Tailor-made home internet that you can take with you

What happens when broadband networks become smart enough to manage themselves?

Recorded live at Fiber Connect 2026, this episode of Connected Nation features Randy Van Buren of Motive Software Solutions for a fascinating conversation about the technologies shaping the future of connectivity. From backup internet systems that seamlessly switch between fiber, wireless, and satellite networks to the growing role of artificial intelligence in network management, Van Buren shares insights into how providers are building more resilient, efficient, and reliable broadband networks.

If you've ever wondered how emerging technologies will keep people connected anytime, anywhere, this episode offers a glimpse into what's next.

Recommended links:  

Randy Van Buren LinkedIn

Motive website

Transcript

Jessica Denson (00:07):
This is Connected Nation, an award-winning podcast focused on all things broadband. From closing the digital divide to improving your internet speeds, we talk technology topics that impact all of us, our families, and our neighborhoods. Imagine taking your home internet wherever you go and having redundancies there so if it fails and never goes down. I talk with a representative with Motive Software Solutions about a project they're working on to do just that and so much more. I'm Jessica Denson and this is Connected Nation. I am at Fiber Connect, um, in Orlando, Florida and it is a huge conference. It's, I haven't even had a chance to explore the vendor halls, but I, when I was looking at the, um, Fiber, Fiber Connect catalog, there's hundreds down there so I'm very excited to go down there. Uh, someone who's just joined me who was down there looking for me <laugh> at the vendor hall where which is where I thought I would be is Randy VanBuren who is a senior solutions engineer for Motive, um, Software Solutions.

(01:12)
Thank you so much for taking the time to find me on the third 

Randy Van Buren (01:15):
Floor. <laugh> My pleasure. Good to be here. I 

Jessica Denson (01:17):
Was headed away a little bit, but it's, it's gonna be a good interview I promise. Agree. <laugh> So let's start, um, where you were just at. How, why are you at Fiber Connect and how is the vendor hall so far? 

Randy Van Buren (01:30):
Yeah, so a lot of it's making connections just like what Fiber's meant to do. You're also meant to do that in person. So it's a great place to, uh, make those acquaintances new again as well as to find some new folks that you haven't never talked to before. Uh, keep up with the marketplace, uh, so there's an educational component to it, but then also sharing about who we are as a company in this same, uh, realm, right? Uh, so yeah, lots to do and people to see and I'm not sure I'll be able to do it all just like you mentioned, so looking forward to the more time on the floor as well. 

Jessica Denson (02:01):
Uh, yeah. I'm, I'm excited to go down there. I'll do a video from that later on. But, um, you know, we, in our world, we deal everything online, it's all connectivity. So how important is it to have these face-to-face moments? 

Randy Van Buren (02:14):
Good question because the, uh, times that we do communicate, sometimes it's not as personable, right? Mm-hmm. And it's, uh, you miss some of the, uh, the joy perhaps even, but also, uh, there's a chance to go deeper and get a little bit further than you would than just on a surface level. And, uh, you have a different schedule to your life as well when you're in person at these events. So it's a good reason to be here, uh, that you're not feeling constrained by your calendars necessarily so much, even though the work still goes on. Uh, you, you do then get a chance to be more informal perhaps and have, uh, discussions that are in, in the parlance of the telecommunications out of band type communication. <laugh> Yeah. So it's, it's worth a while. 

Jessica Denson (02:53):
Mm-hmm. It, it's really, uh, I, it's funny because I just went and grabbed lunch and brought it back up here and I met two people just, just sitting there waiting for my lunch. So e- everybody's friendly and ready to talk. Agree. There's something about having that face to face. So let's, let's dive into Motive. Talk about Motive Software Solutions and what you guys do. 

