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:

Podcast HQ: https://www2.telegeography.com/telegeography-explains-the-internet-podcast

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:

Podcast HQ: https://www2.telegeography.com/telegeography-explains-the-internet-podcast

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:

Podcast HQ: https://www2.telegeography.com/telegeography-explains-the-internet-podcast

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:

Podcast HQ: https://www2.telegeography.com/telegeography-explains-the-internet-podcast

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:

Podcast HQ: https://www2.telegeography.com/telegeography-explains-the-internet-podcast

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:

Podcast HQ: https://www2.telegeography.com/telegeography-explains-the-internet-podcast

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:

🎧 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