 So welcome to the Alpha Rising podcast. This time we went to the super cool Verizon Wireless Operations Center in a undisclosed part of New Jersey. But it was like being at NASA's mission control. We got to spend time with Nikki Palmer, their chief network officer. She has been there for 27 years, an engineer by trade, a mom of three, and a stage two breast cancer survivor. And I don't have to tell you how surviving that really puts life in perspective. So listen in as we talk about everything from their upcoming 5G network to how to get more girls into tech. This place is so cool. Tell us what this is. This is our network operations center, Tracy. We have two of these in the United States. And from here we can see every end point of the wireless network. We can see what's happening. As you could tell, we can look for news that's happening in the world. Anything that might affect our network. This is our central nervous system. We've got our hands on the pulse here. And there's two in the country. Yep, for redundancy. So you, and this means if a tower goes down, you can tell. You can see it here. That's pretty amazing. So speaking of down towers, we have to talk about the hurricanes. What's happening with all that? Well, I got to tell you, the hurricanes were absolutely devastating to the people in Texas, the people in Florida. Of course, now we're dealing with wildfires out west and everything that happened in Puerto Rico as well throughout the Caribbean. So it's been quite a few months. We always say here, mother nature never fails to test us every single year, which is frankly why we pride ourselves on the resiliency of our network and we build redundancy into it from the very, very first day. I'm very proud to say that our network performed well throughout all of the events that have happened over the past few months. And again, to me it starts with your architecture. So you don't think about the hurricane and how to restore service when you're in the middle of the wind. You have to think about it ahead of time, sort of the pre-game, the off-season stuff. So you build an architecture that makes sense. For example, in Florida, where there are hurricanes, we build our switches to withstand category five speed winds. And that was the safest place to be when Irma was coming through. And we had our people there, we had some of their families there, we had our suppliers there, in the switches, in these big switch buildings that are built and fortified to withstand what Irma brought. So you put people in there. Absolutely, because you want to be there because when the storm passes, you got to get on restoral quick. You have to be able to assess what the situation is and not worry about, okay, where are my people? Do I have to bring them back in? Is it safe to bring them back in? Because safety is always number one. So you want to keep them safe and then meanwhile they're watching the network, they're assessing the network and the minute that it is safe to go outside and do that assessment and restoral, they are there and doing that. I mean, a cat five, if anyone's ever watched what a cat five does, that's amazing. Well, and it's scary. It's scary to live through if you've ever been in a home or even in our switches. So we had our people there. Like I said, we have great suppliers that we work with ahead of time to sort of pre-stage what we'll need in terms of temporary facilities, in terms of fuel. So we assume that there will be power outages, which is why we have a great power backup strategy for our switches as well as well as ourselves, which includes battery backup, which includes generators onsite. And then in this case, power was a big, a very big issue in Irma. And so we had pre-staged fuel. We had tankers of fuel at our switches in Florida. And then you just begin refueling those generators. Cause the goal is, you know, the power company will get power up. They're working on that. We need to keep service up and keeping service up to customers when they need it most is our number one priority. The first thing you want to do is call your loved ones. So then you go over to Harvey, that was more wind. And you use drones. Yeah, Harvey, there was a ton of flooding. I mean, the water just kept rising. And in Harvey, you know, one of the things that we do in that area of the country is we build our cell sites on stilts where we need to. So as the water rises, you know, for the most part they're not getting into our cell and that's keeping our equipment safe. And in some cases, if the water rises, but maybe your cell goes out, this is where a drone comes in. We've been using drone service for the past few years, you know, increasingly. One of the great uses is a case like this where I've got a cell site out. It's inaccessible because it's surrounded by water. So I can send a drone out to take a look and see what's going on. Oh, the water is actually not in my shelter. So it probably just ran out of fuel. So now I can send a boat out with fuel. I could refuel the generator, get that cell back up serving customers. Otherwise I wouldn't have known it because it would take me too long to get out there and assess the damage. That's super cool that you're using them. Yep, no, drones have been a very