In partnership with

You won’t find a better source for Market Intelligence about Telecom, Space Communications and AI, all in one place, for free, anywhere

Join the thousands of weekly readers.

🌎 What’s Happening on Earth

🪐 What’s Happening in Space

🤖 Enabling AI

🍳 This and That!

💡 Lean About..

If you enjoy this newsletter, please share it!

Thank You!

When I started this newsletter 51 weeks ago I wasn’t sure what it would be, how it would be received or how long I would be able to produce weekly aggregated content.

As we close out 2024 with the last issue of Jason’s Industry Insights for the year, I want to thank all of you who have subscribed, continue to read and engage with content weekly and who take the time to contact me with your feedback, comments and questions!

I’m excited to see what 2025 brings!

What’s Happening On Earth?

Federated access between network operators will emerge as a new market structure in FTTH - For the netco, a central objective is typically to achieve operational benefits: revenue deltas from additional tenants and efficiency gains. But if the expected gains do not materialise for the investor, or simply if the investor has an exit date, this leaves opportunities for operators to buy back (that is, re-layer), particularly if, as expected, their capex intensity falls away. 

My Take: If I understand correctly, they’re suggesting that sharing 3rd party infrastructure through IRUs (by example) is the trend as opposed to Open Access or Third Party Internet Access (in Canada) type of mechanisms where there is a single infrastructure operator with access contracts.

Crown Castle, Lumen reportedly closer to selling their fiber networks - The US network operator that has reinvented itself as a provider of high-capacity datacentre-to-datacentre connectivity to the big tech community, is reportedly looking to sell its consumer broadband business, which is no longer core to its new strategy, reports Reuters.

My Take: I haven’t followed Lumen that much, but it's interesting that they have pivoted (again?) to serve the lucrative and booming DC market. Maybe Bell will sell their fiber assets in Ontario and elsewhere to buy Lumen’s 20-odd million residential subs? Wonder how many other SPs are making similar moves.

What opportunities does FTTR bring to telecoms operators? - Fibre-to-the-room (FTTR) technology extends fibre-optic connections directly to individual rooms within a home or building, providing ultra-fast internet access with low latency. This technology enhances Wi-Fi performance and improves the support for high-bandwidth in-home applications. It provides customers with a seamless, high-quality online experience throughout the entire premises.

My Take: I had no idea this was “a thing”. Hardwired mesh backhaul, but with the added OPEX of running fiber everywhere in the home, and much more WiFi hardware.

China Unicom and Telefonica are offering services today, but I’m having a hard time understanding what the real value is here. Their examples show 1G service delivery, which can be accomplished with mesh WiFi today, without the need for FTTR.

Bell Brings 50 Gbps Internet Speeds to Canada in Major Test - Bell has reached a milestone in Canadian broadband with the successful trial of 50G Passive Optical Network (PON) fibre technology, which took place with Nokia at Bell’s Advanced Technical Lab in Montreal. This marks the first time this next-gen fibre broadband tech has been tested in Canada, setting the stage for faster, more efficient internet services.

My Take: So, no more 25G? Either way, lots of applications, even with the overhead, for enterprise and other industrial applications. If they offer a 50G residential service, which they won’t, some “enthusiasts” will subscribe to it just to say they have it. Maybe some 256:1 splits for 10G services that no one needs?

Apple may revive its AirPort technology in new HomePod and Apple TV - Apple intends to replace the current Broadcom technology it uses for its products with the Proxima chip over the coming years. The chip will handle the technical aspects of cellular and Wi-Fi networking, while the devices use their current built-in antennas.

Proxima will be a boon for Apple on several fronts. It gives the company more control over its networking stack, frees it to incorporate future technologies as they arrive, and will eventually reduce the cost to Apple, which currently pays Broadcom to license the latter's technology.