Randy Van Buren (03:11):
Great. Yeah, Motive been around since the mid '90s, um, got acquired by Alcotel Lucent and then Nokia came into that picture as well, but spun out of Nokia in 2024. Uh, so the portfolio's also changed somewhat along the way, but the mission and the, uh, ideals of the company are still very much the same that we're helping out with connectivity in terms of not necessarily are we the provider, the service provider, but it's enabling that. So in enabling the onboarding activities that go through the activation process and then the whole lifecycle management. Uh, so it could be very much the mobile phones, but in this case in the fiber world, there's a lot of ONTs, CPEs, on- premise type equipment as well. Mm-hmm. Uh, so we do a variety of capabilities, not just for fixed, uh, networks, but also for wireless, uh, satellite included these days. <laugh>

(04:02)
Mm-hmm. Uh, so it just continues to, just like broadband, it's a broad set of capabilities that we're looking for, multi-vendor, heterogeneous type networks, multi-access. So there's abilities then to, uh, be in a lot of places around the world for a lot of different reasons. Uh, so the idea that there's continuous updates, continuous improvement, uh devices are not slowing down in terms of their manufacturing or their capabilities and becoming much more modular. Mm-hmm. So that's exactly where we play is helping those software updates continue. 

Jessica Denson (04:32):
And yours is really B2B. It's not, you're not talking to the average customer. 

Randy Van Buren (04:37):
We are a helpful unit, uh, but correct. We are a business to business, uh, perspective that operators are particularly our customers. Uh, so again, fixed wireless, uh, uh, mobile satellite, you can think of, you know, fiber, uh, traditional cable even, all those different options that, um, that we are enabling them to reach those end customers and then those end customer information is coming back. Mm-hmm. So how do we help make that information visible, be seen, uh, and then get that true quality of experience from that the customer really enjoys? 

Jessica Denson (05:07):
Mm-hmm. You threw out a, a lot of big tech words, which is great. We have a lot, we have a tech audience that understands all of that. But, uh, how difficult is it for companies to stay ahead of that curve, especially since it seems that curve has become exponential as in, you know, 20 years ago, we'd, we'd see rollout of, of tech, but it was a slower pace than it is now. Right. How 

Randy Van Buren (05:28):
Do you 

Jessica Denson (05:28):
Stay ahead of that? 

Randy Van Buren (05:29):
Uh, the speed will continue to increase as we're seeing, again, the idea that it's more software based than hardware based- mm-hmm. ... so that software defined radios, software defined capabilities, software applications. So the ideas that you've been seeing on your computers, on your phones are gonna be continuing to the same place in terms of home devices, uh, home networking, uh, equipment, uh, business equipment. I mean, it all kind of, it continues to go the same way. Uh, the ma- the idea that you're becoming more containerized, decomposed, and so it's, again, software components. The hardware's there. How do you take advantage of that? Mm-hmm. And so that speed up then also then looks like, hey, there needs to be a way that, uh, delivery is able to do a campaign that, that matches that speed, but also let's say AI components that come in to say, "Hey, how do I, uh, optimize?

(06:16)
How do I look for ways that, uh, take advantage of the maintenance window or in terms of information coming back and feed the feedback loop so those improvements can be more continuous?" 

Jessica Denson (06:26):
Mm-hmm. So, um, y- you touched on AI for a second there and if, uh, like I told my last interviewee, there, there's no conversation I'm gonna have these two days that doesn't involve AI at some point. <laugh> So you kind of touched on how AI can help with innovation. Where do you see it at Motive and where do you see it, um, in general for companies that, the companies that you guys work with? 

Randy Van Buren (06:50):
Well, we see it all over the place, right? Mm-hmm. Um, and so we use it internally for our own employees, our own production, our own development cycles as well, uh, in terms of building into our products. Uh, and then those products get used by, uh, operators in many cases that have their own AI tools. So it's a combinatorial effect that's happening across the board and what we're seeing is this, um, uh, let's say distributed brain type information that, uh, you're, there's perhaps AI even on an edge device. Your phones are becoming more AI built and ready. Uh, so those end devices in between devices and then all the way back to the cloud, right, these centralized points, but how do they work together? Mm-hmm. And that's the challenge that we're seeing the most now is, um, yeah, a lot of capabilities, a lot of promises, uh, but guardrails that need to be in place, uh, policies, rules, uh, it, you know, how do we work together in, again, heterogeneous multi-vendor type way that, uh, we can all get along.

