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Analysts Don Kellogg and Roger Entner discuss the current state of networks, why carriers must shift their strategic focus, and the challenge of truly prioritizing the customer. 00:00 Episode intro 00:43 All networks are now “good enough” 02:04 Shifting focus from speed to capabilities 03:20 Meeting consumer needs is paramount 05:50 What follows network emphasis? 06:56 Episode wrap-up Tags: telecom, telecommunications, wireless, prepaid, postpaid, cellular phone, Don Kellogg, Roger Entner, network, Dan Schulman, FWA, 5G, Speedtest, 4K, Verizon, T-Mobile, T-Satellite, value, Consumer Cellular, video, AT&T, reliability

Analysts Brett Clark and Roger Entner are joined by TLC Worldwide CEO Jay Cary and Connex Studio CEO Dave Whetstone to discuss current customer retention challenges and the strategic solutions companies can implement to solve them. 00:00 Episode intro 00:26 Why is churn still rising? 02:47 Loyalty plans remain focused on acquisitions 04:36 How to improve loyalty plans 07:00 T-Mobile's positive interaction goal 07:51 Customer appreciation is underrated 08:35 The business case for loyalty plans 11:03 Visible and the MVNO landscape 14:04 Marketing strategy suggestions 15:38 Episode wrap-up Tags: telecom, telecommunications, wireless, prepaid, postpaid, cellular phone, Brett Clark, Roger Entner, Jay Cary, Dave Whetstone, TLC Worldwide, Connex Studio, AT&T, 5G, network, loyalty plans, switching, Comcast, T-Mobile, churn, Ronan Dunne, Verizon, prices, Visible, MVNO, NPS, MNO, Mint, CRM, RCS, marketing

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

Analysts Don Kellogg and Roger Entner discuss Comcast’s new loyalty program, Xfinity Membership, and whether it will work as intended for the cable giant. 00:00 Episode intro 00:25 Xfinity Membership overview 02:18 Loyalty plans actually drive acquisitions 04:04 Tangible vs. vague rewards 05:17 Verizon and T-Mobile's loyalty programs 06:49 Will these programs work for cable? 07:58 Customer care as a potential perk and episode wrap-up Tags: telecom, telecommunications, wireless, prepaid, postpaid, cellular phone, Don Kellogg, Roger Entner, Comcast, Xfinity, cable, loyalty, T-Mobile, Peacock, Verizon, churn, NPS, customer-centric, support

Analysts Don Kellogg and Roger Entner discuss several Verizon-related topics, including the recent outage, new rules on device unlocking, and the Frontier acquisition, plus HHS's plan to study cellphone radiation. 00:00 Episode intro 00:25 Verizon outage diagnosis 03:23 What's the proper recourse? 04:28 FCC rescinds Verizon's 60-day phone unlocking requirements 07:13 Implications for competitors 08:37 California clears Verizon's acquisition of Frontier 11:31 Convergence is back on the table 12:19 HHS to study cellphone radiation 15:37 Episode wrap-up Tags: telecom, telecommunications, wireless, prepaid, postpaid, cellular phone, Don Kellogg, Roger Entner, Verizon, outage, 5G, network, FCC, spectrum, net neutrality, devices, cable, AT&T, BYOD, churn, Frontier, DSL, convergence, FWA, radiation, safety, HHS, CTIA

Analysts Don Kellogg and Roger Entner discuss T-Mobile's new three-line Better Value family plan, what it means for retention, and how competitors might respond. 00:00 Episode intro 00:26 T-Mobile's new family plan overview 01:42 Loyalty plans as acquisition tools 03:26 Who is actually switching? 04:48 FWA and cable retention 05:35 T-Mobile's strategy and episode wrap-up Tags: telecom, telecommunications, wireless, prepaid, postpaid, cellular phone, Don Kellogg, Roger Entner, T-Mobile, Better Value, plans, satellite, loyalty, tenure, switching, Verizon, AT&T, cable, FWA