The WAN Manager Podcast

Host Greg Bryan welcomes Jason Gintert back to the show. As the incoming President of the U.S. Networking User Association, Jason dives into the current state of AIOps in network management. This includes: Low Adoption and Key Challenges: Despite being a popular topic, AIOps adoption remains low due to concerns about trusting AI output (hallucinations) and the indeterminate nature of large language models. Data Integration and Security: The importance of integrating private data using methods like the model context protocol to make AI answers more deterministic. For security, Jason strongly recommends starting with a read-only, zero-trust mindset when exposing data to AI tools. Practical Use Cases: AI is most valuable for root cause analysis of common network problems (e.g., Wi-Fi authentication issues, circuit errors) and providing automated network summaries or predictive analysis. The Human Element: AI is seen as a powerful tool to increase the productivity of network engineers by handling low-level tasks, but it will not replace humans. Engineers remain crucial for exercising judgment and taking responsibility for service-impacting changes. Podcast HQ: https://www2.telegeography.com/telegeography-explains-the-internet-podcast TeleGeography Blog: https://blog.telegeography.com/ Our Research: https://www2.telegeography.com/en/our-research

Our latest pod series on all things AI continues with Seva Vayner, Product Director for Cloud Edge & AI at Gcore. Seva joins host Greg Bryan to tackle what is perhaps the dominant topic in telecom today: the impact of AI on the network. The pair distinguish between "AI for networking" and "networking for AI," and explore how AI training models are driving a dramatic increase in power consumption within data centers, with rack power capacity rapidly growing over the past few years. Seva explains how AI inferencing is creating a need for distributed network infrastructure, transforming the role of Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) from simply distributing content to enabling real-time interaction with AI models. He shares how Gcore is helping telcos and enterprises adopt AI solutions and exactly what that entails. We close out on the evolving definition of the "edge" as power becomes a bigger constraint than connectivity in facilitating AI workloads and what Seva sees for the near future of AI and networks. Podcast HQ: https://www2.telegeography.com/telegeography-explains-the-internet-podcast TeleGeography Blog: https://blog.telegeography.com/ Our Research: https://www2.telegeography.com/en/our-research

It's a new year and the TeleGeography Explains the Internet team is kicking off a multi-episode series all about AI and its impact on global networks. To start, we're joined by Chalan Aras, Senior Vice President at Riverbed to discuss how the rise of Artificial Intelligence is fundamentally reshaping the way we think about the WAN. In this episode, we dive into: AI for Networking vs. Networking for AI: How Riverbed balances using AI to manage IT operations (AIOps) with the physical necessity of moving massive amounts of data to "AI furnaces" (GPUs). The AI Data Tsunami: Why data is currently growing faster than infrastructure can be upgraded, and why Time is the most critical metric for AI project success. The Shift from SD-WAN to "Data Fabrics": Chalan shares a view on why SD-WAN may be fundamentally changing or even declining as the industry moves toward more dynamic, densely connected AI data fabrics centered on the cloud and data center. Unified Observability: The importance of moving away from siloed tools toward integrated platforms that can correlate data across desktops, mobile devices, and the core network to remediate issues before users even see them. Podcast HQ: https://www2.telegeography.com/telegeography-explains-the-internet-podcast TeleGeography Blog: https://blog.telegeography.com/ Our Research: https://www2.telegeography.com/en/our-research

TeleGeography experts Jon Hjembo and Patrick Christian answer our biggest questions about recent data center and AI booms. In this final episode of our three-part pod series reviewing the year in telecom—and looking ahead to 2026—we cover: How many data center projects were we tracking in 2025? And where are they located around the world? What kind of constraints are those projects encountering, and are rumors of a bubble warranted? Did we see an increase or decrease in cloud region development? What is surprising about the geographic location of cloud development in 2025? Are CDNs still relevant in the hyperscaler dominated world? Is bandwidth demand really all that massive in the AI world?   Podcast HQ: https://www2.telegeography.com/telegeography-explains-the-internet-podcast TeleGeography Blog: https://blog.telegeography.com/ Our Research: https://www2.telegeography.com/en/our-research

