Epik Mellon - the QA Cafe Podcast

In this episode, Randy Krull brings me up to speed on the state of television in a world of streaming and cable-cutting. We chat about local channels, licensing, fragmented user experiences, and the future of content distribution. 

In this episode, I sit down with Peter Mackenzie, a Wi-Fi training guru with MQ Training Services, about the excitement of wireless technology, the necessity of community, protocol analysis and magic. 

In our 50th episode, I chat with John Barlow from Consult.Red, who, like many of us, came into the industry because of where their passions took them. He's started his own podcast called “Simply Connected” and we discuss our work on the smart home, smart CPE, and why our industry is so fun. 

Direct from the 2025 Hong Kong Broadband Forum meeting, Peter and I chat about the global impact of standards, how it relates to the open-source community and prpl Foundation, and how what makes networks go is the people and relationships behind them.

In this episode, I chat with Donovan Smith of Open Network Technical Solutions, who has 20 years of experience helping ISPs deliver successful service, especially Tier 2 and Tier 3 operators in the Caribbean. We talk about what users want, the power of the “quality of experience” view, and what operators can do to be successful. 

I was able to get the illustrious Dave Taht back on the show, where we talk about how things have changed for networking even in the last year, the importance of redundant systems, and the “perfect storm” required for technology advancement and adoption. Also recorded from his boat, as the first ever podcast recorded over Starlink. 

In this episode, I got to sit down with Marcel Sponder from Vodafone, who has been working directly on the new services operators offer subscribers, most notably Vodafone's Secure Net. We chat about how cool it is to see one's own work benefit millions of people, the things made possible by more powerful home gateways, and more. 

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!)

Our first ever live stream episode from Durham, NH, at the UNH InterOperability Laboratory. Tim and I talk about the 20th anniversary of TR-069, why collaborating with other engineers matters, and what things look like for the future of the home network.

In this episode I set down with QA Cafe's Tom Peterson, the working hands behind most of our network analysis solutions including CloudShark and Packet Viewer, about how network packets are how we learn how things work, how they solve problems (especially in cybersecurity), and what 20 years in technology looks like. 

In this episode, I chat with Joday Botham from the UK AltNet “Brsk” about how he got his start in construction and what struggles ISPs face when delivering quality broadband to end-users who want it to just work.

In this episode I sit down with Wojciech Romek at Icotera about getting the “networking bug” early on, always having something new to learn, and how Wi-Fi has stood the test of time.

In this episode I chat with Patrick Moreno, Western Regional Sales Account Manager at ZyXEL Communications, about the realities of rural broadband, what it's like to be on the tradeshow circuit, and how cutting-edge tech aligns with the needs of connected consumers.

In this episode, Jason sits down with Brian Dubreuil, one of the magician's behind customer success and support here at QA Cafe. They chat about Wi-Fi, being an extension of our customers teams, and why The Princess Bride is the greatest movie of all time.

In our first multi-guest episode for Epik Mellon, we sit down with Brennan Martin, Technical Leader at Cisco Meraki, and Alex Burger, Principal Engineer at Cisco Meraki, about networking expertise, pcaps, and working remotely both before and after covid.

Alright, it's time for a deep dive into the standards organization I work with most: the Broadband Forum. CEO Craig Thomas and I sit down and chat about the future of the connected home, why we love standards, and why getting involved pays off for companies.

In this episode we sit down with Massimo Zefferino of zfactor, the digital marketing firm that handles our work at QA Cafe and many others in the broadband and computer networking industries, about finding a niche, sticking with it, and making sure that everyone everywhere is always thinking about the end-user first when designing their brand and their messaging around technology. 

In this episode, I talk with Tzvi Skapinker of Friendly Technologies about the evolution of home network management for ISPs and how something that seems like a failure can turn out to be the change you need to get in on the future you were meant for. 

In this episode I sit down once again with Tim Winters, our CTO at QA Cafe, to talk about all of the changes we've experienced in the last year, the challenges with making complex test and network information accessible to everyone, and flying to Australia for IETF meetings.

Almost exactly one year after Epik Mellon began, I chat once again with Jeremy Brown of Trinity Cyber about the newest threat landscape, the technology skills gap, and doubling a company's size in a single year. 