My Take: Oh, good. Another close solution for other WiFi vendors to winge about. I’m sure if Apple makes a new WiFi product it will be top-notch and easy to use - but likely not very SP managed service-friendly. Imagine the cool integrations with the rest of the portfolio — proprietary integrations. I had an AirPort back in the day. Worked well until it didn’t. I don’t think it was as open as an OpenWRT-based products, but it was simple to get up and to run and manage.

China claims cooperation in Baltic Sea cable probe, Sweden says otherwise - China says it had provided information and documents for an open investigation into the severing of two Baltic Sea undersea cables, though Sweden alleges Beijing has not been adequately transparent in the case.

My Take: See NATO’s Emergency Plan for an Orbital Backup Internet below. I believe China. They rarely provide incomplete information.

How Starlink is shaking up the French telecoms market - “All fiber” France is facing an unexpected upheaval. While the extinction of the copper network is looming for January 2025, with 162 municipalities affected, Elon Musk’s satellite solution is emerging as an increasingly credible alternative. And for good reason: one in ten French people still do not have access to optical fiber.

My Take: Yea, this is an “On Earth” thing as opposed to a Space thing. In the face of significant fiber investments, Starling is the preferred solution for some of the rural and remote. With Kuiper’s launch around the corner in 2025, the french telcos are concerned they will be eroded further as new competitive pricing enters the market.

Nokia and Motorola Solutions Announce Drone Technology Integration for Public Safety and Mission-Critical Industries - Nokia and Motorola Solutions announced a drone technology integration to launch an AI-enhanced turnkey, automated drone-in-a-box solution that sets a new standard for first responders and mission-critical industries, offering enhanced situational awareness, streamlined remote operations, and faster decision-making.

My Take: We had the NOK drone folks at the CRRBC conference in Kelowna. Interesting solution. The integration with Motorola will make it an even more impactful offering.

What’s Happening In Space?

What’s in Space This Week?

Apple preps Ultra Watch satellite capability - Apple’s next high-end Ultra Watch was tipped as likely to feature satellite connectivity, allowing users to send off-grid messages as part of the company’s latest attempts to convince customers to upgrade their devices.

My Take: ..and track people as well, I would suspect. Charge it every 6 hours? Could be handy as one of those “I’ve fallen, and I can’t get up” things as well.

ESA, Telesat and Amarisoft achieve world-first 5G 3GPP Non-Terrestrial Network link over LEO - ESA and Telesat have reported a groundbreaking milestone in telecommunications technology, successfully establishing the world's first 3GPP Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN) link over Low Earth Orbit (LEO) between the ESTEC 5G Laboratory and the Telesat LEO 3 satellite (thanks to a Memorandum of Understanding signed earlier this year between Telesat and ESA), using a Amarisoft 5G protocol stack. This remarkable achievement represents a significant leap forward in satellite communication technologies, demonstrating the operational viability of the new 5G NTN standard in LEO.

My Take: Open standards will drive adoption along with simplified integration. 3GPP efforts are key to standardization.

EchoStar Mobile is expanding its services portfolio by adding LoRaWAN satellite relay and associated network capabilities - EchoStar Mobile, an EchoStar company (Nasdaq: SATS), today announced the availability of the first and only S-band LoRaWAN® Satellite Relay (EM-SR) device with associated network functions to help businesses to fill terrestrial coverage gaps. The EM-SR Relay is specifically designed to solve key challenges with traditional LoRaWAN® sensors in distribution and monitoring networks such as smart metering, distributed sensors, and remote connectivity. This solution provides cost effective LoRaWAN connectivity to sparsely deployed or hard to penetrate building locations without the need for extensive and expensive operational infrastructure.

My Take: This is interesting as there has been little market mention of LoRaWAN as of late. If this is successful, perhaps it will breathe life back in to the technology.

Taiwan in talks with Amazon over Kuiper satellite Internet comms - The government wants to look at alternative partners to preserve communications if China attacks, including the usage of satellites in medium and Low Earth Orbit (LEO) for Internet services.

My Take: This has been a topic of discussion for some time. Necessary as an alternate path, if needed.

