The Week with Roger

Hosted by Roger Entner

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Episodes

200

Latest episode

Aug 2026

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About the show

Each week, join Roger Entner and the Recon Analytics team for an analysts perspective on the world of telecom.

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60 recent

September 7, 202616 min

This Week: AI Infrastructure Connectivity with Zayo's Bill Long

Analysts Don Kellogg and Roger Entner are joined by Bill Long, Chief Product & Strategy Officer at Zayo, to discuss the rapid growth of AI hardware, Zayo’s strategy for capitalizing on the fiber infrastructure needed to support it, and what the next one to two years could bring for the industry. 00:00 Episode intro 00:24 Is AI in a bubble? 02:26 Orders for dark fiber 03:25 The shift from training to inference 04:50 400G and new fiber requirements 06:24 The technical ecosystem needed for operations 07:50 Rapidly accelerating hardware demands 11:18 AI as tech support 12:02 Zayo's unique business model 14:42 Predictions for the next 12 to 24 months 15:26 Episode wrap-up Tags: telecom, telecommunications, wireless, prepaid, postpaid, cellular phone, Don Kellogg, Roger Entner, Bill Long, Zayo, Sampath, AI, fiber, data centers, lit fiber, dark fiber, training, inference, 400G, cloud, Nvidia, ChatGPT, Verizon, AT&T, cable, enterprise

August 31, 20266 min

This Week: CONX Acquires MobileX and Starlink MVNO Ambitions

Analysts Don Kellogg and Roger Entner discuss the recent purchase of MobileX by Charlie Ergen-controlled CONX, as well as its implications for the players involved and for the broader MVNO and satellite markets as well. 00:00 Episode intro 00:25 Details of the acquisition 01:30 How MVNOs fit into the bigger picture 03:03 Implications for Starlink 04:04 Peter and Charlie's working relationship 05:23 Charlie Ergen's future operations 06:15 Episode wrap-up Tags: telecom, telecommunications, wireless, prepaid, postpaid, cellular phone, Don Kellogg, Roger Entner, MVNO, MobileX, Peter Adderton, Charlie Ergen, Dish, EchoStar, Verizon, CONX, Boost Mobile, Elon Musk, Starlink, AT&T, convergence, MNO, spectrum

August 24, 202616 min

This Week: The FCC's Spectrum Pipeline with Arpan Sura

Analysts Don Kellogg and Roger Entner are joined by Arpan Sura, Senior Counsel to FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, to discuss the current state of spectrum policy, the changing technological landscape, and the agency’s plans for the future of communications in America. 00:00 Episode intro 00:24 Current spectrum auction policy 02:40 Specific auction timelines 04:59 Growing political support for spectrum 06:57 Upcoming auctions 07:20 Intermodal competition through direct-to-device 08:44 Starlink's reliability and convergence possibility 10:10 Rethinking technical limitations 11:48 Unlicensed spectrum use 12:56 Companies becoming increasingly multi-modal 13:46 Two-year outlook and agency goals 16:27 Episode wrap-up Tags: telecom, telecommunications, wireless, prepaid, postpaid, cellular phone, Don Kellogg, Roger Entner, Arpan Sura, FCC, spectrum, Brendan Carr, AWS-3, auctions, 6G, upper C-band, NTIA, BBB, satellite, FWA, direct-to-device, Starlink, rural, convergence, BEAD, fiber, cable, EchoStar, Grain

August 17, 202614 min

This Week: When Consumer Perception Does Not Match Network Reality

Analysts Don Kellogg and Roger Entner unpack the FCC’s latest developments, examine real-world data on internet providers including Optimum, and discuss ongoing customer service concerns. 00:00 Episode intro 00:24 New FCC nomination news 01:47 FCC's potential satellite expansion 02:42 Ranking internet provider speeds 03:47 Survey information difficulties 06:29 Do devices still matter? 08:04 Optimum's current metrics 10:29 Network status and customer retention 12:12 The state of customer service 13:41 Episode wrap-up Tags: telecom, telecommunications, wireless, prepaid, postpaid, cellular phone, Don Kellogg, Roger Entner, FCC, Danielle Thumann, Brendan Carr, satellite, cable, fiber, FWA, DSL, devices, T-Mobile, AT&T, Apple, Qualcomm, Verizon, Android, network, Optimum, SFR, customer service

August 10, 202616 min

This Week: Starlink's Wireless Ambitions, the Data Center Boom, and Sampath to Zayo

Analysts Don Kellogg and Roger Entner discuss the announcement of Sampath being named CEO at Zayo, their ongoing research into the immense scale of the data center buildout, as well as Starlink's prospects as a wireless operator. 00:00 Episode intro 00:24 Sampath named CEO at Zayo 01:07 Research on data center buildout insights 03:44 Starlink as a wireless operator 05:50 What spectrum will be used? 08:29 Network and satellite predictions 10:14 Scale of the potential network 13:52 Elon's track record and time horizon 16:06 Episode wrap-up Tags: telecom, telecommunications, wireless, prepaid, postpaid, cellular phone, Don Kellogg, Roger Entner, Sampath, Zayo, fiber, data centers, AI, Starlink, Elon Musk, data, T-Mobile, Grain, spectrum, Dish, FCC, rural, 5G, Grok, Tesla, SpaceX, X, cable, FWA

