From carrier pigeons and telegraphs, to radio and TV, to email and the iPhone, and to whatever lies beyond, telecom has taken many forms over centuries as mankind has found new ways to communicate. On this episode of Catalyst, Clinton is joined by telecom pioneer Arlene Harris and NTT DATA’s Devin Yaung to discuss Arlene’s incredible career and the changing face of this industry over the past 60 years.
Lessons from the early years
A pioneering figure in the field of telecommunications and technology with an extensive and storied career that spans decades, Arlene has been at the forefront of significant technological transformations and innovations. Her journey started at age 12 when she learned to operate a switchboard and went to work for her father who was running Industrial Communications Systems (ICS), a mobile telephone system in Los Angeles. At 18, Arlene decided to forgo college and work for the airlines, gaining an early exposure to technology such as computers and radio frequency.
She joined the airline industry at an incredibly exciting and opportunistic time, right when planes were getting bigger and airlines were beginning to automate their reservations and passenger management systems. In fact, she helped Continental plan and build the first databases for automated ticketing systems. Arlene and her colleagues were learning as they went while using technology such as IBM’s Programmed Airline Reservations System (PARS), cathode ray tubes, and IMTS.
The airlines’ innovation journey was a crash course in product and project management, with lessons that are still applicable to modern enterprises across industries. Despite being the 1970s, the challenges that Arlene and her colleagues were addressing are akin to the challenges teams face today. Manual processes and legacy systems were dragging down user experience and new technology provided a better alternative. But this innovation didn’t happen in a silo; rather, teams worked collaboratively to find solutions and create new best practices.
Expanding telecom access for all
Arlene took many of those lessons with her when she returned to ICS, expanded into safety phones. Arlene bought her own carrier, worked with Samsung on two phones, and brought Jitterbug to market in 2006. Its business plan was unique but reminiscent of Arlene’s time operating the switchboard at ICS, demonstrating that there’s lessons to be learned from past experiences. The company was sold to private equity just over a decade later with approximately a million customers.
This successful venture was born out of a demonstrated need in the market – in this case, approximately 15,000 seniors who needed easy-to-use cellular phones – and designed with users front-of-mind. The success of Jitterbug also echoes a message we have frequently shared regarding accessibility: when you design for the few, all users benefit.
How to become an industry trailblazer
These are just a few examples of the many accomplishments and contributions that led to Arlene earning the title of “The First Lady of Wireless.” This remarkable woman has not only been a trailblazer in her male-dominated industry, but also one of its greatest entrepreneurs and innovators. She reached these heights through sticking to what she knows and building on top of it, a great lesson for enterprises looking to innovate. It’s ‘platform mindset’ in a nutshell: Build systems that can be leveraged and scaled to create the opportunity for value, and keep your user as your North Star to guide you there. Arlene certainly did, and the world of telecom as we know it is much better for it.
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