(07:45)
Mm-hmm. But AI in particular is showing us as humans where perhaps where our downfalls are too, right? Hey, we looked through all this data, we couldn't find that needle, but AI found it within five seconds and, uh, the improvements to focus on where we should pay attention to. Uh, so yeah, the, the usefulness continues to be ramping up. Uh, we just may get told by AI that we're doing it wrong. <laugh> 

Jessica Denson (08:08):
Yeah. Um, the, I've heard talk that everything from, you know, that AI is the, it's gonna save industry too, you know, it's gonna just, it's gonna just leave a lot of pub- people unemployed. Would it, could it be that there's some middle ground there that, and that you see that, um, maybe there is, you know, there's always gotta be some human element, right? 

Randy Van Buren (08:31):
So that's a good point. What, what things can be automated without a person in the loop and the, uh, the, those kinds of criteria, maybe it makes sense for some safe areas, for example, just doing a reboot, uh, of systems. And so instead of having a person doing a tedious task, an AI can do it in a very agentic way and it, uh, the other way I like to think of AI in that case is it's, it does your action items for you. <laugh> So if it's well disciplined, well determined, it can then be very specific about its role, then yeah, there's not necessarily a need for a person in the loop, but the more complex it gets and the more it gets into moral questions and lives at stake and public safety, then there are reasons to have justifications to say, yes, there needs to be some kind of governance. 

(09:14)
Uh, is AI good at governing itself? We're not entirely sure about that. <laugh> So yeah, good question. 

Jessica Denson (09:19):
I, I've, I've started to use AI of, because of course I work for a company that's tech forward or not, a nonprofit and, um, I told, <laugh> told my friends the other day, I, I'm excited and I love it and I, I like using it in some ways, but in some ways, like if, if I have to call a, a company and I get an AI agent, I wanna throw it across the room. <laugh> So, so I'm like, it's kind of in the middle right now. I don't know. It's got both sides because, 

Randy Van Buren (09:43):
Yeah. It comes down to some use cases perhaps- Yeah. ... in terms of, as a tool, there's some senses that makes case, it, it makes a good case for it. And, um, again, for filtering through data quickly in large amounts- mm-hmm. ... massive type work or, uh, even what's now known as tiny language models. So the way you can do a distributed type analysis that way, there, very, uh, niche and pre-understood ways to, it'll work together, but just to say, "Hey, AI will solve it for me. " <laugh> But throwing it over the fence and then you may not like what you get back. Yeah. 

Jessica Denson (10:13):
Right. We're gonna have to do a little bit of computing ourselves to understand it, right? <laugh> Um- Yes. 

Randy Van Buren (10:18):
So 

Jessica Denson (10:18):
Where do you see the, the role of, you know, I know this is a litle bit out of motive pro- probably, but where data centers lie in all of this and, and that, in that conversation, are you guys hearing conversations 

Randy Van Buren (10:29):
Or questions about that? Well, yes. So we, we use data centers, of course, throughout our entire, um, delivery programs as well. So, uh, not only do we rely on, upon them for large scale implementations or SAS type deployments, uh, but then are how are we connected to the data centers that the operators own, uh, or cloud environments and infrastructure. So yeah, the, the, the interesting thing is, again, about h- how much do you put into that, uh, so this age old architecture question of distributed logic, right? Is it all in within the mainframe or do you have PCs, uh, and the compute power that you just spread out? And so, uh, because what we're seeing now is not so much the cost of a data center, but it's the cost of going in and out of a data center. So those fees of transactions are more expensive than the storage itself.

(11:16)
Oh, wow. Mm-hmm. Uh, so that back and forth, if you can do something local and keeps, uh, information perhaps at the edge- mm-hmm. ... uh, quick response times and self-healing, self-learning, uh, those show a lot of promise in the case of, uh, then a distributed knowledge base. 

