Many of you will have seen The Communications Risk Show but this image illustrates how it appears from my side, whilst I am presenting. One window displays questions from the live audience, after they are filtered by a member of the production team. Another has the timed plan for the show, including talking points for live interviews, as shared with guests six days beforehand. There is a window for all the raw video inputs that the producer will select from when deciding what viewers should see from moment to moment, whilst a different window keeps me conscious of what the audience is actually seeing on their screens. Finally, a chat window permits members of the team to exchange messages during the live show without interrupting the conversation. The equipment also hints at the effort that goes into arranging the lighting and sound not just for me, but for everyone who appears, including technical rehearsals for every guest. We put this effort into every show so you will extract the maximum from each episode of our new season, which begins on Wednesday. If that is not sufficient reason for you to watch, here are seven more reasons why you should.
1. Because You Want Global Cooperation for Call Validation
Our August 30 webcast will feature Philippe Millet, Chair of the i3forum and a former executive at Orange Group, telling us about the ‘One Consortium’ and the urgent need for cross-border coordination of efforts to distinguish bad traffic from good.
2. Because You Need to Know about the Limitations of Signaling Firewalls
It is generally agreed that comms providers should harden the defenses surrounding their networks by having signaling firewalls, but not every firewall is equally effective. Josué Martins of Accenture will appear on our September 6 show to discuss what comms providers get right and what they get wrong when implementing and maintaining signaling firewalls.
3. Because the USA Is Not the Country with the Most Unwanted Calls
Brazilians receive more unwanted phone calls than any other nationality, but almost all advice on how to reduce unwanted calls comes from the USA. Our September 13 program will focus on efforts being made by Anatel, the Brazilian comms regulator, to stem the tide of unwanted calls, and how their plans radically differ from the strategies adopted by other countries.
4. Because Quantum Computing Is Already a Threat to Comms Providers
The modern way of life depends on encryption of voice, messages and data streams but we know quantum computing will break current ciphers in the near future. What should be done to prevent the interception of comms by bad actors who cannot crack codes now, but who intend to crack them when quantum computers become more available? Ian Deakin, Principal Technologist at ATIS, will share his insights during our September 20 webcast.
5. Because You Want Uplifting Stories Too
Divya Shridhar’s career was shooting upwards. She rapidly progressed from being a software engineer for Tech Mahindra in India to working in London as the senior manager responsible for business assurance for all BT’s enterprise customers. Then adversity forced Divya to step away from her career. Now she is back, and our September 27 episode will feature Divya talking about how to explain the value of data to executives, and how she overcame the obstacles that life put in her way.
6. Because the Global Banking System Accidentally Solved the Biggest Problem in Telecoms
The global telecoms system does not know where a call or message really comes from, leading to many ailments that are now reaching epidemic proportions. The global banking system faced a parallel difficulty after the 2007-8 banking crisis, as there was no sure way to know how much risk each bank was taking without first knowing which banks owned which other banks. The G20 countries solved this with Legal Entity Identifiers (LEIs), but the tech for LEIs need not be limited to banks; it could be used to identify every business that calls you or sends you messages. This potential will be explored when Stephan Wolff, CEO of the Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation, Timothy Ruff, blockchain pioneer, and Randy Warshaw, veteran telecoms executive, join us for our October 4 program.
7. Because You Want to Hear Every Side of Every Major Story
We understand the reasons why vendors tend to dominate the flow of information, and I am grateful to the businesses who sponsor The Communications Risk Show. But not every problem can solved, not every challenge can be overcome by simply buying another product or service. Sometimes the correct way forward involves more thinking in advance of more spending. That is why The Communications Risk Show strives to present all the angles on every risk challenge facing the global communications industry today.
The first show in our 15-week season will discuss many topics that other webcasts have no desire to talk about, mainly because nobody pays for conversations about the very worst quandaries. Join us for the big catch-up on August 23 when we will cover all the dramatic news since the end of the previous season in June. This episode will set the scene for the remainder of the series by highlighting news events that epitomize the difficulties to be confronted by comms providers and their customers over the next few years.
So join us. We want your input and your insights too. Many of the issues raised in our shows will only be resolved by a broad coalition of participants drawn from all across the world. We want your engagement and that is why we broadcast live, even though the majority of viewers choose to watch a replay of each show at a later time. Live streams will begin at 4pm UK time on every Wednesday from August 23 to November 29; subscribe to our broadcast schedule to have the details of every show added to your diary in the right time zone for you. Live streams can be seen at tv.commsrisk.com, which is where you can also submit questions and comments during a show. Recordings are added to the website soon after each show is finished, or you can listen to the audio recordings of each show via Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