FCC Chairwoman Looks to Allocate More Spectrum for Space Launch - FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel has proposed allocating more spectrum for space launch communication. The proposal announced on Dec. 19 would reallocate the 2360–2395 MHz band on a secondary basis for space operations. Rosenworcel said this will provide “certainty and predictability” for commercial launches. 

My Take: A lot of things are being reprovisioned for space as the launch frequency accelerates.

Retired military weather satellite breaks up - The U.S. Space Force reported Dec. 19 that it had identified a “low-velocity fragmentation event” involving the DMSP-5D2 F14 spacecraft. The event took place at 9:10 p.m. Eastern Dec. 18 at an altitude of 840 kilometers, but the announcement did not disclose how much debris had been created by the event.

My Take: low-velocity fragmentation event associated with a rapid unscheduled disassembly. Apparently, it happens. More space junk!

NASA delays launch of heliophysics missions - In a statement issued after the close of business Dec. 20, NASA announced the launch of its Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP) spacecraft on a Falcon 9, previously scheduled for the spring of 2025, had been pushed back to no earlier than September. The agency said only that the delay gives “additional time for IMAP flight systems preparations prior to launch.”

My Take: Had to do a little lookup on “heliophysics” - These missions aim to understand the fundamental physical processes that govern the Sun, the solar wind, and the magnetized plasma environments of planets and moons.

NATO’s Emergency Plan for an Orbital Backup Internet - An undersea cable breach would reroute to satellites. This year and next, the organizers of HEIST say they hope to achieve at least two objectives: First, to ensure that when cables are damaged, operators will know their precise location quickly in order to mitigate disruptions. Second, the project aims to expand the number of pathways for data to travel. In particular, HEIST will be investigating ways to divert high-priority traffic to satellites in orbit.

My Take: The picture puts it nicely into perspective. No too many other options than an “orbital” backup plan,

SpaceX, Amazon in talks with British Airways owner on Wi-Fi deal - IAG, which also owns Spain’s Iberia and Ireland’s Aer Lingus, hasn’t made a final decision and is weighing options with multiple providers including Amazon.com Inc.’s nascent Project Kuiper, the airline group’s head of innovation, Annalisa Gigante, told Bloomberg in an interview.

My Take: I wonder how much Kuiper will be able to bite off an chew when they launch? Chasing the 800lb gorilla with capacity that will ramp over time will mean they have to be pretty prescriptive in where the play, I would think .

NASA selects four companies for commercial communications services - NASA announced Dec. 20 it awarded task orders to Intuitive Machines, Kongsberg Satellite Services (KSAT), SSC Space U.S. and Viasat to provide services to support NASA’s Near Space Network (NSN), which provides communications for missions extending out to two million kilometers from the Earth.

My Take: 2 Million Km. Quite the network.

Enabling AI

Arizona School’s Curriculum Will Be Taught by AI, No Teachers - Remember that one teacher who made going to school fun and inspired you to pursue your passions? Students at a new charter school in Arizona won’t, because they don’t get to have teachers. Instead, the two hours of academic instruction they receive each day—yes, just two hours—will be directed entirely by AI.

My Take: A 4:3 margin isn’t exactly overwhelming support. This won’t help with collaboration or developing any social skills, either. I think there’s a balance between using people and technology.

Why People Resist Embracing AI - Unfortunately, most people are pessimistic about how it will shape the future. Seventy-seven percent of Americans are concerned that its adoption will cause job losses within the next 12 months, according to research by Forbes Advisor. Eighty percent think AI has increased the likelihood that their personal data will be used in malicious ways by criminals. And it gets worse: A poll conducted by YouGov found that nearly half of Americans believe that one day AI will attack humanity. With this much cynicism about AI, getting workers to willingly, eagerly, and thoroughly experiment with it is a daunting task.