interesting innovation that we find new ways to use as we keep pushing it. Let's talk about innovation now. You're trying to get a 5G network out there now. Absolutely. How am I going to feel that? What's going to be different? Yeah, so 5G holds all the promise to be an amazing innovation for consumers like us and for businesses as well. Just to step back, if you think about it, you know, when we say 5G, the G means generational, and 4G networks were an amazing improvement over 3G networks and the same over 2G. 5G will hold the promise to be that and more. And let me give you a flavor for what the big enhancements are for 5G. I think of it in three ways. I think if at first and foremost in bandwidth, massive bandwidth, which will deliver very, very fast speeds. So speeds in the gigabit range, which is really, we talk in the megabit per second range today. So speeds up in that range. I also think of it in terms of latency. Latency is the responsiveness of your network. So to take latency into sort of the single digit millisecond range, which is a tenfold at best improvement over what current 4G networks do. So you've got super fast speed, you've got super low latency, and lastly, scalability. So you've heard about the internet of things. So connecting everything around us to the internet and what that enables. What 5G can hold for us is connecting billions of things and having that agility and scalability within the architecture to not just be, you know, one thing here or there, but really billions of devices connecting to a 5G network. Do we need 5G to really get artificial intelligence off the ground? I mean, will that amplify that as well? Yeah, I think what you'll see with 5G is it really holds the promise of virtual reality. So you could argue we have augmented reality on our 4G mobile networks today. 5G will bring immersive experiences. It will feel like you are actually in the place. Crazy cool. Yeah, it is cool and it is crazy. And there are a number of demos that we have out there today on our own network and with our partners where you can actually experience this. So here's where the imagination takes over. And here's where you say, all right, what does this mean? Not just for immersive gaming experience, but what does it mean for healthcare? What does it mean for education? What does this mean for businesses and efficiencies? You know, so just try to bring so much more to all of the verticals that are out there today. So, you know, when you think of the capabilities again, you know, speed, high speed, low latency, massive scalability, and now you can slice those capabilities in different ways to provide the experience that meets the need of the consumer of the business. So when can we expect this? Well, we're working on it right now. Top secret. We're working on it right now. And frankly, Verizon has really been at the forefront of 5G technology. We brought together all of our partners in the ecosystem because to be honest, it's never about any one company. It's about a mobile operator or a leader like Verizon, but it's about all of our equipment suppliers, the chipset manufacturers, the infrastructure players, and bringing them together to say, let's get the standards right for this. So we've advanced some of the standards work. We actually have 5G nodes on air right now across the country in 11 locations, and we are testing. We're testing first the fixed application, fixed broadband application, which means in our vernacular, our aim is to deliver about three to five gigabits per second to a home. If we can do that, that's what we're testing. You're spoiling us. Well, it's going to be good. The second I see a little buffer, I get why I'm angry. What we will learn from these tests is does it work? What does it take? How many nodes do we need to do? What do we need to put up in a neighborhood to do that reliably to a variety of homes in suburbia, in inner cities, in rural America, in a heavily forested environment? So these are all of the things that we test, and frankly, that's what we do best, is we run it through its spaces. So I hope you're enjoying my conversation with Nikki. What a strong, smart woman. And for more of our conversations with amazing women like Nikki, be sure to check out the Alpha Rising Podcasts on YouTube. Does the Sprint T-Mobile deal bother you in any way? Are you worried about that? You know, my worry is our customers, and my worry is pushing technology forward. So this industry is a rapidly changing industry. It's a great place to be. It's always been fun to be in the middle of technology evolution. Verizon's reputation has always been to lead in that space. 