, FWA, and satellite, including who's winning – and where.

00:00 Episode intro

00:25 Fiber segments are winning across the board

01:53 AT&T's fiber gains

02:40 Verizon's fiber gains and convergence

03:09 Cable's fiber gains

04:19 FWA and bundling

04:35 Satellite and rural competition

05:37 Only certain customers will bundle

06:00 T-Mobile's fiber gains are more limited

06:30 Is everything a fiber network?

09:29 Speed is not always a factor

10:53 Starlink vs. fiber in rural areas

13:28 Episode wrap-up

Tags: telecom, telecommunications, wireless, prepaid, postpaid, cellular phone, Don Kellogg, Roger Entner, fiber, cable, FWA, satellite, ILEC, AT&T, net adds, FirstNet, Verizon, bundling, convergence, Charter, NPS, DSL, BEAD, rural, Starlink, T-Mobile, WISP

Analysts Don Kellogg and Roger Entner are joined by Hanish Bhatia from AtomInsights to discuss the company’s recent acquisition by Recon Analytics and how the deal will significantly expand Recon’s data capabilities and value to clients.

00:00 Episode intro

00:22 Acquisition announcement

03:15 Tracking the entire customer journey

04:47 International reach and advanced analytics

06:10 Database integration and capabilities

09:56 AI use for data precision

10:31 Factoring in macroeconomics

11:35 Speed advancements and future expansion

12:59 Enhanced value for semiconductor clients

14:13 Improved sample sizes

14:38 Roger's letter from Total Wireless

15:28 Episode wrap-up

Tags: telecom, telecommunications, wireless, prepaid, postpaid, cellular phone, Don Kellogg, Roger Entner, Hanish Bhatia, AtomInsights, statistics, devices, Canada, international, network, speed, AI, databases, semiconductors, NPS, Total

Analysts Don Kellogg and Roger Entner discuss insights from the recent Mobile World Congress connectivity event in Barcelona, including updates on Starlink, AI-RAN, and the state of European telecom.

00:00 Episode intro

00:25 MWC overview and satellite bifurcation

01:55 AI-RAN may be a new revenue stream

03:34 Differences from edge computing

05:14 6G updates and T-Mobile's technical lead

06:06 Data sovereignty is a big issue for Europe

06:50 European company consolidation

07:58 Fraud is a rising concern 08:13 New devices announced at MWC

08:56 Episode wrap-up

Tags: telecom, telecommunications, wireless, prepaid, postpaid, cellular phone, Don Kellogg, Roger Entner, Mobile World Congress, SpaceX, AST, Starlink, AI, AI-RAN, compute, T-Mobile, edge computing, network, 6G, 5G, data sovereignty, consolidation, fraud, Samsung, handsets, devices

Analysts Don Kellogg and Roger Entner unpack the week’s top telecom stories, including a leadership shakeup at Charter, accelerating rural consolidation, and the strategic void left by 5G Americas' dissolution.

00:00 Episode intro

00:25 Charter announces Nick Jeffery as COO

02:46 Rural ISP consolidation accelerates

04:38 5G Americas announces cessation of operations

07:58 Effects on the analyst community

09:01 Episode wrap-up

Tags: telecom, telecommunications, wireless, prepaid, postpaid, cellular phone, Don Kellogg, Roger Entner, Charter, Frontier, Verizon, Vodafone, fiber, cable, Nick Jeffery, Chris Winfrey, rural, Metro Connect, FWA, 5G Americas, AT&T, T-Mobile, Neville Ray, Sprint, Chris Pearson, vendors

Analysts Don Kellogg and Roger Entner examine the shifting reporting metrics at AT&T and T-Mobile, and why these optics don’t alter the underlying fundamentals.

00:00 Episode intro

00:24 AT&T's improved disclosures

02:00 The analytics are still on target

03:10 T-Mobile shifts to account-level churn reporting

06:13 Transparency in the wireless industry

07:40 T-Mobile's free line issue

08:57 Listener shout-outs and appreciation

09:21 Episode wrap-up

Tags: telecom, telecommunications, wireless, prepaid, postpaid, cellular phone, Don Kellogg, Roger Entner, disclosures, AT&T, T-Mobile, churn, Verizon, ARPU, free lines, Q4, Q1

Analysts Don Kellogg and Roger Entner share insights from the recent T-Mobile Capital Markets Day update event, covering changes in the retail store strategy, new AI translation features, and updated reporting metrics.

00:00 Episode intro

00:24 T-Mobile Capital Markets Day event overview

01:39 Pursuing convergence through fiber and FWA

02:37 Live AI translation could be a game-changer

04:03 Telecom must transcend the “dumb pipe”

05:08 Latency is key going forward

06:01 How AI actually impacts user experience

08:20 Key reporting metrics are changing

10:28 Episode wrap-up

Tags: telecom, telecommunications, wireless, prepaid, postpaid, cellular phone, Don Kellogg, Roger Entner, AI, T-Mobile, retail, FWA, fiber, convergence, USI, translation, network, Verizon, AT&T, latency, Apple, Android, churn, Srini Gopalan

Analysts Don Kellogg and Roger Entner react to news of Sampath’s pending departure as CEO of Verizon’s Consumer Group, discuss potential successors, and analyze what the leadership shakeup could mean for the competitive landscape.

00:00 Episode intro

00:26 Sampath to exit Verizon

02:26 Who will be next?

04:40 Selection will likely come from outside

06:15 Impact on T-Mobile and its push toward T-Life

08:23 AT&T's relative stability and upcoming headquarters move

10:16 Q1 metrics are shifting

10:51 Industry excitement and episode wrap-up

Tags: telecom, telecommunications, wireless, prepaid, postpaid, cellular phone, Don Kellogg, Roger Entner, Verizon, Sampath, CEO, Ronan Dunne, Manon Brouilette, Dan Schulman, Alfonso Villanueva, T-Mobile, T-Life, layoffs, AT&T, John Stankey, headquarters, convergence, John Legere

Analysts Don Kellogg and Roger Entner analyze Q4 earnings for AT&T, Verizon, Comcast, and Charter, with additional insights on convergence and FWA.

00:00 Episode intro

00:24 AT&T Q4 overview

01:40 Convergence has supplanted handset upgrades

03:30 Verizon Q4 overview

05:18 Comcast Q4 overview

05:45 Charter Q4 overview

06:35 Charter is taking FWA seriously

07:15 Charter's wireless line metrics

07:58 Episode wrap-up

Tags: telecom, telecommunications, wireless, prepaid, postpaid, cellular phone, Don Kellogg, Roger Entner, earnings, AT&T, Verizon, Comcast, Charter, cable, net adds, FWA, convergence, devices, churn, iPhone, value, fiber, Frontier, bundling, upgrades, video, NFL, T-Mobile