My Take: “nearly half of Americans believe that one day AI will attack humanity”.. mmm hmm

OpenAI’s new hotline: Chat with ChatGPT anytime, anywhere - U.S.-based users can call 1-800-ChatGPT (1-800-242-8478) on any device that can make calls — including a rotary phone — as OpenAI demonstrated in its live stream. If you have an international number, you can message ChatGPT using WhatsApp.

My Take: There’s something ironic about using a rotary phone to call an AI machine. It would be better if it were from a rotary pay phone.

xAI raises $6B Series C - The artificial intelligence company founded by Elon Musk, xAI, said on Monday that it had raised $6 billion, giving the start-up a major lift as it competes with rivals, including OpenAI.

My Take: XAI stands for Explainable Artificial Intelligence, which is a field of research that aims to make AI algorithms more transparent and easier to understand. What’s NVIDIA up to now with Elon?

Google unveils Project Mariner: AI agents to use the web for you - Google unveiled on Wednesday its first-ever AI agent that can take actions on the web, a research prototype from the company’s DeepMind division called Project Mariner. The Gemini-powered agent takes control of your Chrome browser, moves the cursor on your screen, clicks buttons, and fills out forms, allowing it to use and navigate websites much like a human would.

My Take: Yea, this will end well 😉 Filling out all sorts of things I never wanted to fill out. More things from Amazon just showing up at my doorstep.

Learn About - The Story of Chanukah

Seeing as Chanukah has fallen on the same day as Christmas only five times since 1900: in 1910, 1921, 1959, 2005, and now in 2024 - I figured why not explain a little about it.

In the second century BCE, the Holy Land was under the rule of the Seleucid Empire, led by King Antiochus IV Epiphanes. Antiochus sought to impose Greek culture and beliefs on the Jewish people, banning their religious practices and desecrating the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. He outlawed the observance of Shabbat, the festivals, and even circumcision, forcing Jews to choose between conversion to Greek customs or death.

A small group of Jews, led by the priest Mattathias and his five sons, including Judah Maccabee, refused to comply. They rebelled against the oppressive regime, known as the Maccabean Revolt. This uprising was not just a fight for survival but a defence of their religious beliefs, making the Maccabees the first Jews to fight for their faith rather than their lives.

After three years of guerrilla warfare, the Maccabees, against all odds, defeated the mighty Syrian-Greek army. They reclaimed Jerusalem and set about purifying and rededicating the Temple. However, when they sought to light the Temple's menorah, they found only a single cruse of pure olive oil, enough to burn for just one day. Miraculously, this tiny amount of oil lasted for eight days, allowing time for new oil to be prepared under conditions of ritual purity.

This miracle of the oil is at the heart of Chanukah's significance. It symbolizes the resilience of the Jewish faith and the power of light to overcome darkness. Each year, Jews commemorate this event by lighting a special nine-branched menorah called a Chanukiah. One candle is lit on the first night, two on the second, and so on until all eight are ablaze on the final night, with the ninth serving as the “shamash” or helper candle.

Chanukah is more than just a historical commemoration; it's a celebration of religious freedom and the triumph of spirit over might. The holiday's traditions reflect its themes: the menorah lighting publicizes the miracle, while foods fried in oil, such as latkes (potato pancakes) and sufganiyot (jelly doughnuts), recall the miracle of the oil.

The dreidel game played with a four-sided spinning top, also has its roots in the Chanukah story. Legend has it that when Greek soldiers would patrol Jewish villages, children would pull out their dreidels and pretend to be playing a game rather than studying Torah, which had been outlawed.

Chanukah serves as a powerful reminder of the importance of preserving one's identity and beliefs in the face of assimilation and oppression. It teaches the value of standing up for one's principles, even against seemingly insurmountable odds. The festival's message of hope, faith, and perseverance continues to resonate, making Chanukah a beloved and meaningful holiday for Jews worldwide.

This and That! 

Engineers achieve quantum teleportation over active internet cables - An engineering team at Northwestern University has achieved a breakthrough in quantum teleportation, demonstrating the feasibility of transmitting quantum information alongside classic internet traffic. As research advances, we could enter a new era in communication technology, where quantum and traditional networks can coexist to offer unprecedented levels of security and speed.

