Good, Bad and Ugly Telco and Digital ID Innovation people, their stories and their music in 20 minutes - Top 1% Engagement on LinkedIn

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. 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/

We have a great Podcast with Sheila Kavanagh, who is Chief Network Officer of Vodafone Ireland. We start by learning about Sheila’s career, she started with Eircell and that was ultimately taken over by the Vodafone Group. Being a Network Engineer at the time, she was delighted to get the assignment to develop the Roaming Business as this gave her great International Experience and travel opportunities. Later in her career, Sheila got the opportunity to become Chief Technical Officer for Vodafone Malta, she and her family moved there and she really enjoyed that assignment and learned a lot over four years in a sunnier climate (!). Moving back to Dublin just before COVID, Sheila took up the Chief Network Officer role and we talk about the issues that face her in this job, such as: We talk about how Sheila was successful in her career as a female executive in technology and how she works with her teams today, mainly she ensures that the teams emphasise Customer Focus as their main priority. Finally, we play out with a banger of tune that we all know well. Thanks for being a great guest Sheila. https://www.linkedin.com/in/sheila-kavanagh-0ba6394/

There was very big news in the Messaging Industry last week, after a decade since Apple launched iMessage and Google had standardised on RCS, Apple announced that it plans to support RCS in 2024. This will mean messaging interoperability between iOS and Android phones. But what does it mean for the A2P or Rich Messaging Business (RBM)? We reached out to Bill Dudley of Sinch to get his informed opinion about what it means. Bill has a very good analysis of what we know, what it means and what it could ultimately mean. We talked about We want to thank Bill for coming on as a very informed guest at short notice to give us all a heads up on the enormous implications of this shift in the market. Bill can be contacted at the following: https://www.linkedin.com/in/williamdudley/ https://william-dudley.com/ https://www.sinch.com/ Lyrics for Bull Mountain Ridge Music and Lyrics © Paul Thorn Stone Fox Dan was a Romeo man Made a livin’ sellin’ marijuana He went around turnin’ all the good lookin’ women on He wore a feather in his hat and drove a big black Caddy He was always lookin’ for a party He played Big Daddy to the women when the men wasn’t home Well now, Bull Mountain Hawk was the cock of the walk He said Stone Fox Dan needed killin’ When he got to drinkin’, he was meaner than a copperhead He was leader of the clan…took the law in his hands When he caught Stone Fox with his woman Guess who’s sleepin’ at the bottom of the cold waterbed? And the Hawk said, “Take him on down below the Bull Mountain Bridge Tie his hands and throw him in the river You might as well give him his farewell party night” He said, “Knock him in the head…he’s better off dead Break his arms and throw him in the river If anybody asks, just tell `em he committed suicide” And the Hawk said, “Take him on down below the Bull Mountain Bridge Tie his hands and throw him in the river You might as well give him his farewell party night” He said, “Knock him in the head…he’s better off dead Break his arms and throw him in the river If anybody asks, just tell `em he committed suicide” And the Hawk said, “Take him on down below the Bull Mountain Bridge Tie his hands and throw him in the river You might as well give him his farewell party night” He said, “Knock him in the head…he’s better off dead Break his arms and throw him in the river If anybody asks, just tell `em he committed suicide” “If anybody asks, just tell `em he committed suicide”

We have a great guest with Patrick Lopez, Telecoms Analyst, who provides us with insights into how Mobile Operators can fully exploit the opportunities provided by 5G Network-as-a-Service Patrick has vast amount of experience in Telco and Cloud implementation and he advises on strategy - his experience includes working as a vendor, an operator and an analyst Among the topics discussed we cover Patrick also talks about his Report “Open RAN, RIC and Apps”, which is available now with a one day workshop, check out his website As always, we finish on how Patrick enjoys his music and he plays out with a classic song, certainly one of the best in my opinion. Patrick can be contacted at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/plopez/ https://www.coreanalysis.ca/

