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Broadband Pulse

Broadband Pulse

By: Endeavor Business Media
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Summary
 In the Lightwave Broadband Pulse podcast, we will address the key issues affecting the optical and broadband industry segments. Join us every week for insights on these topics from industry leaders.Copyright 2024 All rights reserved.
Episodes
  • Fidium’s CEO Gaurav Juneja on its pure play fiber provider transformation

    Fidium’s CEO Gaurav Juneja on its pure play fiber provider transformation
    Nov 5 2026

    Gaurav Juneja took over the reins of Fidium, formerly Consolidated Communications in January, assuming the role from Bob Udell, who stepped down after many years with the company. As CEO, he leads the brand's ongoing fiber network expansion and transformation across multiple states, including California, where he is today, resulting in bringing fiber broadband access to many communities that have had limited or, in some cases, no broadband access. By the end of this year, Fidium will be 70% fiberized across its ILEC footprint. And what that translates to is about 1.7 million fiber passes.

    But consumer broadband is only one part of the Fidium fiber strategy. The service provider is also pushing to expand its fiber network into more businesses. The service provider sees in both mid-cap and large-cap businesses. Besides business customers, Fidium is also actively pursuing opportunities to bring its fiber to data centers. Today, it has about 145 data centers on net, and another 155 data centers near its network within its territory.

    In this new Broadband Pulse podcast, we talked with Fidium’s CEO Gaurav Juneja about how he is moving fast on its ongoing transition to a pure-play fiber provider.

    Meet our guest Gaurav Juneja is currently President and Chief Executive Officer at Fidium. He joined Fidium in 2023 and serves as Chief Operating Officer. Earlier in his career, Gaurav was Executive Vice President and General Manager for Consumer and Chief Revenue Officer at MetroNet, and Vice President of Consumer and Channel Sales at Dish Network.

    About the Podcast In the Lightwave Broadband Pulse podcast, we address key issues affecting the optical and broadband industries. Join us every week for insights from industry leaders on these topics. Visit our website at www.lightwave.com and click on our podcast site at www.broadbandpulse.podbean.com/.
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    26 mins
  • Ethernet Alliance on reaching common ground as AI reshapes Ethernet

    Ethernet Alliance on reaching common ground as AI reshapes Ethernet
    Oct 13 2026
    The Ethernet Alliance held its Technology Exploration Forum (TEF 2026), which focused on the intersection of Ethernet and artificial intelligence (AI), titled The AI Future: Ethernet, on October 7–8, 2026, at the Hyatt Centric Mountain View in Mountain View, Calif. Designed for engineers, architects, standards developers, and technologists, the program spanned the networking stack, covering IEEE 802.3 activities, high-speed signaling, optical infrastructure and packaging, coherent Ethernet, and network testing. Ethernet will remain a dominant technology. Industry analysts now project that cumulative Ethernet switching spend over the next five years will surge to half a trillion dollars. After doubling in 2024 and rising almost 90% in 2025, LightCounting said in a recent report it “expected a moderation in the market growth rate for 2026, but the first 9 months of the year derailed those projections.” In this podcast, we recently caught up with key experts in Ethernet--John D’Ambrosia, Chair Emeritus of the Ethernet Alliance and David Rodgers, President & Events & Conferences Committee Chair for the Ethernet Alliance—who talked about the recent Ethernet Alliance TEF Forum as well as industry trends shaping the future of the nearly 55-year-old technology. Here’s a timeline of the podcast: Opening/intro | 0:03 Overview of the TEF 2026: The AI Future: Ethernet event | 1:06 D’Ambrosia and Rogers run through the highlights of the Ethernet Alliance’s key networking event. AI’s growing role | 3:38 How AI is reshaping the evolution of Ethernet. Data center growth | 7:57 D’Ambrosia and Rogers address how Ethernet supports the scale-up, scale-out, and scale-across concepts. Emerging technologies | 15:49 How technologies like Linear Pluggable Optics (LPO) and Co-Packaged Optics (CPO) can deliver the best performance in a timely, cost-efficient way. TEF show highlighted emerging speeds | 21:58 Ethernet Alliance is addressing how to raise capacity and density. Power and cooling | 29:22 How other industry-vertical companies like Gates, which makes hydraulic systems for cars, are coming together to create new solutions for data centers. Final thoughts/Closing | 34:20 D’Ambrosia and Rogers provide their final thoughts and close out the podcast. Meet our guests: John D’Ambrosia, Chair Emeritus of the Ethernet Alliance John D’Ambrosia is a Distinguished Engineer with the Datacom Standards Research team at Futurewei Technologies, a U.S. subsidiary of Huawei. John has over 25 years of experience supporting standards development. John currently chairs the IEEE P802.3dj 200 Gb/s, 400 Gbps, 800 Gbps, and 1.6 Tbps Task Force. Previously, John chaired the IEEE 802.3 Task Forces that developed 40 GbE and 100 GbE, 200 & 400 GbE, and 800 GbE. He also chaired other IEEE 802.3 task forces, including the IEEE 802.3 New Ethernet Applications Ad hoc. John is also a member of the IEEE 802 LAN / MAN Standards Committee and is an IEEE Senior Member. In addition to his multiple roles in IEEE 802, John co-founded the Ethernet Alliance and served as Chairman from 2011 to 2019. John served as an advisor to the European Photonics Industry Consortium from 2019 to 2022. His previous work experience includes Dell, Force10 Networks, and Tyco Electronics. And David Rodgers, President & Events & Conferences Committee Chair for the Ethernet Alliance David J. Rodgers is a 35+ years industry professional, primarily focused on the Test and Measurement market. His experience includes a strong background in business and program management and in developing serial protocol test and measurement solutions. He has wide-ranging serial communications protocol and interconnect validation experience, most recently in Ethernet network and Fiber Channel fabric solutions, where he has defined, designed, deployed, and marketed a broad range of high-speed serial analysis test and measurement products. He currently represents EXFO for High-Speed electro-optical Test Technologies, including Ethernet and Fiber Channel, in various industry protocol groups, including the IEEE and T11 standards bodies, the Ethernet Alliance, and the Fiber Channel Industry Association. He is an original member of the USB Implementers Forum and a pioneer marketer of USB protocol analyzers. About the Podcast In the Lightwave Broadband Pulse podcast, we address key issues affecting the optical and broadband industries. Join us every week for insights from industry leaders on these topics. Visit our website at www.lightwave.com and click on our podcast site at www.broadbandpulse.podbean.com/.
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    39 mins
  • Harmonic helps broadband providers prioritize customers’ quality of experience

