Jill Cooper

The Shadow Transport Secretary Louise Haigh recently unveiled Labour’s plans for the UK railway system.     We were pleased to see mobile connectivity, including 5G, recognised as a core way to improve passenger service quality.    The integration of advanced 5G technology can transform travel, offering passengers seamless internet access for work and entertainment and providing railway staff with instant access to crucial operational data.    In addition, implementing 5G-enabled sensors on railway tracks could significantly improve infrastructure. Our research shows that by reducing faults and delays, these upgrades are expected to save over 25 million hours for passengers over the next five years, boosting both productivity and well-being with an estimated value of £326 million.    As a result of our proposed merger with Three UK, we can provide extensive 5G coverage for the majority of the UK’s railway stations and tracks, contributing to a more efficient and connected future for UK rail transport.   #TogetherWeCan #5G 

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What a phenomenal week the last one turned out to be!    You know how we all try to do our bit for the planet? Like unplugging our chargers or flipping the light switch off as we leave a room? Well, our team has taken those everyday energy-saving habits and scaled them big time. And this led to Ericsson’s eco-friendly innovation being honored with the Green Future Best Practice Award at the Deutsche Telekom Campus Fair 2024! 🌍🏆   The journey that brought us here was a team effort between our MELA SCR team and the local business team on the ground, particularly the Deutsche Telekom Key Account Manager, who all poured their expertise into crafting an award submission that shone a light on our collaborative spirit and innovation. Together, they crunched the numbers and showcased how Deutsche Telekom’s network in Germany is making leaps in capacity and energy performance, all while lowering its carbon footprint with our new energy-efficient radios. We're talking a massive 60.8 GWh energy saved annually, and a reduction of 4,290 tons of CO2e. This is what modernization with a conscience looks like, and it's helping DT sprint towards their ambitious Net Zero goal by 2040.   But this isn't just about celebrating a win. It's about setting the stage for what's next. The innovation we've highlighted here is ready to be rolled out to other markets, driving sustainability and business benefits far and wide. Here's to our team's hard work and to all the exciting, earth-friendly advancements on the horizon! #Sustainability #GreenFuture #Innovation #TeamEricsson #NetZero #EnergyEfficiency #DeutscheTelekom #ClimateAction Stefan Growe | Alina Claire Ostenda | Christian Francke | Cornelia Izquierdo-B. | Souleiman Midani | Yasser Ayad | LOUISE HUGHES | Marisol Soltero | Rory Moore | Cordula Knüppel | Martin Ostermeier | Jan Thünnesen

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Starting off our week of stories, this is Louise’s story. Louise Hughes is Head of Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility, Europe & Latin America at Ericsson. She joined the company in 2023 having previously worked at Vodafone. Louise is based in the UK. “I joined Ericsson when I was on maternity leave. I’d needed a change and this job was ideal. I felt fortunate when I got the role but after six months I was missing my son. The time before he goes to school is really precious. Life felt manic as I tried to be good at everything: manager, colleague, mum and wife.   To improve things I knew I needed a day at home with my son. Sally thought long and hard about it before saying yes. She also gave me some great advice. If you’re having a day with your son, ensure you get out of it what you need. It made me focus on keeping Fridays for me and him; not answering emails or doing laundry.   But when the time came to let my team know, imposter syndrome kicked in. If I go to 4 days a week would people think I couldn’t hack it? Had I failed? Sally advised me to be open so I told everyone that I missed my son and I’d be spending Fridays with him. I was surprised by the outpouring of love and empathy I got. People I’d recently hired fed back straight away: one told me that on hearing my announcement, she knew she’d made the right move coming to Ericsson.   One surprising benefit was that after being open about my parenting experiences my leadership style changed. Now I’m more honest about everything! I realised I didn’t have to be corporate, I just had to be me. Now I’m honest and say if I’m going to collect Rafe and will be back later. By being open, I realise I signal my own vulnerability. So now when I ask my team “are you okay?” I get a deeper level of engagement. People are happy to be vulnerable and open because of what they’ve seen of me.   What could employers do better? Enable honest and open conversations about what you need after maternity leave, whether you’re seeking a more purposeful role or need flexible working practices.   And my advice if you’re thinking of reducing your days is to set boundaries. I’m smarter with my time and empower my team so I’m not trying to squeeze a five day week into four. I’m clear and communicate. Everyone knows Friday is not a working day, so their expectations are managed.   It’s still hard doing a 4 day week with a two year old. I’m glad I came to Ericsson for a role with great purpose. Because if I’m going to make sacrifices, the job has to matter. I’m privileged to have this chance to make an impact. I need Rafe to know that what Mummy did was important!” #ParentsAtEricsson