Welcome to the second episode in our three-part series catching up on the most interesting stories in telecom from 2025, and looking forward to what we expect in 2026.  Today's episode focuses on all things pricing and enterprise networks. We're joined by Rob Schult, who leads TeleGeography's pricing practice, and Brianna Boudreau, who manages our SD-WAN and NaaS research. These experts tackle questions like: Are we really seeing the most rare phenomenon – telecom pricing stability? What role is AI playing in this? Just how big are some backbone connections and how do those prices relate to lower sized circuits? Has SD-WAN become the norm in the enterprise networks world? Which SD-WAN players are left? Is SD-WAN mostly about security now?   Podcast HQ: https://www2.telegeography.com/telegeography-explains-the-internet-podcast TeleGeography Blog: https://blog.telegeography.com/ Our Research: https://www2.telegeography.com/en/our-research

What were the big cable headlines of this year, and what do you need to know about transport networks in 2026? To find out, we're kickstarting our three-episode review of What to Know in the New Year. Joining us for this submarine and terrestrial infrastructure review are friends of the pod Lane Burdette and Paul Brodsky. In this episode of the TeleGeography Explains the Internet podcast, these experts address: How much of a submarine cable boom was there in 2025 and will that continue into 2026? Where are new builds located around the world and why? Will all this new capacity lead to over-supply? Are fiber developers having to chase AI data centers into novel locations? How are terrestrial builds related to submarine cable bottlenecks?    Podcast HQ: https://www2.telegeography.com/telegeography-explains-the-internet-podcast TeleGeography Blog: https://blog.telegeography.com/ Our Research: https://www2.telegeography.com/en/our-research

While we hear a lot about automated provisioning and NaaS, how long does it really take to get a quote for DIA service? Or more to the point, how long does it take to actually get a circuit installed? What do enterprises really think of their ISPs? In this episode of the TeleGeography Explains the Internet podcast, Dennis Thankachan, CEO and co-founder of Lightyear, addresses these questions and more. He brings a wealth of findings from Lightyear's Enterprise ISP Experience Guide and gives us a look at what's going on in the ISP market.

Perhaps you've seen the Aurora Borealis. This is a beautiful example of what we call space weather. But did you know that space weather could take out service on submarine cables? Shibaji Chakraborty, a research scientist at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, joins the show to explain how space weather can affect the critical, metallic power-feed cables that run alongside the fiber-optic lines to power repeaters on the ocean floor.  Shibaji shares historical examples and discusses the ongoing research and industry collaboration needed to better understand, model, and mitigate these risks. We're adding this special bonus discussion to our submarine cable pod series. Catch up on our other cable conversations over here: All About Cable Economics All About Cable Security All About Cable Faults + Maintenance All About Cable Routing All About Cable Sensing   Podcast HQ: https://www2.telegeography.com/telegeography-explains-the-internet-podcast TeleGeography Blog: https://blog.telegeography.com/ Our Research: https://www2.telegeography.com/en/our-research

Tony O’Sullivan, CEO of RETN, joins Greg to discuss network resiliency. They address how providers can build networks that withstand outages, whether from someone who forgot to call the utility company or an anchor dragging on the seafloor. The episode covers: Why it's crucial to have a transparent provider willing to share information about their network when they can, including the physical locations of fiber routes and who their upstream providers are. The importance of planning routes to avoid single points of failure. Tony makes the case for terrestrial networks that can serve as alternatives to some submarine cable routes, and getting the best mix of the two options. Insights on the future of network automation, emphasizing that it's not just about instant provisioning, but also providing customers with the information they need to make educated purchasing decisions. Podcast HQ: https://www2.telegeography.com/telegeography-explains-the-internet-podcast TeleGeography Blog: https://blog.telegeography.com/ Our Research: https://www2.telegeography.com/en/our-research

