Share
Light Reading Podcasts
Tarana CEO Basil Alwan: Making WTF moments in FWA
Basil Alwan, CEO of Tarana Wireless, joins the podcast to discuss Tarana's approach to fixed wireless access (FWA) and why its technology is unique. Alwan, a startup veteran who most recently ran Nokia's IP/Optical business, also weighs in on how Tarana's gear can help lessen the digital divide and why some of the company's customers are having WTF moments about FWA.
In our conversation, we cover how and why Alwan became CEO at Tarana, a company that has been around since 2009, but only really started turning heads in the broader telecom market about a year ago. Alwan discusses how Tarana transitioned from handling small cell backhaul to building a novel broadband solution for service providers of all sizes, Tarana's G1 platform.
He goes on to talk about the costs that service providers should consider when deploying traditional fixed wireless and line-of-sight cellular technologies. Finally, he reveals how Tarana Wireless is working with service providers and other channel partners and how the company's latest funding round has changed things.
In March, Tarana announced that it had closed a $170 million round at a $1 billion valuation and was on track to "deliver over $100 million of revenue in 2022, from a customer base that has exploded to more than 120 service providers."
Here's how the conversation unfolded:
- How Basil Alwan became CEO of Tarana Wireless (01:26)
- Tarana Wireless's work in the small cell market (04:55)
- Market opportunities for FWA and line-of-sight technologies (07:06)
- Key regions where FWA can lessen the digital divide and the cost to service providers for homes passed (09:18)
- Digging into Tarana's latest funding round and growth prospects (12:03)
- How Tarana is going to market and how service providers are stepping up (13:24)
- A real WTF moment for one of Tarana's customers (21:33)
- What changes when your company becomes a unicorn? (29:25)
More episodes
View all episodes
The Divide: What's up with BEAD non-deployment funds?
30:00||Season 6This week: Missouri State Rep. Louis Riggs and Benton's Drew Garner join the podcast to discuss the state of the BEAD program and their push to get the NTIA to 'follow the law' and release full funding to the states.
Ookla's Mike Dano on spectrum sagas and WBD dramas
38:57||Season 1Mike Dano, Light Reading's former mobile guy who's now at Ookla, joins the podcast to catch up on all of the intrigue involving mobile and spectrum and some thoughts about the ongoing battle for Warner Bros. Discovery.
Managed Wi-Fi: cutting costs and boosting revenue
22:46||Season 5Nokia's Dirk Verhaegen discusses how operators can transform Wi-Fi from a cost center to a revenue driver with cloud-managed networks and AI insights. This episode is sponsored by Nokia.
What's the state of play for CBRS?
39:24||Season 1David Wright of Spectrum for the Future and Jason Wallin with the OnGo Alliance discuss how CBRS might be impacted as the FCC and NTIA look high and low for spectrum. They also explain whether the band is under siege or only mildly threatened.
AI and the future of high-end block storage
21:13||Season 5Hitachi Vantara's Octavian Tanase, Chief Product Officer joins Light Reading's Phil Harvey to discuss how AI is reshaping enterprise infrastructure design and driving the next generation of high-end block storage.
The Divide: How Western Massachusetts towns banded together for better broadband
33:26||Season 5This week: Jess Auer (Institute for Local Self-Reliance) and David Kulp (Ashfield, Massachusetts) on ILSR's new report exploring how 19 Western Massachusetts towns collaborated to connect their communities to municipal broadband.
The Divide: How Digicel is recovering from Hurricane Melissa
31:26||Season 5This week: Digicel's Liam Donnelly joins the podcast to discuss how the operator is restoring network services in regions ravaged by Hurricane Melissa. We also cover broader digital divide issues affecting the Caribbean and more.
The rise of 25G and 50G PON
22:11||Season 5Nokia's Geert Heyninck discusses how 25G/50G PON are shaping the next wave of connectivity and how operators can harness them to drive new growth.
The Divide: How NYC is breaking broadband barriers with 'Neighborhood Tech Help'
35:38||Season 5This week: Dave Seliger (NYC Department of Housing Preservation & Development) and Dr. Brandy McNeil (New York Public Library) discuss New York's Neighborhood Tech Help program and the role it plays in solving the digital divide.