Creating Innovative Solutions for Telecom Infrastructure

With the current impact of cell network outages across almost all carriers in the US, it's a good time to talk about the future; actually, it's not even about the future, it's the present. Several years ago I started talking about having mobile robotics (air, ground and maritime robotics, like drones, rovers and submergible devices) be part of a mobile adhoc network or MANET. One example is a private mesh network, like Silvus Technologies provides. These communications solutions for high bandwidth video, C2, health and telemetry data are absolutely needed in today's environment and allow for a very flexible set-up and coverage; from a local incident scene, to a much larger area coverage, to entire cities or counties being covered. Why the need? While we in the drone industry originally focused on getting drones connected to a cell network, we quickly realized the single point of failure; the cell network infrastructure. Natural disasters, as well as manmade disasters, can impact these networks dramatically. An earthquake, hurricane, a solar storm, or a cyberattack, can take down these public networks for hours to days. And that includes public safety dedicated solutions like FirstNet or Frontline, during times when coms and data push is absolutely needed. Over the past couple of years we have seen the rise of mobile robotics deployments within private networks. While the defense side has done this approach for years, the public safety sector is still new to this concept. Some solutions integrate with a variety of antennas, amplifiers and ground stations, offer low latency, high data rates (up to 100+Mpbs), 256-bit AES encryptions and allow for a very flexible and scalable mobile ad-hoc mesh network solution. And most importantly - independence from a public network system. And now imagine you have multiple devices operating; a helicopter, a drone, a ground robotic, together with individuals on the ground, all connected and all tied into a geospatial information platform, like ATAK/TAK. Each connected device can become a node and extend the range. This is what I am calling building the Tech/Tac Bubble. This is not just the future, this is already happening with a handful of agencies across the US It's time to start thinking about alternative communication solutions and mobile robotics are an important part of leading the way. #UAV #UAS #UGV #Drones #network #MANET #Meshnetwork #publicsafety

Just wrapped up a talk at MIT Sloan School of Management on "India Class Problems" - a concept I've been deeply engaged with throughout my career. Here is the nugget 𝗗𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 "𝗜𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗮 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺𝘀" India class problems are characterized by: - Vast amounts of unstructured or incomplete private data - Evolving consumer behavior with frequent changes - Expectations for free or low-cost services - Limited availability of public data on demographics and infrastructure While daunting, these challenges present opportunities for innovative solutions with global applicability. 𝗘𝘅𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲: 𝗟𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗔𝗜 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗥𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗗𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 At a major Indian telecommunications company serving over 300 million customers, we encountered a quintessential "India Class Problem": how to optimize telecom network deployment in rural areas with where public data on population, income etc. are limited Our innovative approach utilized AI and Google satellite imagery - the key hypothesis being, a place is as prosperous as it appears from space. We created over 100 types of labeled data, from count and size of house, types and width of the roads, vegetation, forests, water bodies, proximity to highways etc. to develop an AI model to estimate population density and prosperity levels. Such information, combined with other 3rd party data, can create a high-quality, synthetic "Prosperity Index" in Emerging Markets where income data, especially from rural areas, are almost impossible to get. The outcome was huge, we automated what previously was largely a manual process and improved our customer predictions significantly. 𝗕𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗙𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗢𝘂𝘁𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸 The post-COVID era is characterized by digital, remote, and automated solutions. The emerging "K-economy" favors businesses that are customer-centric, digitally adept, and data-driven. To effectively find find and utilise data, businesses should understand that there is "Intelligence Everywhere". Focusing on innovative data discovery and interpretation is critical. In this context, the role of what I fondly call a “data detective” e.g., someone who really understands the data and finds hidden clues in them, becomes as crucial as that of a data scientist. Addressing "India Class Problems" extends beyond technological innovation. It's about developing solutions that can serve billions of individuals entering the digital economy, potentially revolutionizing sectors such as digital health, climate change mitigation, and mobility. My sincere gratitude to Rob Blaine, Chloe Fang, Honey Pamnani and many others for inspiring me to discuss these ideas, especially critical for Emerging Markets. Ping me if you think such ideas inspire you! Ramesh Raskar Ayush Chopra Abhishek Singh Raj Simhan Chris Pease Chenyu Zhang Rohan Khanna MIT Media Lab Anshul Joshi #DataScience #AI #Innovation #GlobalImpact #MITMediaLab

While the industry obsesses over 5G SA adoption (only 49 operators deployed out of 585 globally according to Deloitte Insights), we're missing the bigger story. The next opportunity isn't the latest generation of radio tech—it's modernizing the open infrastructure that makes ANY generation actually work. Every operator faces the same challenge: ❌ Running modern apps on yesterday's infrastructure ❌ Implementing automation on manual systems ❌ Deploying AI without proper compute platforms This isn't a radio access problem. It's an infrastructure transformation opportunity. Smart operators aren't waiting for the perfect 5G SA business case. They’re: ✅ Building cloud-native infrastructure from the ground up ✅ Implementing cross-generational automation ✅ Deploying edge platforms for future applications Infrastructure modernization lacks the hype of 5G SA or OpenRAN. But it has something better: immediate business impact and clear ROI. While others debate timelines, smart operators are building the foundation that makes any future network technology more valuable. Question: Will your infrastructure be ready for whatever comes next? #TelecomTransformation #5G #NetworkModernization #CloudNative

Telecom is at a breaking point—stretched thin by an explosion in data demands. Legacy systems are holding it back—but blockchain is poised to be the breakthrough. Imagine a telecom world where transactions are instant, where every bit of data is secure, and where scaling is no longer a struggle. With blockchain, telecom could leap from overloaded to unstoppable. Blockchain holds the potential to transform the scalability of telecom infrastructure, pushing it beyond the limits of what’s possible with legacy systems. Let me break this down how: 1. 𝐒𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬, 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐥-𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐒𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬: Telecom billing has long relied on intermediaries, creating bottlenecks that slow processes and increase operational costs. Blockchain redefines this by enabling instant, direct settlements, making transactions faster, cheaper, and more reliable. 2. 𝐄𝐧𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐒𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲 & 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐚 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲 With an ever-expanding sea of data across telecom networks, security can’t be an afterthought. Blockchain’s decentralized design mitigates risks by securing user information across distributed nodes, minimizing vulnerabilities and ensuring data integrity across every transaction. This approach is a major step forward in addressing user privacy, which is crucial for telecom providers operating on a global scale. 3. 𝐇𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐕𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐄𝐚𝐬𝐞: As telecom grows—5G, IoT, and beyond—networks must support incredibly high transaction volumes. Traditional systems struggle with this demand. Blockchain, however, scales efficiently, seamlessly processing high transaction loads. It’s designed to handle the pressure of growing user bases without the lags or limitations that hinder legacy systems.  4. 𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝, 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐁𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 Blockchain’s smart contracts enable self-executing billing—automated, transparent, and accurate. By eliminating human errors and reducing the chance of billing disputes, blockchain-based billing fosters trust between users and providers while slashing back-office costs for telecoms.  5. 𝐅𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞-𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐑𝐚𝐩𝐢𝐝 𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐭𝐡 With user numbers increasing daily and network demands following suit, telecom companies face immense pressure to evolve or risk becoming obsolete. Blockchain offers a future-ready architecture for telecom—scalable, secure, and transparent. Blockchain isn’t just an innovation for telecom; it’s a critical upgrade to meet the needs of modern, digital-first users. By leveraging blockchain’s potential, telecom providers can build an infrastructure that’s not only robust but agile enough to scale with the demands of the future. #TELECOM #BLOCKCHAIN #DATA #5G