5G is yet another example of how we are out in front. So honestly, I don't worry. I worry about how do we keep moving forward? How do we keep innovation into the hands of customers? What about the whole cord cutting trend? Like, does that worry you at all? People are gonna start to say, eh. Well, I think from that perspective, we've got a number of approaches. You know, we have a great Fios product that's out there today. We also have over-the-top solutions that are in the works, and we have 5G with the promise of a home broadband service that will be sort of a new generation of applications for customers. So again, we don't worry. We work on technology, and how do we bring it forward? Are you excited about the iPhone X? Cause all this stuff's gonna be able to work great on that phone. You know, there are so many great new devices out there today, and yes, I'm excited about every new one. And I gotta tell you, you know, places like this in our network operations center, and right down the hall where we have a fantastic device lab, these are the places where our network team and the device teams from our suppliers work together to make sure that the network and the device actually deliver what consumers want. So yeah. It's really cool, yeah. Okay, let's backtrack a little and talk about your climb here. Yes. So you've been here for? 27 years, over. And you were raised by an engineer? Yes. And decided to become one yourself. Yeah. How come? Yeah, well, I was lucky. I think there's, you know, no two ways about that one. My father is a mechanical engineer, and my mother was the type of person, and still is, that believes that her children could do anything, no matter what. So I was raised in a loving, encouraging environment. I happened to be a little good in math and science, and my father said, well, you know, here's a path. You can go to Penn State, just like I did. You know, it's so different. I think I took the SAT once, I think I applied to one school. And so I went to Penn State, just like he did. I got an engineering degree, just like he did, and that was the beginning of my math. And you didn't feel back then that, because I was an engineer at one point, and I felt like I wasn't welcome. Yeah. Yeah, I think there definitely were times like that. I remember very clearly classes where, you know, one of our toughest classes, there was three engineers that were female in a class of about 50. And I felt like, you know, we were definitely treated differently in that class. So that was the beginning. And, you know, throughout my career, there have been times where it has felt different. Even today, there are times when I go to the West Coast and meet with suppliers, or around the world, and meet with suppliers, and I'm still the only technical female in the room. It is changing, but it's changing much too slowly. And I think when we think about the future, and we talk about 5G, it's not just 5G. You know, technology is a part of everything that we do. You know, matter if you're in communications in this exciting digital world that we live in, or if you're a fashion designer, or if you're in agriculture, or if you're in medicine, technology is an increasingly important part of that. And half of the world's population must take part in that for us to be successful. So it's a big, big problem. It's amazing how, just not even that long ago, first of all, we didn't even have cell phones, right? So I remember getting my first, which to my kids sounds so crazy, but we might get to a point where everything will be on our phone. I mean, everything almost is on our phone. Yeah, it really is. We are almost at that point. I'm sure, you know, we've talked about our children. I mean, that their phone is an extension of themselves. You know, people like to say it's the remote control of your life. I mean, whatever term you wanna use, the technology around us cannot be escaped. It's like the air that we breathe. And you know what, it can be a good thing. But what's important is that we have people that can be a part and take part of that expansion and take part of the excitement that really is bringing technology to life. We have young women today who are good and have aptitude in science and technology and have interest in those areas and they just fall off the path. Why? Well, I think if it were any one thing, I think we would have solved it by now and that's the problem. It's a multi-faceted, which means you need a multi-pronged approach to fix it. And to me, it's always you start young. So with our youngest girls, we have to show them the wonder of technology in our everyday life. When we're looking at the clouds and we're looking at flowers popping up, when they're looking at their first little iPad or whatever that device is, tell them what it takes to make those things work. There's science and technology around us every single day and every one of us, not just the engineers among us, can do more to explain that. But then they grow, right? Yeah, you get in middle school. All of a sudden it starts to become not cool for some reason. Right. We've got to intervene at that point. We've got to intervene with teachers who can teach the wonders, again, of science and technology and show them paths that say, hey, you love this phone, this part of your life that you can't live without. Well, guess what? It's a ceramic engineering. It's material science to make that display so that it won't break. It is electrical engineering to make sure that, all of what's inside of it works and can connect back to a network. And all of these science and technology concepts are in the things that they love today. We've got to spark their interest in different ways. And then when they get to high school and beyond, we've got to show clear pathways. I, again, feel fortunate. I had a father that said, you could be an engineer. I don't