Jessica Denson (11:31):
Mm-hmm. At, at Connect Nation, we're doing a CNIXP, which is an ex- internet exchange point. We're doing our first one in Wichita. Right. And it's very much talk a lot about doing that. We're gonna have a s- uh, GPU, I think I'm saying that right. <laugh> Please don't kill me, Brent Legg and Hunter Newby if I'm saying it wrong. <laugh> But, um, they're the tech, they're the technical people. Yeah. Um, but it's just- It's a different 

Randy Van Buren (11:51):
Type of compute, 

Jessica Denson (11:52):
Right? Yes, 100%. Yeah. And it definitely deals with that. Um, people who don't know a lot about internet exchange points, which I'm throwing this at you so I don't know if you do <laugh> but where, you know, it's, they're usually in large cities and so people have faster speeds and stuff and all of that quicker access whereas we're putting them in our, our, our goal is to put them in mid-sized areas, like which Taw Kansas isn't gonna be the first. 

Randy Van Buren (12:14):
There could be a cost savings to that, for example. Right. But there's still the transport. Right. And we talked about to get it there and back. And that's where the interesting dynamics come into play. Um, but I, you know, so, uh, that storage, the memory, right? We're seeing costs- Uh-huh. ... uh, becoming factors in that. And so just again, what is the shift in ideals? There's talks about putting data centers in space- <laugh> ... Data centers in the ocean because it's supposed to be environmentally cooler that way. Oh. Uh, but they don't take up certain footprint, but they, again, how do you get there- Right. ... and get back. And so the equation is simple, similar to, well, yes, your, your customers, a lot of them are rural and these data centers may also go into a rural location, uh, but there's still a price to be paid- Right.

(12:59)
... to go in and out of those spots. 

Jessica Denson (13:01):
100%. Um, and d- do you have a lot of people that just a general person that ask, "Hey, Randy, what should I do with AI? Should I, should I trust this stuff or no?" 

Randy Van Buren (13:11):
It's a common question through just every day. <laugh> Yeah. Uh, and so in, in the sense if you have some tech savvy too, you <laugh> not only do you fix someone's wifi wherever you go. Uh-huh. Uh, but then they ask you about, what do you think about AI? Uh, and so it comes down to, yes, you could fear it, and there's some folks who are in that camp that they just, uh, pour it and the idea of it and the others are like, uh, "My job is at risk." And then there's another end that says, "What, I'd like using some parts of it though." 

Jessica Denson (13:39):
Uh-huh. 

Randy Van Buren (13:40):
And so, yeah, just, uh, it's not like it's going to be adopted in a variety of different ways. Uh, but the usefulness is there, right? It's something that we've always done this in terms of an engineering throughout society, uh, something more efficient, right? Whether it's something like washing clothes- Yeah. ... uh, or just how we spend our time, right? We are looking to create leisure time. And so Elon Musk keeps talking about, "Oh, you won't have to work anymore," right? <laugh> Uh, it's just a different kind of work is the way I look at it. Uh-huh. Um, but, uh, there's still trade, uh, uh, things going on and, and those AI tools can help the trades though. Hey, how do I improve my, uh, understanding of a situation and pinpoint problems, uh, and not do a lot of troubleshooting time. And that's what we get back to at our work too, is like, "Hey, we've got a lot of capabilities that data that helps you understand how your network or your end devices are doing, but how do we pinpoint it so you can get right to it and not waste time?" And that's the same thing we look for in everyday life, right?

(14:38)
How does AI help us that way? 