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Proud about our latest Fit for the Future report about trust in technology! If you haven’t seen it yet, here is the latest research and insights in Vodafone Business and LSE Consulting's latest #FitForTheFuture report here: https://lnkd.in/e96_jHwu

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There’s a new campaign we’ve been working on called #MakeItMemorable. It’s targeted at our customers to help them focus on all the ways 5G can drive fan engagement over this summer’s major sporting and music events. It’s pioneering for us because of our use of AI to generate the imagery. We would never have had the resources to produce this level of imagery first-hand so it’s about being creative not only with artwork but also with budget. And what’s more it’s really distinctive messaging and creative, we wanted to stand out from ‘the sea of sameness’ that you might associate with B2B. So it’s a real first for us and a good example of what I'm calling ‘executing with excellence.’ The focus of the campaign is to really zoom in on why 5G connectivity is so important to keeping consumers happy and make sure they don't churn elsewhere: how it can provide so many innovative and interactive, game-changing user-experiences for fans, whether they’re at the stadium or following along at home. We wanted to inspire mobile operators and the end consumer and get them excited about 5G across this summer’s live events. I’m excited for you all to see this campaign come to life, as it launches today across a whopping 71 countries across Europe and Latin America, from France and Sweden to Mexico and Brazil . I am proud of this endeavour not just because of the creative idea and delivery, but also because it shines a light on the importance of teamwork. It's the diverse ideas and hands from all corners of our organization that have brought #MakeItMemorable to life, and watching it all click into place has been nothing short of inspiring. It just goes to show that, when we join forces, what we create isn’t just impactful – it’s downright memorable! https://lnkd.in/eYfRkXaK   #FanExperience #5G #5GValue   Alexis Cook | Annie Chitty | Antoine Catolino | Beth Nicol | Hina Garg | Iva Dobreva | Jack G. | Jasmeet Sethi | Maria Rudell Wiking | Marko Jovanovic | Martin Fitzpatrick (CIIC) | Mats Arvedson | Maya M. | Mike Cozens | Mohid Bin Amir | Molly Baxi Thakkar | Mordecai Holtz | Niclas Medman | Neha Verma | Paola Vetrugno | Patrik Cerwall | Reena Sharma | Rolando Ramirez | Simon McPhillips | Steve Hollidge | Sofia Leonsson | David Thomas | Jen Barratt | Rachel Haynes

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Excellent to be featured among other industry experts in Comms Dealer's October Kaleidoscope where I delved into the potential of emerging technologies like IoT in a world that's constantly evolving. In my opinion, embracing these advancements in the telco industry will definitely open doors to new possibilities. How we define 'communication and collaboration' isn't the same as when I first joined the industry. One thing for certain, two things for sure, we're driving progress and connectivity in ways we only begun to imagine.   Full feature here: https://lnkd.in/eWmhAD-H  

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Is the telco industry in terminal decline? Should I be looking for a new sector to work in? After several months struggling to find a new role in the telecoms sector which seems to be flush with highly experienced talent the latest update from BT did nothing to improve my mood. BT's new Group CEO Allison Kirkby out-lined her "Back to Basics" plan focused on cost-cutting and retrenchment. BT plan to cut costs by a further £3bn over 5 years and this follows on from the former CEO Philip Jansen predicting that AI-driven transformation would lead to 40,000 to 55,000 job reductions. Added to this the latest report from Dell'Oro group calls the RAN infrastructure market a "disaster" predicting a 15-30% decline in the first quarter of 2024. All in all the industry feels a long way from the Halcyon days of the early 2000s. So looking at my career options. Do I a) Dig deep and hold out for a new role in the industry I know and love or do I b) Abandon ship and try and find a new role in the adjacent technology sectors of cloud, cybersecurity, SaaS and AI? My gut feel is that at some point companies need to invest in their organizations to grow their way out of the problem but I worry I'm seeing the start of a much smaller, more streamlined and less dynamic industry. WDYT? https://lnkd.in/eJTzYtuJ