think I knew what an engineer was at the time, besides what he had told me. How many people have that luxury? We've got to have ways where we show here are pathways and what it means, those examples. But I had a mother that said, you can be an engineer. I don't think she knew what it meant. I didn't know what it meant. And I dropped out. I think to your point is dead on. I think they need to understand what that means and what I'm going to make. And it's not just a bridge. That's right. It's not just a bridge. It's not just a bridge. It's not just a building, you know? I have a lovely father and I'm a rest in peace. You know, I'm an engineer and whenever I would see him, he'd say, how are the trains running? So I think, you know, it's different. It's different, right? We've got to show. But we have to talk more about the professions and that they can be fun. They can be helpful to everyday life. They're meaningful. You're doing good in the world. That is important to a lot of women. And you know what? We have to be honest about the fact that they're lucrative. And that's okay. And that's a very good thing for women. Exactly. And it's okay. Not to mention that's where all the jobs are. And I know you have some amazing stats on these on that there are these great jobs out there. There's tons of jobs out there. Oh yeah. Is it because too that, you know, we're trying to, I know there's like, there's the STEM programs but there's also STEAM programs now too, right? They're adding the arts. Do you think that will help? Yeah, I mean, I think it's, arts and sciences has always gone together. So I think it's a fantastic thing to make data. But to me, it doesn't matter what you call it. If you call it STEM, if you call it STEAM, it doesn't matter. We need to encourage, you know, women throughout to partake fully in the technology society that we live in. And that's not happening today. We have nine million STEM related open jobs in this country today. Nine million. Women are not on track to fill, you know, their representative percentage of those jobs. Women make up half of the college educated workforce but only about 29% of the engineering and computing jobs. So there's an under-representation there of the nine million jobs that are open. Women are on track to fill very little of these STEM related jobs in the future. And of these women, are they Americans? Probably not. Of the women that are. Of the women that are in these STEM related, STEM jobs. Are they Americans? Oftentimes they're international students. Yes, I think I don't have those stats off the top of my head but I know there is a difference in, you know, where American women, that'd be a good thing to look at. Right, but that's like, I mean, but that's part of the problem too. It is. That our kids are, I don't know what our girls are doing. Yeah. Talk, if you could, a little bit about your story because you are a breast cancer survivor. How was that? You have a huge job here and you stepped away. Yeah, I did. I had to. I had to. I was diagnosed in 2014 with stage two breast cancer and it was a shock. You never think it can happen too, although it does hit one in eight women. So why not you, right? I stepped away and I had a double mastectomy and chemo and radiation and the full swing. I can tell you, I'm so very grateful to have been working for a company like Verizon during that time where we have fantastic benefits. And when you're worrying about your health and your treatment and your children, your family to not have to worry about is a bill gonna be paid for something that my doctor ordered to help me was a big, big relief. And the support from the entire Verizon and really the technical community and my colleagues was overwhelming. I will never, ever, I will never forget that. And we're like in the middle of a healthcare debate yet again and that's comforting to hear. Well, absolutely. So before I let you go, if you had advice to give to your daughter, to your daughter's friends, what would it be? It would be to not be afraid, to follow their interest and their abilities wherever it takes them. I think young girls, they have so many pressures on them. It's harder, I think, than when you and I, at least I remember it to be. I want young women and I want all young children to be able to continue to explore what interests them and continue to learn and take that where it goes. And I will tell you, there's such a need to have good, solid, a technical depth, this discipline that we need for the United States, for the jobs of the future. We need to have a pipeline that fills those jobs. Today, we're not doing it, period. We're certainly not doing it with women and we all can do more, every single one of us. And again, hitting it at all levels, wherever we're comfortable. If we're not an engineer, that's okay. You can find a role model for your children to talk to. If you happen to do more, go to college, go to a high school, a grade school, a middle school, and talk about what you do for a living. It's helpful to these kids and it's helpful to young girls in particular. So we can all do more. You're pretty awesome. You're quite a woman. I'm not that special, actually. You were pretty great. You were fantastic. Thank you so much. This was great.