Jessica Denson (14:39):
So back to Motive, um, what are some things that you guys are excited about right now? Any great projects or just things that are on the horizon that you're excited 

Randy Van Buren (14:47):
About? Yeah, absolutely. Um, again, the, what I would call this multimodal type access networks, uh, the, the promise of, um, again, more heterogeneous ways that people can get onto a connected type of service. So this onboarding that also means things get a little bit more complicated that, hey, I came in a direction that was, uh, fixed through my home or I now I came something on the road, uh, something while on vacation. H- how is that still me as the same subscriber? So this interworking of satellites and fixed, uh, and fixed wireless and just plain wireless, um, there's a lot of intermodal activity that says, yes, there's a common subscriber here, but your policy is different, your situation is different. And so your service might also be allocated in a different way. So those kinds of interesting configurations and updates that say, yes, I need a certain profile for a certain situation is what we're involved in that, um, phones already have this, the dual sim dual standby. 

Jessica Denson (15:47):
Uh-huh. 

Randy Van Buren (15:47):
We're seeing that come down to home devices as backup networks in terms of, hey, is it one like storm ready or a fail over network that says, yeah, I can go to satellite when my fiber is cut or my electricity is out. Uh, is there something that, uh, gives me options where I'm still connected, uh, but how do I have my profile that services that and which one is active at what particular, uh, time? And again, it can give me in a business level, group level or individual or home family type thing. 

Jessica Denson (16:17):
That's really interesting. Um, I'm sitting here nodding as you talk <laugh> our audience can't see us, but that promise you that's what I'm doing because when there is a storm or when there is a problem or that it, so it would basically being you'd be working across different types of technology for your same internet? 

Randy Van Buren (16:32):
Correct. It may, it may even still be the same endpoint that you still get wifi from the same router perhaps, uh, but instead of fiber it could be another wireless backup, uh, technique that, that's going, uh, to your local cellular that's in, working in conjunction, uh, or a satellite type option. So, uh, if you think about it, when you get on an airplane these days, uh- Yeah. ... they ask you to turn your cellular off. Uh, that may change in the future because you're, might be connecting cellular in the satellite realm and you don't even know what you're connected to, right? <laugh> Uh-huh. Uh, so this whole idea that airplane mode, well, it's essentially a policy that you're gonna be in a certain particular operation of your device. And so same thing at home, I, am I in a failover mode? Am I in a backup mode?

(17:16)
Uh-huh. Uh, am I in a protected mode or emergency mode? So there's different situations like that that'll become onto these devices. So that's where we're seeing, yeah, profile situations that then get affected by configuration settings and our lifecycle management software isn't directly involved in that. 

Jessica Denson (17:32):
That's fascinating. 

Randy Van Buren (17:33):
It is. 

Jessica Denson (17:34):
I didn't know that's what airplane mode was for. <laugh> <laugh> I'm learning all kinds of things from you today, Ry- Randy. I've got all these things- 

Randy Van Buren (17:40):
There's another one I heard the other day in terms of public, uh, school mode. J

Jessica Denson (17:44):
Uh-huh Oh. 

Randy Van Buren (17:44):
And so the idea that you want your kid to be connected in a certain way or your child or, or however supervisor situation may be, uh, the school mode though can give you some basic capabilities without having the full internet at disposal of the child and they aren't playing games, but at least they can call home if they need to, right? Yep. 

Jessica Denson (18:03):
Yeah. Um, it, it makes sense when you say it and you lay it out like that, like, "Oh yeah, that, that makes sense.That's the next 

Randy Van Buren (18:08):
Level." Rethink from a use case, yeah. 

Jessica Denson (18:10):
Yeah, yeah, fantastic. And that's kind of what Motive is doing behind the scenes is looking towards that already or are there, are you already actually doing some of that? 

Randy Van Buren (18:18):
We're engaged in multiple ways with global operators in that regard. So, uh, whether it's like here we are in the US this, uh, <laugh> this particular week in Florida, uh, but this is all around the globe that, uh, similar situations and- Uh-huh. ... similar techniques that devices are catching up to what people are asking for. Uh, so there's device technology and then we're the other side of the equation, right? The idea that how do you respond to those devices and make them more capable than they already are. So, um, one of the things that we talk about often is content delivery. Uh, so yes, we are a key aspect to making sure that not only do we deliver firmware and patches and updates to phones and, and fixed home devices and f- fiber optic units, uh, but then that aspect gets a feedback loop of how it's, how well it's doing.