We’re delighted to talk to John Strand of Strand Consult, based in Copenhagen Denmark. John has extensive experience of providing Consulting services to the Mobile Industry, John relates the intriguing story of Huawei and TDC in Denmark and how pressure was applied to the Danish Government to lobby TDC to choose Huawei Infrastructure. To the question “Is Huawei Dangerous?” John has a very simple example of the answer. We also cover the origins of the Premium SMS industry and we end on John’s view of what the future is for the Mobile Industry. John’s opinion is that the current business model is not sustainable and it needs to be reinvented. Finally, we learn how John relaxes and we talk about his favourite music, and, as always, we play out on a song that means a lot to him. John is a lively and informed guest and we had good fun recording the podcast. Enjoy! The Good, Bad and Ugly Telecom Podcast is Sponsored by Nettzer - https://nettzer.com/ Digital ID, Authentication and Onboarding

We have a great guest with Luke Kehoe, Telecoms Analyst, who provides us with an insightful analysis of the Irish Telecoms Market. The issues faced by the Operators in the Irish Market are common to Operators in all Mature markets which makes the analysis interesting Among the topics discussed we cover As always, we finish on how Luke enjoys his spare time, he has a surprising sport, and he plays out with a classic Indie Rock song. Thanks for coming on the Pod Luke, Luke can be contacted at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/luke-kehoe/ http://www.lukekehoe.com/ The Good, Bad and Ugly Telecom Podcast is Sponsored by Nettzer - https://nettzer.com/ Digital ID, Authentication and Onboarding

It was great to catch up with our friend Bill Dudley of Sinch today. Bill always has great insights into the Messaging and CPaaS Industries. Bill and his colleagues have developing the 10 Digit Long Code (10DLC) service for Non-Consumer to Consumer messaging in the North American market under the auspices of the CTIA, and he explains this development and the technical and legal issues behind it. 10 DLC has enabled a new and fast-growing market for SMEs and Mom and Pop businesses to easily and cheaply contact their customers while liberating them from expensive Short Codes. Bill talks through the development of The Campaign Registry (TCR) and the interaction with Brands and Campaigns, resulting in hundreds of thousands of Campaigns now being registered. As always in our Podcasts, the play-out song is the Guest’s Choice and Bill plays out with an artist I hadn’t previously been aware of, but I found to him to be different and enjoyable. Enjoy the Podcast. Bill can be contacted on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/williamdudley/ Or on his Website: https://william-dudley.com/ The Good, Bad and Ugly Telecom Podcast is Sponsored by Nettzer - https://nettzer.com/ Digital ID, Authentication and Onboarding

We are delighted to present Michael Becker (Advisor, Author and Speaker) as a Special Guest on the Good, Bad and Ugly Innovation Podcast Michael is a World Class Expert in Online ID and Authentication and is a deep thinker about the possibilities, the pitfalls and the potential of Online ID. He talks through the possibilities and the pitfalls in this tour-de-force Podcast. We cover a wide range of topics in this Podcast: I’m sure you’ll find this Podcast as interesting and stimulating as I did listening to Michael Hear more from Michael at the Mobile Ecosystem Forum event in London on the 25th May Register for the Mobile Ecosystem Forum – MEF Connections ID and Auth Event on the 25th May here: https://mobileecosystemforum.com/events_/mef-connects-personal-data-identity-2/ The event is Hybrid (In person and Online) and FREE. The Good, Bad and Ugly Telecom Podcast is Sponsored by Nettzer - https://nettzer.com/ Digital ID, Authentication and Onboarding

We’re delighted to have Eileen Carroll on the Podcast this week, Eileen is CEO of Púca (business SMS Messaging) and a Co-Founder of Prommt (Remote Payment Communications) Eileen has extensive business experience and talks about how both businesses are targeted and how both are scaling by focusing on different markets. In her spare time, Eileen admits to being a bit of a nerd (aren’t we all !?) and is also interested in a wide range of music, her choice of the playout song will probably surprise you. A very interesting podcast listening to Eileen’s experiences and insights, enjoy. https://www.prommt.com/ Secure, Trusted, Branded Payment Requests https://www.puca.com/ Trusted Enterprise Messaging The Good, Bad and Ugly Telecom Podcast is Sponsored by Nettzer - https://nettzer.com/ Digital ID, Authentication and Onboarding

