Automated Billing: Seeing the Zero-Dispute Future

Sage Management CEO, John Nolan, discusses billing disputes that cost the telecom industry billions and delay innovation. He details how a zero-dispute future is possible with automated ordering, smart contracts, and public blockchain. What if the solution to revenue leakage is fixing billing before it breaks?

Subscribe on Your Favorite Podcast Platform

Apple Spotify Pandora YouTube RSS Feed

In this Executives at the Edge episode, host Pascal Menezes explores these topics and more with John Nolan of Sage Management:

Why do billing disputes remain so common in telecom, and how much do they really cost?
What makes legacy carrier billing systems so prone to errors and inefficiencies?
How can APIs, smart contracts, and blockchain prevent disputes before they happen?
What business case can CFOs make for investing in automated billing infrastructure?
How will real-time reconciliation support new service models like elastic bandwidth in NaaS?

Learn More

Learn how MEF’s LSO Smart Contracts enable end-to-end business automation of services throughout digital supply chains.
Learn about Sage Management’s telecom blockchain and audit solution, and AI for contracts.
See how MEF’s LSO Blockchain can eliminate disputes, queries, and manual intervention between buyers and sellers.
Read MEF’s Edge VIEW Blog Blockchain Articles.

About Our Guest

John Nolan, CEO, Sage Management

John joined Sage Management, a division of SIB Fixed Cost Reduction, as CEO in 2024. With nearly two decades of leadership at AT&T, Nolan has been instrumental in overseeing critical global and domestic telecommunications operations, driving significant advancements in cost reduction, service improvement, and international alliances. His strategic vision and deep industry expertise make him a standout leader, poised to lead Sage Management to new heights of innovation and success.

Previously, as Chief Development Officer of Bluebird Network, John led all aspects of corporate development including M&A, business development, corporate strategy and innovation, as well as Wholesale & Strategic Sales, Carrier Management, and Contract Management functions.

As the former Vice President, Global Connections & Alliance Management for AT&T, John led a team of 600+ professionals in more than 40 countries responsible for AT&T’s voice, data, and performance relationships with other telecommunications providers in support of AT&T’s wireless and wireline business objectives around the world. Up until 2014, he led AT&T’s Wholesale Operations Center of Excellence that included Technical Sales, Regulatory Operations and Sales Operations.

Earlier in his career, he led the Business Development & Alliance team responsible for SBC Communications relationships with strategic partners including, Cingular, TelMex, Bell Canada, EchoStar, WilTel, HP, Covad and others.

He helped launch Southwestern Bell Internet Services, where he was promoted to lead the alliance and integration with Prodigy, a national ISP they acquired in 2001.

He began his career in St. Louis, Missouri where he held various positions of increasing responsibility in Sales, Finance and Operations with Southwestern Bell Mobile Systems, which is now AT&T Mobility.

John earned his MBA from Saint Louis University and an undergraduate degree in Finance from the University of Missouri – Columbia. He served as Vice-Chairman of the Board for Capacity Media’s Global Leaders Forum and on the MEF Board of Directors. He has also served on the Advisory Board for the Robert J. Trulaske Sr. School of Business at the University of Missouri and in various capacities supporting United Way of Dallas and the Boy Scouts of America Circle 10 Council.

Executives at the Edge podcast is brought to you by Mplify, a global alliance of network, cloud, cybersecurity, and enterprise organizations working together to accelerate the AI-powered digital economy through standardization, automation, certification, and collaboration.

More Episodes

Interested in sharing your industry perspective as a podcast guest? Contact Us!