Epik Mellon - the QA Cafe Podcast

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.