The dark NOC concept is getting lots of attention from wireless carriers striving for standalone 5G networks. Rick Fulwiler, Chief Solutions Architect at NETSCOUT, describes the challenges in transitioning to a highly automated network environment and why it’s an opportunity worth pursuing.

Join host Diana Goovaerts and other Fierce Network editors as they explore the stories behind some of the hottest topics in tech and telecom. Want the inside scoop on broadband, wireless, artificial intelligence and cloud? You'll find it here.

Join host Diana Goovaerts and other Fierce Network editors as they explore the stories behind some of the hottest topics in tech and telecom. Want the inside scoop on broadband, wireless, artificial intelligence and cloud? You'll find it here.

Host Alejandro Piñero leads in-depth discussions on 5G connectivity, AI, networking and more.

The Five Nine

Join host Diana Goovaerts and other Fierce Network editors as they explore the stories behind some of the hottest topics in tech and telecom. Want the inside scoop on broadband, wireless, artificial intelligence and cloud? You'll find it here.

The dark NOC concept is getting lots of attention…

Rick Fulwiler of NETSCOUT on why a dark NOC is the future for CSPs

Is it possible to get fiber-like speeds without all the digging? This week, The Five Nine looks at wireless optical technology, using Google spinout Taara as a case study.

Taara CEO Mahesh Krishnaswamy explains what it means to “solve for the monkey,” why wireless optical tech could make all the difference for data centers, and where the technology could go next. Hint: it involves robots.

Is it possible to get fiber-like speeds without all the digging? This week, The Five Nine looks at wireless optical technology, using Google spinout Taara as a case study.
Taara CEO Mahesh Krishnaswamy explains what it means to &ldquo;solve for the monkey,&rdquo; why wireless optical tech could make all the difference for data centers, and where the technology could go next. Hint: it involves robots.

Fiber without the fiber?

Fierce Network’s Diana Goovaerts explores how AI could reshape the telecom customer experience — moving operators beyond speed, coverage and reactive support toward more proactive, personalized and trusted service.

The Five Nine features interviews with MCE Systems’ Alan Minney and First Orion’s Josh Whitehurst on where AI may show up first for telecom providers, from outage notifications and device health to customer care, fraud prevention, trusted calling and smarter use of customer data.

The big question: Will telecom’s AI race be won by the operator with the flashiest chatbot — or the one that can quietly reduce friction before customers ever need to call?

Fierce Network&rsquo;s Diana Goovaerts explores how AI could reshape the telecom customer experience &mdash; moving operators beyond speed, coverage and reactive support toward more proactive, personalized and trusted service.
The Five Nine features interviews with MCE Systems&rsquo; Alan Minney and First Orion&rsquo;s Josh Whitehurst on where AI may show up first for telecom providers, from outage notifications and device health to customer care, fraud prevention, trusted calling and smarter use of customer data.
The big question: Will telecom&rsquo;s AI race be won by the operator with the flashiest chatbot &mdash; or the one that can quietly reduce friction before customers ever need to call?

Can AI fix telecom’s customer experience problem?

AI is moving fast in telecom — but turning demos into real network operations is another story.

In this episode of The Five Nine, AT&T’s Mark Austin and GSMA’s Louis Powell break down what it takes to build AI that actually understands telecom networks, from domain-specific models and agentic systems to guardrails, model routing, token economics and the hard reality of running AI at production scale.

AI is moving fast in telecom &mdash; but turning demos into real network operations is another story.
In this episode of The Five Nine, AT&amp;T&rsquo;s Mark Austin and GSMA&rsquo;s Louis Powell break down what it takes to build AI that actually understands telecom networks, from domain-specific models and agentic systems to guardrails, model routing, token economics and the hard reality of running AI at production scale.

Rick Fulwiler of NETSCOUT on why a dark NOC is the future for CSPs

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