Danielle Rios

The telecom industry runs on 30-year-old code thwarting growth and innovation. I’m rewriting telco software with cloud and AI. CEO @Totogi.

[Danielle Rios @TelcoDR]

Why won't your BSS vendor build AI-native?

Not because they can't.

Because they won't.

My latest blog breaking down why legacy vendors are stuck—and what comes next for telcos -->🧵

@TelecomTV

[Danielle Rios @TelcoDR]

@__itsaras @championspb Yes. But like pickleball more!

[Turner Novak 🍌🧢 @TurnerNovak]

Someone made a site that tracks what people are talking about at public city council meetings across the US.

The only thing discussed more than data centers?

Pickleball courts.

[TelecomTV @TelecomTV]

What changes when you can see the return before you spend the first dollar?

During the opening keynotes at #AINativeTelcoForum 2026, @totogi’s CEO, Danielle Rios, challenged the industry to rethink how 6G investment decisions are made — arguing that AI-native networks could make it possible to understand the return at site level before committing the spend.

▶️ Watch Danielle Rios’ full keynote: https://t.co/cfZyk1aaKd

#AINativeTelcoForum #Telecoms #AINative #6G #TelecomAI

[Peter Adderton @peter_adderton]

The CEOs of the MNOs need to understand that the old playbook of downplaying a threat like @SpaceX simply isn't going to cut it.

On one side, you have @elonmusk, an entrepreneur who makes decisions, takes risks and goes for it. Some ideas work, some don't. But he moves.

On the other side, you have what I call the CDOs of telecom Chief Dividend Officers.🤣 Gatekeepers of shareholder returns, operating in cultures where protecting the dividend often matters more than taking risks or challenging the status quo.

And that's the problem.

You can't defend against an entrepreneur playing offense when your entire culture is built around playing defense.

It's time MNO CEOs stopped talking about the threat and started attacking it.

If SpaceX is building a mobile network, then MNOs need to buy or build a satellite network.

Because Elon isn't waiting for permission, and neither should they..

[Totogi @totogi]

@TelcoDR and Ryan Alvarez, CEO of VIVA Bolivia, just wrapped a fireside chat at TM Forum Innovate Americas on the capital question network data can't answer: which sites should you NOT upgrade.

Short version: traffic and density show demand. They don't show payback.

[Totogi @totogi]

New Telco in 20: @TelcoDR talks with Stefan Pongratz of Dell'Oro Group, who has tracked CapEx through three G cycles. His framework: spare capacity, competitive dynamics, tech maturity. What it doesn't answer: unit economics of a single cell.

Listen: https://t.co/SlEG2ZtTBf

[TelecomTV @TelecomTV]

@TelecomTV Chief Strategy Officer and Content Director Guy Daniels joined @TelcoDR on the Telco in 20 podcast to talk about the AI-Native Telco Accelerator (ANTA) and what evidence really shows about AI in telecom.

Guy shared why we built the AI-Native Telco Index: a report that tracks AI activity across 56 operator groups using only their public disclosures. Early findings show AI already in commercial use across 15 distinct operational domains, with 54 of the 56 live in at least three of them.

He also previewed the AI-Native Telco Forum in Düsseldorf, September 8-9, where the Index will be revealed to ANTA members.

It’s a great conversation. Listen now: https://t.co/65ABykY8YF

#Telecommunications #AI #ANTA

[Jeff Baumgartner @thebauminator]

Interesting wrinkle... Charlie Ergen Agrees to Take Controlling Stake in MobileX https://t.co/926aJdV76E

[Totogi @totogi]

Totogi CEO @TelcoDR sat down with @TelecomTV at DTW Ignite. Her read: telcos are still kicking tires, waiting on decisions that should have been made last year. Meanwhile, the operators actually moving aren't waiting for consensus.

Watch: https://t.co/rrS9ciUTbr

[Totogi @totogi]

AI in telco fails for one reason: it doesn't comprehend how your business actually works. That's not a data problem. It's a context problem.