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RCS definitely has been the buzzword for almost a year now post Apple's announcement. However, for the past few weeks I've been wondering which of these channels will come out as a champion product for the Global brands - Will it be RBM as now it will be compatible with all the mobile phones or will it be WhatsApp which already has massive penetration in some of the key geographies and Meta continues to fund it's growth in other regions? Will the Global brands incentivize and try to influence the consumer behavior in order to move the consumers to a channel which the brand prefers or will the brands integrate both these rich media channels and use them as per the consumer behavior in various geographies ?

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A report from Kinetic found that speed (36%) and reliability (35%) are top internet priorities for small businesses – which are responsible for more than 40% of our country’s economic output and two-thirds of new jobs.   Telecom Ramblings shares how our new bundled fiber and voice services specifically tailored to the needs of small and medium-sized business give them an enterprise-grade experience that will scale with them as they grow.   👉Read more here: https://bit.ly/40kRKAs.

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As I walked out of Thames Tower at the end of another successful Imagine Live event last week, I reflected on the ingredients that make this event so special and important.   Imagine Live is an annual event where we invite customers and colleagues into our UK HQ to showcase Ericsson’s products and services. Each day is dedicated to a different customer, with time for our team to explore as well. With 5 keynotes, 10 workshops and around 15 demonstrations there were lots of opportunities to share insights and explore Ericsson’s technology. The event works so well because:   1.     We’re focused on the customer. With over 60 customers every event, that’s 250+ customers over the four days. Aside from what they learn about Ericsson UK & Ireland, customers told me how valuable our event is in getting different parts of their businesses together in one place. It makes for a good team day. There is also a lot of collaboration too, where we work with our customers to solve shared challenges, diving deep into topics like monetizing 5G. Unlike a large industry event such as MWC, at Imagine Live we can offer each of our customers closed sessions where we showcase developments without their competitors being in the room. That’s another plus. 2.     There’s the magic of gathering in-person. It was wonderful to see our space bursting to the seams with customers and colleagues. All that human interaction! It generated such a buzz. It's exciting - and necessary - to have face-to-face interaction at scale. That energy doesn’t happen the same way online via Teams. It’s also the kind of event where you can have many important conversations, not by following a tight agenda, but instead creating the space that allows collaborative conversations to happen. One customer told me they’d achieved more here in three hours on a project than they had in three months! Being outside of their own offices’ customers get a different perspective on their business. 3.     We can get up-close with the technology. At Imagine Live, you can see, touch and feel our latest work and innovations. Even for someone like me who is very familiar with our products and services, nothing beats seeing it in action. There was a popular demo on how network slicing works in a stadium environment, operating end to end. I could see a real ‘light bulb’ moment in the room where people suddenly went: ‘I really get it now!’   Thanks to the team behind the event who bring everything together seamlessly, and to our customers for coming along and seeing what we’re up to. The exciting thing to me is that next year we’ll have a whole host of new technology to showcase. I can't wait!   #ImagineLive2024 #CustomerEvent #Collaboration #5G

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Will these changes to the proposed deal help Vodafone and Three UK get their merger approved? As well as already pledging spectrum deals with Virgin Media O2 and massive capex investment, the companies now have added a commitment to keep prices low as well as a pricing structure to encourage MVNOs to be able to use their network (or leverage a price guarantee. Hopefully this will help give the regulator enough to be able to say they have done their job and that they can approve this deal – the UK telecoms market needs some certainty and a jolt to enable a re-set and investment. #connectivity #private5g #investment #innovation #mnos #2g #3g #4g #5g #business #enterprise #UK #regulation #towers #masts #inbuilding #property #realestate #growth #mobile #mobilenetworks #telecoms #telecommunications #technology https://lnkd.in/eSKpTdY9

