Staying Connected

Hosted by TC2 & LB3

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Episodes

100

Latest episode

Jun 2026

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About the show

TechCaliber Consulting (TC2) and Levine, Blaszak, Block & Boothby (LB3) provide strategic business and legal advice to leading companies around the globe covering the procurement, deployment, and regulation of Information and Communications Technology. Our Staying Connected podcasts deliver insights, tips and market commentary from TC2 consultants and LB3 lawyers, collected from our work on the cutting edge of ICT procurements, deal negotiations, and regulatory proceedings.

Listen to episodes

60 recent

June 15, 202610 min

When the FCC Fines You Without a Jury: Unpacking the Supreme Court's AT&T Decision

The Supreme Court recently ruled on a case involving forfeiture orders assessed against AT&T and Verizon for failing to safeguard customer location information. The FCC forfeiture orders totaled over $100 million in combined penalties. In this 10-minute episode of Staying Connected, Tony Mangino is joined by LB3 partner Steve Rosen, to address a question that's been hanging over FCC enforcement proceedings for years. In the wake of the Supreme Court's decision in FCC v. Jarkesy, are the FCC's forfeiture orders consistent with the Seventh Amendment—can the Commission order you to pay millions of dollars without ever giving you a jury trial? If you would like to learn more about our experience in this space, please visit our Communications Regulatory Advice and Advocacy webpage.

June 2, 202613 min

TC2's Insights on Gartner's Latest TEM Market Guide

The latest Gartner Market Guide for Telecom Expense Management Services makes clear that TEM is no longer just about invoice processing, inventory and dispute management, or wireless optimization. The category is expanding into broader technology expense management, cloud, SaaS, UCaaS, IoT, utilities, and even emerging areas like AI license sprawl and API consumption. Tony Mangino is joined by Theresa Knutson, head of the TC2 IT Cost Management Practice, to review the key updates compared to 2024's Gartner Market Guide and to provide additional market input and insights based on TC2's work with its clients on competitive RFPs, TEM implementations and TEM health check reviews.

June 1, 202611 min

FCC Call Center Outsourcing NPRM

If your company relies on call centers to support your customers, you'll want to listen to this podcast. The Federal Communications Commission just put out a sweeping proposal to require the significant onshoring of non-US based call center operations implementation of new customer service standards, such as language proficiency requirements. FCC mandates would normally only apply to companies that the FCC historically regulates—telecom carriers, cable providers, and wireless and satellite companies, etc.—but in this recent proposal, there's a shocking twist: the Commission is exploring whether to use a somewhat obscure statutory provision to extend its call center customer service mandates and onshoring requirements to any business that uses a U.S. phone number—retailers, banks, healthcare providers, you name it. In this 12-minute episode of Staying Connected, Tony Mangino and Andrew Brown discuss the proposed rules, why the FCC thinks it has the authority to mandate customer service standards and call center operations of companies it does not regulate, and what enterprise customers need to do before these rules reshape their costs and vendor relationships. If you would like to learn more about our experience in this space, please visit our Communications Regulatory Advice and Advocacy webpage.

May 15, 20269 min

Preserving Deal Value With Lifecycle Services

Organizations invest a significant amount of time and resources conducting major RFPs, renegotiations, and technology transformations. The project delivers meaningful improvements on deal commercials, cost reductions and operational gains. However, once the deal is done and everyone goes back to their "day jobs", a surprising amount of the value starts to slip away. In this 10-minute episode of Staying Connected, Tony Mangino is joined by TC2's Julie Gardner to discuss how disciplined lifecycle services can preserve deal value between major sourcing events. If you would like to learn more about our experience in this space, please visit our Lifecycle Services webpage. Follow us on LinkedIn: TC2 & LB3

May 13, 202611 min

What to Do When a Supplier Relationship Breaks Down

When a supplier relationship is broken, performance is poor and expected outcomes are not being delivered, customers don't need more noise, they need more structure. They need to understand what is broken, what outcomes matter most, and what leverage they have to resolve the issues. Sometimes the right answer is to repair the relationship. Sometimes it is a broader reset. And sometimes the smartest move is to prepare for an exit. In this 11-minute episode of Staying Connected, Tony Mangino is joined by TC2's Ben Fox to discuss why the best approach to repairing a broken supplier relationship is to move out of reactive mode and into an evidence-based, commercially disciplined plan. If you would like to learn more about our experience in this space, please visit our Disputes & Workouts webpage.

April 29, 20268 min

Defining Colocation Requirements That Create Leverage

Colocation discussions usually start with the obvious questions: which provider, which geographic market, and what's the price? Those questions matter, but they are not where real value is won or lost. In this 9-minute episode of Staying Connected, Tony Mangino and Larry York of TC2 discuss the colocation requirements the enterprise must define before sourcing gets underway. If you would like to learn more about our experience in this space, please visit our Strategic Sourcing webpage.

April 27, 202610 min

The Reality Check for Sustainable IT Procurement in 2026

In 2026, enterprise customers are transitioning from broad sustainability goals to evidence-based supplier requirements across key IT categories. In this 10-minute episode of Staying Connected, TC2's Tony Mangino joins LB3's Deb Boehling to discuss how embedded and measurable sustainable sourcing practices can help manage risk, control costs, and drive supplier accountability. If you would like to learn more about our experience in this space, please visit our Strategic Sourcing and Network Services Transactions webpages.

April 8, 20269 min

The Shift from "Low Cost" to "Total Value" in IT Sourcing

In almost every major technology deal you'll find tension between "lowest cost" and "total value." On paper, the lowest-priced proposal can look like the obvious win. But when you account for lifecycle cost, commercial flexibility, execution risk, and the impact on the broader roadmap, that apparent bargain can become a very expensive decision to live with. In this 9-minute episode of Staying Connected, Larry York from TC2 joins Tony Mangino to discuss how enterprise buyers can move from a "lowest cost wins" mentality to a disciplined total-value approach. If you would like to learn more about our experience in this space, please visit our Strategic Sourcing and IT Cost Management webpages.

April 1, 20269 min

Negotiating Zoom Agreements: What Really Matters

When companies say they're "buying Zoom," what are they actually purchasing? In this 10-minute episode of Staying Connected, Theresa Knutson and Julie Gardner join Tony Mangino, for a deep dive discussion on negotiating Zoom enterprise agreements—specifically software, professional services, and transport components. They also unpack tricky contract terms and how service alternatives and benchmarking can strengthen your negotiating position. If you would like to learn more about our experience in this space, please visit our IT Cost Management and Strategic Sourcing webpages. Follow us on LinkedIn: LB3 & TC2

March 23, 20267 min

Wireless & Aviation Industries Wrestle Over Spectrum

As the FCC prepares for a congressionally-mandated auction of upper C-band spectrum sought for 5G, aviation safety experts warn those frequencies are dangerously adjacent to aircraft radio altimeters. In this 8-minute episode of Staying Connected, Steve Rosen from LB3 joins Tony Mangino to discuss the technical and financial challenges that come with upper C-band spectrum and the risk to aviation equipment. If you would like to learn more about our experience in this space, please visit our Spectrum, Wireless and Infrastructure Development and Communications Regulatory Advice and Advocacy webpages.