My Take: Reusing and sharing infrastructure will certainly accelerate adoption. They thought it couldn’t be done, but they did it!

NHTSA finally releases new rules for self-driving cars — but there’s a twist - The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced a new “voluntary national framework for the evaluation and oversight” of autonomous vehicles, a bureaucratic first step that could eventually open the floodgates for fully driverless cars. But there’s a twist: the agency wants self-driving car companies to cough up more data.

My Take: This should be highly regulated and not sidestepped, as Mr Musk would like. Too many human lives at risk.

NASA spacecraft just plunged into the sun and broke stunning records - The Parker Solar Probe, equipped with a robust heat shield, made the closest-ever approach to our dynamic star, coming some 3.8 million miles (6.1 million kilometers) from the stellar surface. That's seven times closer than any other probe. The mission is designed to fly into the sun's corona, or outer atmosphere, which spawns many of the powerful solar storms and weather that impact Earth.

My Take: I hope they get the data they’re looking for. That’s some heat shield!

Infographic Of The Week

My Take: Good thing Honda is taking over Nissan. Also interesting that satisfaction and reliability aren’t correlated.. I guess people like their things, even if they break a lot.

Podcast Recommendation

The Hidden Economics of Creative Success - Part One (and Two..)

What We Discuss with Ali Abdaal:

• High performers commonly experience imposter syndrome, but awareness that it’s universal and building genuine professional competency helps manage these feelings over time.

• Relationships and “winning work” often matter more than technical skill.

• When starting a business, keep your day job until your time becomes the actual bottleneck — don’t “burn the ships” prematurely as this creates unnecessary pressure and can lead to poor decisions.

• Help others without attachment to getting anything in return, but do it in a scalable way (like making introductions) — even if 99 percent never reciprocate, the 1 percent who do can create outsized opportunities.

• We share powerful insights about following genuine curiosity versus chasing metrics, and balancing passion with practicality — with more valuable perspectives on financial freedom, happiness, and building a sustainable career coming in part two later this week.

Listen Here!

Movie/Streaming Recommendation

Carry-On (Netflix)

IMDb: 6.5/10

JMDb: 4/10 (too implausible…)

"Carry-On," a 2024 Netflix thriller, attempts to blend suspense with holiday cheer but ultimately falls flat, leaving viewers questioning its coherence. The film stars Taron Egerton (who?) as Ethan Kopek, a TSA agent thrust into a high-stakes blackmail scenario on Christmas Eve. The premise is intriguing yet poorly executed. The plot revolves around Ethan being coerced into allowing a dangerous suitcase through security to save his pregnant girlfriend, Nora (Sofia Carson), from a mysterious threat.

While Egerton's performance is commendable, the screenplay by T.J. Fixman suffers from inconsistent pacing and uninspired dialogue. Critics have noted that the film starts strong but devolves into a series of absurd action sequences that undermine its initial tension.

The direction by Jaume Collet-Serra tries for an old-school thriller vibe but often resorts to cliché tropes and predictable outcomes, reminiscent of lesser action films like "Die Hard 2" without the charm.

"Carry-On" is a missed opportunity that squanders its potential for a gripping narrative, resulting in a forgettable experience that feels more like a holiday gimmick than a serious thriller.

For those seeking depth and originality, this film will disappoint.

Create, Publish & Earn with Synthflow AI Voice Agents Marketplace

• Discover templates for routine/repetitive tasks like lead qualification and managing appointments.

• Publish your own Voice AI solutions to help businesses thrive—and earn commissions.

• Access custom actions that automate CRM updates, appointment scheduling, and more.

Build Your AI Agent Now

Until Next Time

Comments here are my own and do not represent the opinions, views or thoughts of any person, company or organization that I may be associated with.

Feedback, comments and ideas are welcomed. Message me on LinkedIn or contact me at [email protected]