I was very excited for this episode! I got to chat with Chris LaPré from the CSA, one of the leaders behind the Matter protocol that is unifying the smart home. We talk about how he got into the business, how the smart home market has evolved, and what providers and end-users can expect to make this stuff actually work together.

In this first episode of 2025, you experience my FOMO of missing out on CES firsthand. Instead, I live vicariously through Ken Pyle, who got to experience the very broad spectrum of the latest technology at CES, from smart home to localized nuclear power plants.

A handful of people, maybe fewer, understand pcaps like Chris Greer. There are a handful that are responsible for making the Internet work through that understanding, too. In this episode, I chat with Chris about the state of packet-level analysis, how important it is to successful problem solving, and why anyone can - and should - start looking at pcaps.

At the Broadband Forum Fall 2024 meeting in San Diego, I got to sync up again with Paul Keator from DISH Networks, one of the people in the “room where it happened” when we decided to make the podcast. We chat about how the industry has changed and a bunch of best practices that operators of all sizes should consider when building out their networks for the future.

I finally got to chat with Dmitri Vellikok, VP of Embedded Security at F-Secure, who have found a sorely needed niche in providing network security solutions to the broadband and mobile consumer market through ISPs. We talk about the risks posed to consumers, what people are doing about it, and that all-important home gateway!

Back in the studio, Bob Carrick and I talk about the tradeshow circuit, the struggles and opportunities of tier 2/3 operators, and how most broadband users just need a great service experience at all levels.

In this episode, we were on the floor of Network X 2024 in Paris! I got to sit down with Peter Steinhaeuser, CEO at embeDD Gmbh, and Mika Lehtinen, Research Director at F-Secure, to talk about the history and future of the home gateway, the security threats that target them, and what companies and open-source communities are doing about it.

In this episode I got to sit down with Michael Shaw of Axiros NA, a long time friend and one of the people I consider “most interesting people in the world,” on how everything you learn in life, from anywhere, will prepare you for a career in networking (and then some!)