    Harmonic helps broadband providers prioritize customers’ quality of experience
    Oct 1 2026

    With an array of broadband competitors in the marketplace, it’s clear the shift is going towards providing customers with a solid quality of experience (QoE). Service providers are also shifting their build-out focus. While gaining subscriber density by passing more homes with fiber and coax has always been a key focus for broadband providers, there’s a growing emphasis on homes served.

    One company taking on these challenges is Harmonic. In recent years, Harmonic has pivoted to becoming a broadband-focused company. Harmonic recently released a few key products to help broadband providers deliver broadband more efficiently: the Jetty hardened outdoor switch, the compact Oyster+ PON platform, SeaStar Optical Node, and its cOS SensAI vendor-agnostic software platform.

    At the recent TechExpo26 trade show in Atlanta, Ga, we caught up with Hy Huynh, vice president of fiber products at Harmonic, to discuss the evolving fiber broadband landscape.

    Key Moments in This Episode

    Opening/Intro | 0:05

    Near-term network and competitive concerns | 0:54 Successful broadband providers need to differentiate by providing a solid quality of experience.

    Building smarter, more capable infrastructure | 3:52 How broadband providers are leveraging various technologies that shift their focus from homes passed to homes served.

    Balancing between expansion and financial discipline | 8:23 How to accommodate various fiber network build-out strategies—edge-outs, rural areas, and high-density markets.

    Harmonic’s Jetty | 13:08 How this product, which is a hardened outdoor remote switch that’s designed to expand fiber-to-the-home (FTTH), is resonating with its customer base.

    Underappreciated fiber expansion opportunities | 14:58 Harmonic has answered the call with its Oyster+, a compact, cabinet-free, backup-powered PON fiber node designed to scale broadband edge deployments in rural and low-density areas.

    Multi-dwelling unit (MDU) broadband opportunities | 19:43 Harmonic is taking on the Brownfield MDU market challenge with its SeaStar Optical Node, which allows service providers to leverage existing in-building coax wiring to deliver high-speed broadband services.

    AI’s role in broadband | 23:41 With its cOS SensAI, Harmonic is offering a vendor-agnostic, software-driven intelligence fabric designed to unify data across broadband networks.

    Final thoughts/closing | 28:35 Hy Huynh shares his final thoughts and closes out the podcast.

    Meet Our Guest Hy Huynh is the Vice President, Fiber Products at Harmonic. He has 15 years of customer-facing experience spanning sales, product management, program management, product support/operations, and some development. On his LinkedIn page, he describes himself as a nerd with an engineering degree and an affinity for understanding and engaging with customers. He says he is passionate about technology and a staunch advocate for the customer and end-user experience.

    About the Podcast In the Lightwave Broadband Pulse podcast, we address the key issues affecting the optical and broadband industry segments. Join us every week for insights from industry leaders on these topics. Visit our website at www.lightwave.com and listen here.
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    35 mins
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