August 3, 202611 min

This Week: Verizon Promotes Alfonso Villanueva and the FirstNet Race Heats Up

Analysts Don Kellogg and Roger Entner discuss the leadership changes at Verizon, changes in metric transparency and the shift to ARPA, and what AT&T's 5G standalone core means for the increasingly competitive first responder market. 00:00 Episode intro 00:25 Leadership changes at Verizon 02:00 Effects on company strategy and operations 03:00 ARPA and changes in reporting metrics 05:47 AT&T's 5G standalone core and its impact on first responders 07:55 Network live testing results 08:23 T-Priority and the competition 10:56 Episode wrap-up Tags: telecom, telecommunications, wireless, prepaid, postpaid, cellular phone, Don Kellogg, Roger Entner, Verizon, Alfonso Villanueva, Sampath, Dan Schulman, ARPA, metrics, Apple, AT&T, FirstNet, 5G, slicing, spectrum, first responders, T-Priority, T-Mobile

July 27, 202614 min

This Week: Q2 '26 Earnings - The Carriers Execute Their CEOs' Visions

Analysts Don Kellogg and Roger Entner break down Q2 earnings from the major players across telecom and cable, examining key numbers as well as industry-wide trends and developments shaping the market. 00:00 Episode intro 00:30 AT&T Q2 overview 02:46 AT&T's convergence strategy 04:18 Starlink's improving reliability 06:15 Comcast and Charter Q2 overview 07:05 Cable customer satisfaction and strategic outlook 08:01 T-Mobile Q2 overview 10:12 Verizon Q2 overview 11:57 Q2 telecom industry trends and outlook 12:40 Device subsidies and the future of wireless promotions 14:02 Episode wrap-up Tags: telecom, telecommunications, wireless, prepaid, postpaid, cellular phone, Don Kellogg, Roger Entner, earnings, AT&T, fiber, net adds, transparency, FirstNet, convergence, FWA, AI, John Stankey, Charter, Starlink, Comcast, cable, T-Mobile, churn, broadband, Verizon, iPhone, devices

July 20, 202614 min

This Week: Carrier Repositioning Through Leadership Changes

Analysts Brett Clark and Roger Entner discuss leadership changes at T-Mobile and AT&T, cable's growing role in mobile, and Verizon's retail cost-cutting. 00:00 Episode intro 00:30 Leadership changes at T-Mobile 03:06 Chris Sambar's new role 03:51 T-Mobile for Business positioning 05:27 Mike Katz's impact 06:37 Cable's mobile growth 07:56 Verizon cost-cutting and layoffs 09:15 Retail strategy implications 10:46 Pascal Desroches leaving AT&T 12:31 Restoring investor trust 12:58 C-suite trust 14:04 Episode wrap-up Tags: telecom, telecommunications, wireless, prepaid, postpaid, cellular phone, Brett Clark, Roger Entner, T-Mobile, Mike Katz, André Almeida, Chris Sambar, AT&T, FirstNet, T-Mobile for Business, Verizon, MVNO, cable, Charter, Dan Schulman, retail, gross adds, net adds, churn, Pascal Desroches, Jennifer Biry, John Stankey, convergence, investors

July 13, 20267 min

This Week: The Upper C Band Auction and a Win for American Consumers

Analysts Don Kellogg and Roger Entner discuss the FCC’s move to expedite the upcoming Upper C-band spectrum auction, its impact on various companies and industry segments, and why it may represent a win for American consumers. 00:00 Episode intro 00:25 Upper C-band auction overview 02:23 Utility and applications of the spectrum 03:05 Comparison with previous auctions 03:38 Forecasts for Starlink's strategy 04:43 Accelerated timeline and implications for cable 06:04 Industry deleveraging trends 06:30 Historical outcomes of spectrum purchases 06:51 Episode wrap-up Tags: telecom, telecommunications, wireless, prepaid, postpaid, cellular phone, Don Kellogg, Roger Entner, FCC, auction, spectrum, Upper C-band, Big Beautiful Bill, Verizon, FWA, EchoStar, Starlink, Elon Musk, urban, rural, cable, deleveraging

July 6, 202611 min

This Week: Germany's Hyper Scaler Infrastructure Slow Dance

Analysts Don Kellogg and Roger Entner examine insights from the Handelsblatt data center conference in Düsseldorf, covering the rapid expansion of data centers in Germany vs. the U.S., infrastructure and energy challenges ahead, and the implications for telecom networks. 00:00 Episode intro 00:25 Handelsblatt conference overview 01:31 State of the German data center buildout 02:44 State of the US buildout 03:23 Shortages are on the horizon 05:16 Electricity demands 06:06 Repurposing German data center heat 07:38 Cooling challenges 08:39 Why expansion must continue despite challenges 10:03 How data centers are reshaping telecom 11:30 Episode wrap-up Tags: telecom, telecommunications, wireless, prepaid, postpaid, cellular phone, Don Kellogg, Roger Entner, Germany, Handelsblatt, Deutsche Telekom, T-Mobile, data centers, electricity, AI, shortages, BEAD, memory, RAM, routers, cooling, GDPR, regulations