In our final episode of this special podcast series about undersea cables, we're exploring the rapidly evolving technology of using fiber optic cables as remote sensors. We welcome Mark Englund, CEO of Fibersense. Mark explains the fascinating world of Distributed Acoustic Sensing (DAS), and how this emerging technology is turning existing fiber optic cables into sentient, continuous sensors. We explore: How this is transforming the cable industry, providing unparalleled real-time protection by detecting anchors and fishing gear and other potential threats. How Fibersense uses machine learning to cut through the ocean's "cacophony" and make the data actionable for cable operators. Finally, we spend a little time looking beyond the subsea, exploring the immense potential of DAS for terrestrial fiber in applications like protection against excavators, water leak detection in city infrastructure, and even a new vision for traffic safety and autonomous.   Podcast HQ: https://www2.telegeography.com/telegeography-explains-the-internet-podcast TeleGeography Blog: https://blog.telegeography.com/ Our Research: https://www2.telegeography.com/en/our-research

Today's bonus podcast welcomes Tim Urban, author of the blog Wait But Why (https://waitbutwhy.com/) and the book "What's Our Problem?" For a change of pace, this episode focuses on what happens *on* the consumer internet, not just the underlying technology and business of the web. You'll quickly see that Tim is an astute observer of human trends, with a wealth of insight on how the internet has complicated communication and contributed to humans' tendency to fall into tribalism. Host Greg Bryan relates these insights to the structure of the global telecom industry as the pair considers the breadth of human history and how our brains, in some ways, are ill-equipped to handle the environment in which we find ourselves in the 21st century. This discussion covers: The internet's role in the evolution of human communication, and context for this current moment of memes, sharing, liking, subscribing, and, in general, a culture of being terminally online. Tim's forthcoming book, which attempts to tell the story of everything from the Big Bang to the end of the universe. (Don't worry if that sounds like a big topic; the pair focuses on the section about AI.) Where AI will go from here? The conversation ties in how the internet is the physical backbone for this new "synthetic brain" that we are building, and what that might mean. Podcast HQ: https://www2.telegeography.com/telegeography-explains-the-internet-podcast TeleGeography Blog: https://blog.telegeography.com/ Our Research: https://www2.telegeography.com/en/our-research

Where do operators physically place their submarine cables, and why does that matter? Even among those familiar with the undersea cable market, many don't give much thought to where precisely the cables lie on the seafloor and what factors determine this geography. Today's guest knows a thing or two about how it gets done. We welcome James Porter, Cable Route Engineer at Alcatel Submarine Networks (ASN). James spends his days studying maps to route submarine cables, ensuring ease of maintenance and compliance with guidelines. He joins Greg to discuss the challenges of seabed congestion, particularly in deep-water areas where new cables must be laid at a safe distance from existing ones to ensure they can be repaired in the future. The pair also discuss: The role of the International Cable Protection Committee (ICPC) and its recommendations for planning new cables to avoid impacting existing systems. The complexities of geopolitics and physical geography, which often restrict cable routes and force them into congested choke points. The critical need for better communication and data sharing among industry players to more efficiently and safely manage the crowded seabed. 🎧 Podcast HQ: https://www2.telegeography.com/telegeography-explains-the-internet-podcast 💻 TeleGeography Blog: https://blog.telegeography.com/ 📊 Our Research: https://www2.telegeography.com/en/our-research  

When submarine cables hit the mainstream media, it might be because something has gone wrong. Especially when faults lead to a bottleneck that slows down or, in rare cases, even stops internet traffic for some people. Our guests today presented a paper at SubOptic 25 detailing their study on global submarine cable maintenance and recommendations for the industry. Mike Constable, Principal at Infra-Analytics, and Alan Mauldin, Research Director here at TeleGeography, joined the pod to discuss their review of cable faults and the readiness of the industry to fix problems over the coming years.   🎧 Podcast HQ: https://www2.telegeography.com/telegeography-explains-the-internet-podcast 💻 TeleGeography Blog: https://blog.telegeography.com/ 📊 Our Research: https://www2.telegeography.com/en/our-research 

Let's talk about keeping submarine cables secure. Ferris Adi, Chief Information Security Officer at Trans Americas Fiber System (https://transamericasfiber.com/), joins to discuss specific threats to submarine cables and how best to build resiliency against them. We also cover various regulatory and compliance issues that submarine cable operators face when landing in different countries, as well as geopolitical threats to cable systems. 🎧 Podcast HQ: https://www2.telegeography.com/telegeography-explains-the-internet-podcast 💻 TeleGeography Blog: https://blog.telegeography.com/ 📊 Our Research: https://www2.telegeography.com/en/our-research 

