Category: Telecoms

  • Learn to read the digital wind: A group CIO’s perspective of the state of the telecoms nation

    One of my highlights from the last Great Telco Debate was my informal interview with Phil Jordan, former Group CIO from Telefonica, about his 20 years in the telecoms industry. We talked about the highs and lows of the role, the relative role of the CIO, telco transformation and the state of the market. Here…

  • An Economist’s perspective on the future of telecoms

    Getting external perspectives always adds to the richness of the Great Telco Debate.  Mark Gregory, Chief Economist at EY in London and I discussed the economic realities of telecoms and the digital economy going forward. Here are the key themes that emerged: Measuring productivity in traditional economic terms has been challenged by the Gig economy…

  • A Great Telco Debate 2017: an industry in transition from introspection to altruism?

    The reason d’être of the Great Telco Debate is to air the broadest set of perspectives to help people challenge and shape their thinking around future strategies. It is increasingly evident that the telecoms industry has some major shifts in strategy to adopt in order to find its place in the digital economy. Drivers for…

  • Autonomous vehicles and their unexpected consequences: an accessibility Mexican stand-off

    I recently joined an Institute of Engineering & Technology (IET) workshop looking into some of the unexpected consequences of autonomous vehicles. The IET will be producing a report shortly but I’m here to promote the accessibility design agenda. The technical capabilities of the vehicle, the compute power on board for navigation, vehicle management and entertainment…

  • From Pipes to a Digital Platform Economy – TM Forum Live Nice 2017

    The telecoms industry and its entourage descended on Nice for its annual brushing shoulders with the Cannes film festival in May. Apart from meeting with many senior telecoms and supplier contacts, it is a good barometer for what is happening in the industry. I chaired the Digital Platform Economy & API track on the opening…

  • What did the Great Telco Debate learn from MWC?

    The Great Telco Debate may not be on the scale of MWC, but it is a year long process of analysing the telecoms industry from every possible angle to shape the programme for the event. MWC was a great opportunity to reconsider the topics from 2016 and draw from market developments. Using last year’s debate…