The Appledore Research Podcast

Talking Transformation: Navigating the AI Revolution with Orange In this episode of Talking Transformation, Robert Curran sits down with Olivier Simon, Head of Data and AI Initiatives at Orange, to explore the front lines of telecom’s autonomous future. With over 300 million customers across 26 countries, Orange is a global leader driving the industry toward Level 4 autonomous networks—a state of closed-loop, self-healing automation. Key Discussion Highlights:Strategic AI Implementation: Simon outlines how Orange utilizes AI across the entire network lifecycle, from optimizing multi-billion euro investments in site placement to fine-tuning thousands of radio access network (RAN) parameters. Driving Real ROI: The conversation delves into the pragmatic approach of targeting "high-cost pockets." For a group like Orange, where field services exceed €2 billion annually, even a 4–5% efficiency gain through AI and computer vision results in tens of millions of euros in savings. The Power of Digital Twins: Discover how Orange is breaking down traditional data silos. By creating digital twins, they build a unified representation of complex, multi-domain networks to automate incident management and analyze service impact in real-time. The Shifting Telecom Ecosystem: The episode examines the evolving boundaries between traditional operators, vendors (like Nokia and Ericsson), and hyperscalers (Google, AWS, Microsoft). Simon highlights how the "rules of the game" are changing as data-native companies enter the network space. Agile Innovation in the Era of GenAI: With AI technology accelerating at an unprecedented pace, Orange has shifted from long-term project cycles to pragmatic six-month cycles. This allows them to stay current with breakthroughs like Generative AI, Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG), and AI agents. This episode offers insight on how this pioneering operator is balancing long-term visionary goals with immediate operational efficiency. Essential listening for industry professionals looking to understand the cultural and technical shifts required to move from traditional standardization to a fast-paced, IT-centric way of working. As the industry moves toward a "super intelligent" future, Simon provides a roadmap for staying relevant: be pragmatic, embrace open source, and prioritize short, impactful innovation cycles. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What do autonomous networks mean for the traditional big systems integration effort that has been such a feature of developing more automated, integrated telecom operations? Robert is joined by Appledore Principal Analysts Grant Lenahan and Shanthi Ravindran who discuss the topic and the findings from a newly released research report. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Buckle up! In this episode of Talking Transformation, Robert Curran hosts a discussion with the winners of the AWS-sponsored hackathon winners from Fyuz25, Stephen Dillon and Kevin Collins. They delve into the transformative impact of AI in telecom, highlighting their innovative agentic AI platform for network optimization. The conversation explores the challenges and opportunities in integrating AI into telecom operations, emphasizing the need for a shift in mindset and processes to fully harness AI's potential. KeywordsAI, telecom, network optimization, agentic AI, AWS, Fyuz Hackathon TakeawaysAI is revolutionizing telecom operations. Agentic AI can optimize RAN networks efficiently. Stephen Dillon and Kevin Collins won the AWS/Fyuz Hackathon. AI integration requires a shift in mindset and processes. The hackathon project involved a nine-agent platform. Data efficiency is crucial in AI-driven telecom solutions. AI can significantly reduce network operation costs. Trust in AI systems is essential for widespread adoption. The project demonstrated the potential of digital twins. AI's role in telecom is expanding rapidly. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Talking Transformation, Robert Curran discusses the evolution of autonomous networks in the telecom industry with Dr. Tomek Gersberg from Axiata. They explore Axiata's ambitious A3 transformation strategy, the challenges of implementing automation, the importance of data management, and the potential collaboration with hyperscalers. The conversation emphasizes the need for openness and interoperability in telecom, as well as the financial considerations that drive these transformations. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Talking Transformation, Robert Curran and Francis Haysom discuss the evolving concept of digital twins in the telecom industry. They explore the historical context, current applications, and future potential of digital twins, particularly in relation to AI and network resilience. The conversation highlights the importance of real-time data and the role of digital twins in enhancing decision-making processes within telecom operations. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Robert, Patrick and Grant discuss the key themes and takeaways from conversations at the TM Forum's Innovate Americas event, September 2025. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Shanthi Ravindran provides reflections on the FutureNet World Asia event held in Singapore, September 2025. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Amidst all the excitement around AI, the experiences of Telstra are a reminder that getting the foundations right is the real key to successful transformation. Mark Sanders, Chief Architect and Head of Autonomous Networks and AI Enablement explains how architectural choices and principles have helped Telstra realize billions in savings, and set it up to be able to respond at scale to future customer demand for AI and other new services. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Joined by two special guests from Deutsche Telekom, Robert and John explore progress on DT's efforts to commercialize its network APIs and engaging with a new and unfamiliar customer base - solution developers. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, we get a unique perspective from Swisscom and their partner Netcracker on their transformation towards greater speed, efficiency and agility. The discussion focuses less on the technology and architecture and more on the organizational and delivery approach: domain by domain, and replicable blueprints and process. Includes some key findings on benefits achieved to date, and recommendations and lessons learned along the way. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Introducing Luca De Matteis, and a discussion on infrastructure security as we head inexorably towards a post-quantum age. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How is the transformation of telecom different from transformation in other industries? What can telecom learn from those and what is its own unique set of challenges? More importantly - given the mixed history of transformation thus far, is it time to reinvent telecom from a new perspective? In a highly enlightening discussion with Robert and John, Brian Shepherd, CEO of CSG, shares his thoughts on the need for reinvention in telecom, the right (and wrong) approach, and what to expect. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Not one but two guests this week, representing insights from Nokia's Digital Operations and AI teams - Deepa Ramachandran, Head of Portfolio Management for Nokia Digital Operations, and Henrietta Katajakoski, from AI & Analytics marketing. They both draw on plenty of time spent on real projects and customer discussions. Topics covered include Autonomous Networks, the Network Autonomy Chasm, Digital Twins, the size and impact of Agentic AI, and Nokia projects in North America and China. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