@TelcoDR and Roy Chua (AvidThink) unpack why on Telco in 20: https://t.co/vdUH77KRGv

[TelecomTV @TelecomTV]

Tomorrow, telecom industry leaders gather in Windsor for day one of DSP Leaders World Forum 2026. 🌅

We’re looking forward to a packed day of discussions exploring practical, real-world approaches to:
✔️ AI integration
✔️ Network automation
✔️ AI-native networks
✔️ Cloud native beyond the core
✔️ Digital sovereignty
✔️ The software-defined vehicle globalisation gap

⭐ Featuring insights from leaders including Philippe Ensarguet, Ahmed Hafez, Amol Phadke, Ohad Barnoy, Francesca Serravalle, Anita Döhler, Beth Cohen, Colin Evans, George Glass, Diego R Lopez, Itsuma Tanaka, Muhannad Alabwek, Vishal Mathur, Franz Seiser, Gary Mackenzie, Rich Stephens, Lasha Tabidze, Christof Stallmach, Colin Bannon, Joanna Cavan, Nastasi Karaiskos, Nihal Newman, Andy Linham, Gabriela Styf Sjöman, Ignacio Gonzalez, Neil McRae, Maxime Flament, André Schlufter, Camille Voisin, Craig Turner, Prof. Colin Lee, Warren Bayek ⭐

👉 Register now to watch the live broadcast: https://t.co/24ShLrkUD7

#DSPLWF26 #DSPLeaders #DigitalServices #Telecoms #NetworkAutomation #TelcoCloud #NetworkStrategy #AINative #CloudNative

[Totogi @totogi]

NVIDIA has the chips. Telcos have the infrastructure. But the software that orchestrates work across these systems — nobody owns that yet.

Totogi CEO @TelcoDR and NVIDIA's Kanika Atri dig into the gap on the latest Telco in 20.

Listen: https://t.co/khYH1m2LLt

[Danielle Rios @TelcoDR]

Google Goose shoes, FTW

[Cherie DeVaux @RealDeUavx]

Ever since my knee replacement I can’t wear a lot of fun shoes….so I made my own

[Danielle Rios @TelcoDR]

You can get pretty addicted to this AI stuff.

[Austen Allred @Austen]

I’m excited to announce something we’ve been working really hard on:

For the past little while Gauntlet AI has been exclusively for engineers with 3+ years of software engineering experience. Not a great fit for junior engineers.

But now we’ve had hiring partners see so much success with our trials of folks on the more junior end we can accept candidates with less experience—even some with no experience whatsoever.

Yes, including new CS grads (or those of you graduating this year).

We will:

* Fly you to Austin

* Train you to build with AI (and build AI systems) in super intense 100 hr weeks

* Take care of food, housing, even laundry

* Help you land a minimum $200k job as an AI engineer.

It’s completely free because hiring partners pay us recruiting fees to hire you. You pay nothing, ever, no matter what. Even if you don’t take a job after the program.

It’s taken a decade of work and building trust with our hiring partners for them to be able to commit to this, and we’re really excited to see what it brings.

[Totogi @totogi]

Two AWS zones in the UAE went down in March. A missile hit Batelco's HQ in Bahrain this month.

Most operators have duplication, not DR. Same country. Same risk. Same failure mode.

The threat model just changed. Has your architecture?

Read the article: https://t.co/FDHUOYjy8S

[Totogi @totogi]

@TelcoDR When Zain Sudan lost both data centers in a civil war, their vendor quoted 6–9 months to recover.

Totogi restored 20M+ subscribers in 18 days — on the public cloud.

Full case study: https://t.co/nch8J3D5bz

[Totogi @totogi]

If your DR is in the same country as your primary system, you have duplication — not disaster recovery.

Drone strikes hit AWS data centers in UAE and Bahrain. Hyperscaler infrastructure became a military target.

@TelcoDR explains what has to change: https://t.co/xl35RuJRAA

[Totogi @totogi]

MWC26 recap: The Mobile World Live podcast is live. 🎙️

@TelcoDR joined Justin Springham, Kavit Majithia, and Carolina Milanesi to break down the show—agentic AI, the Totogi Padel Invitational, recovery tips, and yes, Totogi scarves.
https://t.co/epC00J9LMK

#MWC26 #AI