(19:08)
And so that, uh, response, that coordination, uh, this, and the chance, the chance to then make changes and make that a continuous improvement. And so that the real time connectivity comes into play as we started on this, the very discussion, right? And, um, we're seeing more and more that, uh, the, the amount of data just streaming in both directions, right? <laugh> Yeah. So you're streaming to you, but now it's also streaming back into the network and that enriches the whole environment though to do something nice and good with it to change the behavior. 

Jessica Denson (19:37):
So Motive has that global footprint then. 

Randy Van Buren (19:40):
Yes. Uh, every single spot in con- continent we are with the tier one operators, tier two, tier three. <laugh> So, uh, we've been around for a while, right, since the mid 90sU situation where, hey, if it's all a monopoly, then you don't need us, right? Right. But it's, it's a very heterogeneous type of, uh, setup and the more that continues with options, the ways you access options or even choices about your vendors that you're putting into your network, the more that we're involved in those kinds of plays. 

Jessica Denson (20:05):
That's, it's very interesting what you guys do, and I, I think it's fascinating. Uh, so tell me about yourself, what is your background, because you obviously have deep knowledge in this. <laugh> 

Randy Van Buren (20:16):
So yeah, my background goes back to some AT&T Bell Labs days. Oh wow. Uh, and the idea being that there's a, a new way to do things, um, from scratch if you will. And so we were an experiment when I got started with AT&T, uh, the idea being, um, can you get out of the mold of doing software that takes years to come out and can you do something in a more, uh, even AI fashion before it was even talked about the idea being it's a constructive way and that you reiterate. And so before Agile was even known, we were just getting started on those things. So yes, that telecommunications background, the whole Bell Labs, uh, orientation to looking at things is what I've been involved with and then, uh, myself has been, uh, been, uh, throughout the, um, entire set of network elements <laugh> whether it's core, transport or endpoints where I'm at now, right- Uh-huh.

(21:09)
... and, and point management. Um, so yeah, it's been a, a good journey along the way and there's a lot of exciting things still to come. Yeah. So looking forward to continuing the education. It's a lifelong learning is the way I look at it. 

Jessica Denson (21:20):
That's, I think that's fantastic. I think that would be how you'd have to look at, especially in this industry that is, seems to be changing so much quicker. Um, so senior solutions engineer. So you said you, um, manage an endpoint team here in the US or where? 

Randy Van Buren (21:34):
So in, in my case, it's a set of solution engineers that we, again, sort of a global perspective that we're working, uh, to help not just, again, hit, yeah, we sell software, we sell products, but you can't look at it just from that perspective. So it's a team of folks that then work directly with our customers, the operators in many cases, uh, end to end. The end to end mean that, yeah, you start with the endpoint device and you go all the way back to understanding how the users are stored in the core and authenticated and so you need to understand the entire network flow and you need to understand compute and infrastructure. And so yeah, uh, that's been a constant growing experiment if, and, and experience, if you will. Um, but the idea is that, uh, our customers need that perspective because it's not just a product and it's not just something you plug in and you play, uh, just like the end devices, as much as we want our end users to do that, there's a whole complex ... The more, the easier you make it for your end user, the harder it is back in the network. <laugh 

(22:31)
Yeah.

Jessica Denson (22:31):
That actually makes a lot of sense. So where are you based? Where are you from? 

Randy Van Buren (22:35):
I'm based in North Carolina. Uh-huh. So in the research triangle area, good spot for technology and, uh, incubators going on there. 

Jessica Denson (22:42):
And as someone who loves engineering, were you always like someone who liked to mess with technical stuff or what? <laugh> 

Randy Van Buren (22:50):
Like many folks, we start with Legos, so. <laugh> 

Jessica Denson (22:52):
Yeah. I 

Randy Van Buren (22:53):
Love 

Jessica Denson (22:53):
Legos 

Randy Van Buren (22:53):
Actually. 

