The Fast Mode Podcasts: Breaking News, Analysis and Updates From Telecoms Industry

The Next Telco Growth Engine: AI, eSIM and Composable Business Models

Ahead of DTW Ignite 2026 in Copenhagen, Executive Editor Tara Neal speaks with Ryan O'Hanlon, VP of Sales and Marketing at MDS Global on how cloud-native BSS platforms can help operators remain agile, reduce complexity, and unlock new revenue streams in an increasingly interconnected telecom landscape. In this episode, Ryan also discusses how: - Composable BSS is becoming a critical enabler of digital telco growth, as many operators are struggling with fragmented "Frankenstein" BSS environments - Future telco revenues will come from diversified connectivity offerings, including API monetization, Network-as-a-Service, private networks, IoT services, and eSIM - eSIM is reshaping customer onboarding and digital experiences, but operators still need to improve orchestration and activation processes to deliver seamless user journeys - MDS Global's strategy centers on creating a unified commercial and operational layer, bringing together connectivity management and BSS capabilities to provide a single source of truth Learn more at: www.mdsglobal.com

The Autonomous Network Blueprint: Scaling Al Across the Telco Business

In this episode of The Fast Mode Podcasts, Executive Editor Tara Neal speaks with Susan White, AVP of Strategy of Netcracker following the company's win of the OSS & Automation Leader title at the The Fast Mode Awards. In this episode, Susan discusses how: - Challenges around widespread closed-loop automation remain, with organizational structure, data quality, inventory accuracy, and AI governance continuing to slow progress - Agentic AI is set to radically transform network operations, eventually autonomously detecting, diagnosing, and resolving network issues - Netcracker's Domain Automation links network operations directly to business outcomes, enabling operators to understand not just faults, but also the affected customers, services, SLAs, and revenue impact. - The company's Blueprint approach accelerates automation deployment, enabling operators to replicate proven automation frameworks across multiple network domains and significantly reduce implementation times - Low Earth Orbit satellite networks are emerging as a major growth area for domain automation, driven by increasing complexity, stringent SLA requirements, and the convergence of 5G and NTN

Building AI-First Organisations: Data, Products, and Enterprise Value

Ahead of DTW Ignite 2026 in Copenhagen, The Fast Mode's Executive Editor Tara Neal sat down with Vasanth Raju, Head of AI Products at Rakuten, to discuss how leading digital organizations are moving beyond AI experimentation to deliver measurable business outcomes. In this episode, Vasanth explores how: - Telcos are at a crossroads, with declining ARPU despite growing data usage, forcing operators to rethink their business models and how AI can create measurable value - AI should not be treated as a bolt-on feature, and must be built into products and operations from the ground up to deliver scalable business outcomes - Rakuten is deploying AI at scale across its ecosystem, expecting over US$29 million in cost savings from AI-powered customer service tools in 2026 alone - Competitive advantage comes from a strong data foundation—unified data, a single customer identity, and breaking down silos enable AI to deliver meaningful results - AI must be viewed as an amplifier, and the real differentiator is its ecosystem, loyalty loop, and unique customer data that connect services and drive higher customer value

Balancing Security and Experience: Vonage on the Future of Digital Identity

As fraud escalates and digital interactions grow more complex, businesses are under mounting pressure to verify who they're talking to — without making the experience harder for legitimate customers. Network-powered solutions are emerging as a powerful new layer in the digital trust toolkit, giving enterprises direct access to real-time mobile network intelligence to authenticate users, detect fraud signals, and streamline customer journeys — all invisibly, in the background. In this episode, Kunal Shukla, SVP & GM, Head of Networks APIs on behalf of Vonage — winner of The Fast Mode's inaugural Digital Identity Innovator award — joins the conversation to explore how network-powered solutions like the Vonage Identity Insights API are redefining what's possible in digital identity.  Kunal also delves into: * How the team at Vonage feels about winning the inaugural Digital Identity Innovator award * Why digital identity has reached a critical inflection point now * What network APIs deliver and how do they offer a better approach to trust and authentication than traditional solutions * What makes the Vonage Identity Insights API unique, and how do features like SIM Swap detection and Subscriber Match deliver both security and better user experience * Real-world examples of how developers and enterprises are using the Identity Insights API

Rebuilding Trust in Voice Communications with Network-Level Digital Identity

Josh Whitehurst, Head of Product at First Orion discusses: * What’s driving the current “trust crisis” in voice communications, and how we got here * Why the industry is now moving beyond STIR/SHAKEN and what gaps remain * What end-to-end authentication means in practice for carriers and enterprises * How operators like T-Mobile, Deutsche Telekom, and Vodafone are approaching trusted communications differently today * How analytics, authentication, and branded identity work together to create trust * What results companies are seeing when they implement authenticated and branded calling * How important calling behavior - things like cadence, consent, and timing - is in maintaining trust * How trust will become a competitive differentiator for operators and enterprises over the next few years To learn more, visit www.firstorion.com