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Vodafone's expansion of 5G Standalone networks in the UK could inject a whopping £3 billion annually into the economy, thanks to improved connectivity and efficiency across sectors. Imagine better train journeys, enhanced productivity for remote workers, and significant cost savings for businesses in the transportation sector. With 5G, there are potential productivity gains of £1 billion and 26 million hours saved from decreased delays. An estimated £10 million savings in train delay compensations could be reinvested into vital rail infrastructure. The proposed merger between Vodafone UK and Three UK could pave the way for a massive self-funded infrastructure investment, bringing 5G Standalone to 95% of the population by 2030 and 99% by 2034. As we await the final decision, let's look forward to the enhancements in growth, customer experiences, and competition this merger could bring. What do you think about the possibilities that 5G and this merger could unlock for the UK's future? Share your thoughts! #5GUK #ConnectivityRevolution #FutureInnovation

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What does impact mean to you and for your brand? That was the question we tackled at a very inspiring round table discussion hosted by dentsu and Campaign UK Thanks for having me Jean Lin Anna Campbell #canneslions #b2bmarketing

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Interesting first morning at the Futurenet event in London. Refreshing to hear major operators talk about the need to get more from 5G and not race into 6G and undergo another major step change in tech. Are the days of the 10 year G cycle coming to an end? Deeper level monetization of what exists as opposed to constantly chasing bright shiny objects is both rational and prudent for an industry struggling for sustained growth. #monetization #telco #5G MATRIXX Software #futurenetworld

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Netflix’s crackdown on account sharing is working! Each year we survey around 18,000 consumers around the world to understand their technology, media and telecoms consumption. We've been specifically looking at whether Netflix's actions in the UK have worked to deter account sharers. They have. In 2023, 19% of Netflix customers in the UK were using account log-in details shared with others. In 2024, this figure had fallen to 11%. Disney+ and others are following suit. For more insights into our 'first look' at our 2024 consumer survey results, take a look at Tom Rebbeck's latest article from Analysys Mason here: https://lnkd.in/eWURvmfu We'll be writing more about how the streamers are doing in the next month - watch this space! #NPS #churn #telecoms #telecomsstrategy #Netflix #OTT #streaming #accountsharing

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Mind the Gap....... The monetization gap is real, has existed for years and is arguably the main reason why telcos are on a path to commoditization. Continued over investment in new technology areas at the expense of seeking the maximum return from those investments. But something has changed. The plateauing of and in some cases the decline in mobile traffic levels creates an opportunity for a strategic re-think, a re-balancing of investment focus away from high capital intensity towards R&D, with much greater weight placed on the services consumers / businesses require and the network needed to deliver that. From build it and they will come to enthuse them and they will spend. Link to eBook in comments. #telco #mobile #monetization #BSS

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Great article highlighting one of the points that has had a major impact on the deployment of networks across the globe - how Governments 'sell' spectrum to MNOs and the impact this can have on rollouts. We have seen auctions in the past that have raised billions for Government coffers, but that leaves MNOs with major headaches in terms of monetisation as they then must upgrade (or build) masts and networks across the entire country, add new active equipment and provision upgraded backhaul, all of which is expensive, especially when they are in price wars with each other for customers. Renewals of these spectrum allocations will become more and more of an issue as the original licence periods expire, interesting to see how the German regulator is approaching the issue – especially considering their decisions creating new challenger companies when other M&A has taken place which potentially creates more headaches later on. Worth a read. #connectivity #networks #spectrum #strategy #investment #innovation #mnos #regulation #2g #3g #4g #5g #business #enterprise #germany #europe #UK #growth #mobile #mobilenetworks #telecoms #telecommunications https://lnkd.in/ejVdwW6T

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Really interesting infographic created by our friends at the Good Things Foundation revealing facts and stats to fix the digital divide for good. The five pillars for a more digitally inclusive future particularly resonate with me - capability, confidence, trust, devices, and connectivity. If we get these in balance, we become happier, healthier, more employable and generally better off. Check out the full infographic below for some essential learning.

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