(22:54)
So yeah, uh, but the idea is that you're curious, right? Uh-huh. Uh, and that is there something that continues to, uh, like just say sort of like a pearl, you know, start from a little grain of sand. There's something that bothers you and annoys you that you want to, there's gotta be a better way, right? Uh-huh. Uh, so that's kind of the thing, and so it comes back to the learning, right? Is there some other options? What other things can we look at? And so that's what's nice about, again, this industry is that it's not static. It's not safe but- Yeah, just say it must 

Jessica Denson (23:22):
Be exciting time, especially now. 

Randy Van Buren (23:24):
Yeah, and it's harder to kep up than ever. Yeah. And so you're just trying to even read. Uh, so again, this is a good show for us to be more interactive and maybe reiterate things in a different way that we can absorb better. So, uh, not necessarily as good as AI, right, to keep our memory sharp, but, uh, it's a good way then to have it said to you and like, oh yeah, now that you say it that way. Yeah, 

Jessica Denson (23:46):
It makes sense. It sticks, yeah. Yeah. Um, so, I mean, we talked about a lot of stuff. We covered AI and we, we covered, um, your use case and, um, how, uh, I love this idea of targeted tech depending on what you need. 

Randy Van Buren (24:01):
Right. 

Jessica Denson (24:01):
Um, w- how would you round out, what are you excited about for the, the next, uh, few years? What would you want people to really remember about Motive from our conversation today? 

Randy Van Buren (24:11):
Good. Uh, the idea that it's part of the equation. Um, the motive software is an, an integral play, if you will, of the entire solution and what we're seeing is that, uh, yeah, endpoints don't manage themselves as much as we'd like end users to be able to be in charge of that, having operator deterministic ways to, uh, control and understand how their networks are functioning is exactly why we exist that, uh, there was a need back in the '90s as we, the Telecommunications Act came into play back in 1996. <laugh> Uh, that kind of opened things up, right? And so that's just continuing on this decomposition of, of interplay and interactions and that's exactly where Motive helps create a bridge, uh, for solutions. So 

Jessica Denson (24:56):
Something I was just a little light bulb that went over my head, you had said that Motive separated from Nokia in 2024? 

Randy Van Buren (25:03):
Correct. 

Jessica Denson (25:03):
So do you still serve Nokia or is it an offshoot company? How does the- That's a good <laugh> partnership work. 

Randy Van Buren (25:09):
Yeah, so there's many cases we're still involved in those same solutions that we were there, right? Uh-huh <affirmative> Uh, and there's, uh, the, um, let's say the solution paths continue onwards with Nokia, uh, but the idea was that Nokia was, was, um, concentrating and consolidating what they were focused on, right? So, hey, what's profitable for them, this device management is also profitable as a standalone unit. Mm-hmm. Uh, so that's where we were standalone before and we're standalone again and the idea is that either, in either case, we're still serving the broader global operator community, um, and that the solution options now are expanding, not contracting. 

Jessica Denson (25:48):
Well, Randy, I really enjoy talking to you today. Thank you so much. You can tell you're excited about the industry. Yes. You're excited about what Motive does. More to come. Uh, uh, yeah, I'm excited to see what you do next. I would love down the road for you to give me, uh, another interview, see where you guys are at or what are you doing? Do an update, yeah. Yeah, do an update. I would love it. So Randy Van Buren was senior solutions engineer for Motive Software Solutions. Thank you so much for your time today. 

Randy Van Buren (26:10):
I appreciate it. Thank you. 

Jessica Denson (26:19):
I'll continue my coverage from Fiber Connect 2026 in upcoming episodes of the Connected Nation podcast. Until then, I'm Jessica Denson and this is Connected Nation. If you wanna know more about us, head to connectednation.org and you can find our latest episodes on your favorite podcast platform.