Category Archives: General

The AI-Telco Intersect Opportunity: A Dehype!

Artificial intelligence is in yet another hype cycle – the fourth since the 1960’s. What is different this time from past hype cycles is that it is driven by data from the bottom up as opposed a top-down approach in previous hype cycles. The pervasiveness of connectivity and the Internet make AI applicable in many industries, including telecom.… Read More »

Is There Room for Innovation in Telecom?

Startups lead innovation in the technology world. But is there room for startups in the telecom world? And, what is the future of innovation in this industry? Innovation is one of the themes of this year’s Mobile World Congress which is starting next week, so will the ecosystem address this question? Is telecom a utility play? Services providers… Read More »

Power Consumption: Bitcoin Mining vs. Mobile Base Stations

One of the criticisms of blockchain technology center on power consumption and the cost of mining. The electricity consumed in mining operations is high and continues to grow as mining difficulty increases in response to increasing processing power. Some think that blockchains is wasteful technology that is not compliant with a 21st century outlook for a green economy.… Read More »

Blame it on the Internet!

Look at how well the price of Bitcoin correlates with its search trend. As Bitcoin raced to a record high nearing $20,000 earlier this month, so were the number of searches. We can see the same thing happening in 2013-2014 when a mini hype bubble developed focusing on narrow segments of people. Today’s hype bubble is more wide-spread and… Read More »

Executive Workshops: AI, Blockchains and 5G

We designed workshops in emerging technologies to help executives gather the important facts and get a head-start on establishing a strategy to leverage innovation. Each workshop is delivered by a sector practitioner with insights into both technology and market aspects. Artificial Intelligence: Xona eXponent Workshop on Artificial Intelligence Blockchains: Xona eXponent Workshop on Blockchains The workshops could be customized to… Read More »

The Role of Artificial Intelligence in the Transformation of Telcos

This past week, I had the pleasure to moderate a panel on digital transformation and to join my Artificial Intelligence-expert partners at Xona in conducting a workshop on AI at TMT Finance World Congress to a crowd of ecosystem professionals. It is ironic that an industry that is a catalyst to the transformation of many other industries is… Read More »

AI Investments Workshop: Xona eXponent Launched

Xona Partners in cooperation with TMT Finance, has launched its one-day executive workshop series: Xona eXponent. The workshop on November 28th in London, will be focused on AI Investment. The event features four Xona team members who have worked in the Automotive, Financial Services, and Telecom Infrastructure industries bringing cutting edge technology to life. Recent estimates report that… Read More »

Telecom Investments in Blockchains

Blockchain investments have long ceased to be the preserve of the fintech industry, having branched out over the past 2 – 3 years to different industries including health care, real estate, insurance, retail, and education to name a few. The telecom and Internet sectors are no exceptions. Focusing on the telecom space, we find that we are in… Read More »

Applications of Blockchains in the Telecom Sector

Blockchains has evolved from a technology for cryptocurrencies to one supporting applications in multiple industries, including telecom. A few leading telcos are investigating the potential of blockchains (link). Many applications are being proposed including roaming fraud mitigation, flexible service offering or selection, IoT contracts, authentication and many use cases. However, when it comes to actual and practical solutions,… Read More »

The Cascading Technology Trap in Smart City Projects

A survey of smart city activities around the world shows that much of the focus of smart city projects remains on establishing the most basic of services such as connectivity. In fact, there is a clear lag in the deployment of technologies and services in smart city applications, versus what technologies enable. We call this the cascading technology… Read More »

Five Facts About Artificial Intelligence Investors Must Know

Artificial Intelligence is riding the hype curve, again! Pervasive digitization and connectivity, advances in processing power and low-cost storage are making possible what once could only be imagined. AI is penetrating every aspect of business with organizations seeking to build knowledge from data to gain competitive edge, sway customers and increase profits. This created high demand for AI… Read More »

Artificial Intelligence in Network Optimization

One clear trend in wireless is the increasing level of network complexity and the corresponding rise in operating expenses. Networks support three or four technologies (e.g. GSM, 3G, LTE, Wi-Fi). A proliferation of frequency bands ranging between 600 MHz and 3500 MHz lead to different service performance. There are many different types of base stations such as macro cells and… Read More »

A View on TMT from Finance Perspective

Two days at TMT Finance M&A Forum in London were an excellent forum to get the perspective of the business community on developments in telecom, media and technology space. For me, it was the perfect opportunity to hear the CFOs’ view points on many topics that occupy CTOs – anything from evolution of technologies in the telecom and… Read More »