In this episode I got to talk with Elizabeth Parks from Parks Associates, the premier research firm for the connected consumer industry, about the pace of technology over the last 40 years and how everyone, everywhere in the supply chain, needs to have their mind on the consumer experience.

In this episode, Josh Seidemann of the NTCA joins me to talk about the state of broadband in rural areas and how independent ISPs act as technology leaders for their neighbors and their communities. 

In this episode, I chat with the famous Dave Taht, one of the top minds working on improving how the Internet handles the applications we use more and more every day. We talk music, bufferbloat, and the double-edged sword that is network latency. 

In this episode, I chat with Evgueni Tzvetanov of Verizon about our work at prpl Foundation, the future of the home gateway, and what we all want out of AI and home automation. 

In this episode I chat with Steve Scapicchio, one more denizen of the “fun zone” at QA Cafe and our VP of Global Sales about moving from engineering to sales, keeping strong relationships, and customer success as a vision.

In this Episode, Diana Bikbaeva of Marashlian and Donahue, a boutique law firm focused on telecomms and startups, talks about her passion for AI law and the brave new world we find ourselves in. 

In this episode, I chat with my good friend Mauro Tilocca of Telecom Italia about the new world of automation for broadband, the benefits of AI, and how our love of language translates to a love of networking. 

This episode we shot at the Broadband Forum Q4 Meeting in Thailand! I chat with Ken Pyle, newly appointed marketing director at the Broadband Forum, about our life in media and what it's like to see standards from the outside.

In this episode, I sit down with Sarah Lachance, Director of Identity and Access Management at Kenvue, about cyber security, coming into tech as an outsider, and how you can never take people out of the equation. 

In this episode, I chat with Gunther Klessinger of Axiros about managed broadband, quantum physics, and the importance of standards in helping operators stay relevant.

In this episode Jason is at the NetworkX 2023 tradeshow in Paris, meeting up with João Freitas at Deutsche Telekcom to talk about how this podcast got started and how the revolution of app-enabled smart routers is going to change things for operators and broadband users. 

In this episode I chat with Sophie Pool at DT to talk about the consumer networking experience, being able to relate to it as a user, and why Wi-Fi product testing isn't really as boring as it sounds.

In this episode, my long time friend and “partner in crime” at the Broadband Forum John Blackford and I talk about the dichotomy of standards and open-source software, and why soccer is the world's most popular sport.

In this episode, I sit down with Steen Enevoldsen of Icotera to talk about the view from both sides of the vendor/operator relationship and nerding out about home networking tech.

In this episode, I chat with Jussi Kiviniemi, self-described Wi-Fi janitor and CEO of Hamina Wireless, about the state and future of Wi-Fi networks, how they got to be where they are, and how network planning is key to getting them to work well. 

In this episode I talk with my long time friend Carla Lauter about the state of tech media, the education gap, and how connectivity is fueling amazing new technologies in our most critical industries.

In this episode I sit with Matt Langlois, my colleague here at QA Cafe to talk about the past, about being an audiophile, and why Tool is a metaphor for the “tinkerer's spirit”.

In this episode we talk to Melissa Simpler of Nokia about the twists and turns of the broadband industry as a whole and why we stay in it after all these years.

In this episode we talk to Bob Carrick of Calix about the evolution of the managed broadband subscriber experience, why we know WAY too much about it, and the opportunities that service providers of all tiers can take advantage of today.

In this episode, we talk to Joakim Bennerholt of IOPSYS, about the evolution of home gateways, what we all want as broadband users,  how the open-source world is changing things for the better.

In this episode we talk to the legendary Tim Spets of Nokia how standards truly bring people together to innovate tomorrows technology.

In this episode, we talk to Paul Keator of Dish Networks about the inside realities for service providers, and what he's learned from the field.

In this episode, Jason talks with Bjorn Ivar Teigan, Head of Research at Domos, one of the first “latency management” software companies, about how important latency is to the actual network experience, how bandwidth blasting might be hurting you, and what the networking and standards world looks like from academia.

In this episode, we sit down with Jeremy Brown, VP of Threat Analysis at Trinity Cyber, to chat about packets, stopping bad guys, and how anyone with a “troubleshooting mindset” should consider getting into cybersecurity - regardless of where they come from.