We're kicking off a brand new mini-series all about *submarine cables.* To start off the series, we couldn't think of a better guest than Senior Research Analyst Lane Burdette, an expert (and nerd) when it comes to cables. She and host Greg Bryan discuss the economics of submarine cables. The conversation covers: A refresher on the cables themselves, and all of the components that go into building them and lighting them for data transmission service. The costs of these elements and how to construct the costs of building a sub cable. Who builds these cables and why, and then how cable builders make money on their investment through selling data transmission services, as well as how and why sub cable prices vary around the world. How supply and demand are likely to develop in this vast undersea market, and what Lane sees for the future of cable profitability. 🎧 Podcast HQ: https://www2.telegeography.com/telegeography-explains-the-internet-podcast 💻 TeleGeography Blog: https://blog.telegeography.com/ 📊 Our Research: https://www2.telegeography.com/en/our-research

Joining us today is FCC Commissioner Nathan Simington. Commissioner Simington has served on the Commission since late 2020. He brings a diverse background to the role, including experience with the NTIA. The Commissioner and Host Greg Bryan cover several key issues facing the FCC: 👉 Several issues surrounding spectrum allocation and use. We talk about how FWA and LEO fit in spectrum plans, CBRS, unlicensed spectrum, and, of course, a bit on spectrum auctions. 👉 BIL and broadband development and the role wireless can play in closing the digital divide. 👉 The FCC’s role in submarine cable development and the Commissioner's views on ensuring submarine cable security. 👉 The Cyber Trust Mark and the FCC’s role in securing the ever-expanding threat perimeter and the Commissioner's views on how to get OEMs invested in keeping users safe. Podcast HQ: https://www2.telegeography.com/telegeography-explains-the-internet-podcast TeleGeography Blog: https://blog.telegeography.com/ Our Research: https://www2.telegeography.com/en/our-research  

We welcome Michael Martin, formerly a global network and security architect at McKinsey.  Michael has extensive experience in the enterprise network space. We get his take on the industry's state of implementation of network automation among enterprises. Podcast HQ: https://www2.telegeography.com/telegeography-explains-the-internet-podcast TeleGeography Blog: https://blog.telegeography.com/ Our Research: https://www2.telegeography.com/en/our-research

Dennis Thankachan, Co-Founder and CEO of Lightyear (https://lightyear.ai/), is back on the pod. We discuss Lightyear's State of Connectivity Report (https://lightyear.ai/ebooks/lightyears-state-of-connectivity-2025), which dovetails with the topics we research here at TeleGeography. It may be a perfect companion to our State of the Network effort. (https://www2.telegeography.com/download-state-of-the-network) Podcast HQ: https://www2.telegeography.com/telegeography-explains-the-internet-podcast TeleGeography Blog: https://blog.telegeography.com/ Our Research: https://www2.telegeography.com/en/our-research

We haven't been getting enough fiber here at TeleGeography Explains the Internet, but we're about to change that. We welcome Todd Chapman, a veteran in fiber development. Todd walks us through the ins and outs of Layer 0 of the physical infrastructure underlying data transmission.   Podcast HQ: https://www2.telegeography.com/telegeography-explains-the-internet-podcast TeleGeography Blog: https://blog.telegeography.com/ Our Research: https://www2.telegeography.com/en/our-research

Our next guest is Fahim Sabir, Director of Digital Solutions at Colt. What is NaaS? Fahim joined us to clarify the often confusing world of Network as a Service (NaaS). We discuss Fahim's definition of NaaS and a breakdown of why it's important in the market. We also discuss the back end, examining what the carrier ecosystem needs to accomplish to make customer-facing NaaS a reality. Podcast HQ: https://www2.telegeography.com/telegeography-explains-the-internet-podcast TeleGeography Blog: https://blog.telegeography.com/ Our Research: https://www2.telegeography.com/en/our-research