We’re delighted to have the Chief Product Officer at Cubic Telecom, Cian Ó Cuinneagáin talking about IoT as it relates to high value Mobile Assets, particularly cars. Cubic is a supplier to a number of large customers including Audi. Cian covers the issues of regulatory, different administrative and regulatory regimes and how these affect issues such as SIM and Cloud Storage options. We also cover the issues that are driving Mobile IoT and we cover new markets such as Agricultural Equipment and Drones. When he relaxes Cian has some very energetic options, such as cycling, running and kayaking. Finally as always, Cian picks a classic song to play out on. I found it very interesting to hear from Cian who is a clear communicator and he explains the IoT Market issues very well. Enjoy. On a business note: I’ll be at the Mobile Ecosystem Forum event in Dublin on the 18th and 19th of April. The event is free and is both Live and Online and you can access the Registration Link here and on Linked In. I’ll be appearing on a Fraud Panel talking about the Threats of the False Positive kindly sponsored by Lanck Telecom and moderated by one and only James Williams. https://mobileecosystemforum.com/events_/mef-connects-business-messaging-3/ I look forward to seeing you there.

We’re delighted to have Roslyn Layton, who is an expert on Regulation and Strategy, Roslyn has studied numerous countries and has looked at the actual outcomes from Regulatory Regimes as opposed to the desired outcomes. Roslyn puts forward the idea that that rigorous regulation is reducing consumer choice of services and price points, in Europe in particular. Roslyn is a very clear and persuasive communicator and I found her ideas and examples to be very interesting and challenging to my assumptions. Finally, as always we end on a personal note and Roslyn nominates a classic Rock n’ Roll song that we all know. On a business note: I’ll be at the Mobile Ecosystem Forum event in Dublin on the 18th and 19th of April. The event is free and is both Live and Online and you can access the Registration Link here and on Linked In. I’ll be appearing on a Fraud Panel talking about the Threats of the False Positive kindly sponsored by Lanck Telecom and moderated by one and only James Williams. https://mobileecosystemforum.com/events_/mef-connects-business-messaging-3/ I look forward to seeing you there.

Welcome to the Good, the Bad and the Ugly Telecoms Podcast and we’re delighted to have Scott Bewley of pwc as our Guest. Scott has extensive and wide experience of working in the Mobile Industry both with Operators and with Vendors, he is now Director of Technology with pwc and providing solutions to his customers. Scott gives his views on the evolution of the Mobile Industry, the promise of 5G, and the IoT Use Case, and the effect of the SaaS model on the industry and what he is doing today for his customers. As a Kiwi, Scott tells us his story of how he ended up in Ireland, how, while in Africa he nearly landed in the Victoria Falls and we have a few laughs about the All Blacks and their impact on the game and his family. We open the Podcast with a vintage Racal Vodafone Ad from the 1980s – enjoy! https://www.linkedin.com/in/scottbewley/

We’re delighted to have the well respected Pamela Clark-Dickson, Principal Analyst with Omdia, where she looks after analysis of the CPaaS and Advanced Messaging and Communications industry, on the Podcast today. Pamela firstly covers the range of services on offer from Omdia and then we talk in detail about the development of CPaaS and the A2P markets and how the market participants are effectively blending their offerings. We cover topics such as the Market Disruption by Cloud Communications natives such as Twilio, how the A2P Providers such as Sinch and Infobip are responding by increasing their offerings and opening up new services. Pamela also talks about the range of new entrants such as BICS and Mavenir and who they are leveraging their existing Customer base. Pamela has very interesting comments on Market fragmentation caused by the IP Messaging Apps such as WhatsApp, Line and Viber. We end up with an intriguing conversation about what Google is doing and its likely future impact on messaging. Pamela also tells us a little about the Australian lifestyle and we end with a very pertinent Australian Song that talks to Australian History. Finally, apologies as my pet dog Laika caused a small disruption during the recording. ---- This Podcast is sponsored by Nettzer – Digital First Selling - www.nettzer.com Contact pat.flynn@nettzer.com so that we can understand your issues and provide you with the best solution.

Our Christmas 2022 Special Edition. We’re delighted to have Stuart Mitchell, Global Business Development at Sinch talking about the evolution of Messaging through different Technologies over the last decade. Stuart talks about all the important areas of SMS, RCS, Omnichannel and Spam. It turns out that Stuart has a surprising background relating to Music as you will hear!! https://www.linkedin.com/in/stuartmitch/ ---- This Podcast is sponsored by Nettzer – Digital First Selling - www.nettzer.com Contact pat.flynn@nettzer.com so that we can understand your issues and provide you with the best solution.