AWS has been the most successful of the hyperscalers in convincing telcos to put mission-critical workloads onto public cloud. But it's taken a decade. In this episode, AWS' Chief Technologist for Telco, Ishwar Parulkar, explains the strategy behind AWS's significant impact and growing presence in telecom. With Patrick Kelly and Robert Curran. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

AI - in the form of predictive models - has been part of the radio access network already for quite a few years. So what does the AI-RAN Alliance consortium bring that's new? And how has it progressed in the year since it was publicly announced. Just ahead of MWC2025, Patrick and Robert revisit the goals and work of the AI-RAN Alliance with its Chair, Dr Alex Jinsung Choi. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In a discussion that is as candid as it is well-informed, the CEO and President of Mavenir, Pardeep Kohli, shares his perspectives on the prospects for Open RAN, and Mavenir's strategies for growth in a challenging market. It's a frank and honest account of what it will truly take for operators - and the wider industry to achieve the transformative goals that open, disaggregated and cloudified networks make possible. the With Robert Curran and Patrick Kelly. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, we explore how the testing of networks has evolved to cope with rising complexity, new technologies, disaggregation, the acceleration of growth in networks, and fundamental changes in how telecom networks are used. We zero in on the re-framing of test from siloed function to a continuous process spanning vendor supply chains, traditional telco in-house test, through to live networks - a concept called "lab-to-live". Francis and Robert talk with Anil Kollipara, VP of Product Management for Test Automation at Spirent, one of the world's oldest established network test companies. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the final episode of 2024, Robert and Patrick swap notes from some major vendor events - AWS Re:invent, Mavenir's analyst day, Fyuz plus Telecom TV's Great Telco Debate. Merry Christmas, one and all! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The network automation journey that global carrier PCCW has been on for the last 6 or 7 years is fascinating, as they describe the changes in the industry through the same period. In a highly enlightening episode, Divesh Gupta walks us through how they have embraced the concept of network APIs and network automation, the choices in OSS and BSS, partnership, as well as the kind of vision and leadership required to achieve transformational change. We also discuss work going on with the MEF and TM Forum. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Robert and Grant are joined by Fujitsu's Greg Manganello to explore the drivers behind, and implications of, open and disaggregated networks. Along the way we discuss multiple industry interpretations of "open", buyer personas, the tactics of Big Telecom on open RAN, and Greg's "cocktail party' trick for remembering the difference between real-time and non-real-time RICs... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.