Telstra International has unveiled its highly Autonomous Network vision, part of the company's ambitious five-year plan to drive connectivity and innovation across Asia-Pacific. Head of Telstra International Networks, Wayne Lotter joins Blue Planet's Vice President for Global Products & Delivery, Kailem Anderson to discuss Telstra International's AI strategy and how Blue Planet is powering the foundation of its highly autonomous network.

Bandwidth demand continues unabated, and AI is expected to be a likely driver for increased bandwidth demand, overland and undersea. In this episode, Southern Cross's CEO Laurie Miller and CTO Dean Veverka speak with Brian Lavallée, our resident submarine expert, about how the submarine cable operator is preparing for the AI wave and its plans for connecting the Pacific.

Have you been hearing the term Managed Optical Fiber Networks (MOFN) more and more lately? In this episode, Lumen Technologies' Alison Greenwood, Vice President of Hyperscalers, and Martin Reilly, Director of International MOFN at Ciena, join Kent Jordan of Ciena Product Marketing for an in-depth discussion about all things MOFN. You'll learn about MOFN's benefits, business models, and emerging trends, and hear about Lumen's experiences, successes, and lessons learned.

On this episode, Mike “MJ” Joseph, who manages the infrastructure network engineering team at Meta, joins Ciena's Mark Bieberich to discuss innovation in out-of-band (OOB) management networks, which are essential for initial device commissioning, disaster recovery, remote troubleshooting, and secure lifecycle management. MJ and Mark explore Meta's decision to adopt passive optical networking (PON) for OOB management, highlighting the collaborative effort with Ciena to create an ultra-scalable, cost effective PON-based solution. They also discuss the positive outcomes Meta has achieved by streamlining and automating its OOB network operations in the data center—and the lessons learned along the way.

Tune-in to hear Kailem Anderson (Blue Planet) and Mark Bieberich (Ciena) as they compare the differences between Network Digital Twin to traditional network modeling. The two delve into ways Digital Twins can be used to enhance IP and optical network planning, traffic analysis, troubleshooting, optimization, and more. They also explore how AI can be used to advance and accelerate the abilities of Digital Twins, such as using predictive analytics to analyze the impact of different ‘what-if' network scenarios.

AI is redefining what it means to be a CIO. In this episode, Bill Bragg, CIO at SymphonyAI, and Craig Williams, Chief Digital Information Officer at Ciena, dive into how AI is transforming business operations, accelerating innovation, and changing how organizations lead in the digital age.

In part two of this episode, Paulina Gomez, Ryan Lafler, Doug Schremp, and Paola Osorio delve into Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) and Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) algorithms. They discuss the principles of QKD, its challenges, and industry progress, as well as the development of PQC algorithms to deliver quantum-resistant encryption solutions. They also explore future milestones and the solutions that are available today to safeguard critical data and mitigate the quantum computing threat to enable quantum-secure communications.

In this episode, Paulina Gomez, Senior Advisor of Portfolio Marketing at Ciena, Ryan Lafler, President and CTO of Quantum Corridor, Doug Schremp, Solutions Architect at ConvergeOne, and Paola Osorio, Senior Advisor of Product Line Management at Ciena, discuss the threat of quantum computing to today's cryptography. They explore the concept of "Harvest now, decrypt later" and the importance of quantum secure communications, while also highlighting the Quantum Corridor project and its key objectives to help safeguard critical data in the quantum era.

Let's dig into the topic of AI and the data center boom! On this podcast, Ciena's International CTO Jürgen Hatheier speaks with special guest Jérôme Totel, Group Strategy & Innovation Director at Data4, a major European operator and investor in the data center market. The two discuss the critical role data centers play in AI. They cover energy demands and the importance of Power Use Efficiency, AI training and inference, and how Europe can take a leading position in the AI race.

On this episode, Ciena India's Head of Engineering, Vineet Vohra and software engineers Manish Chopra and Ruby Saxena have a no holds barred conversation around their favorite work milestones, advice they would give aspiring engineers, how Artificial Intelligence is impacting their work environment and the importance of building an innovative, all-inclusive work culture. Stay tuned for an insider's view from the team that drove many of Ciena's many innovations including Navigator Network Control Suite and WaveRouter.

On this episode, Campbell McClean, Chief Architect of BT Group joins Kailem Anderson, Blue Planet's Vice President of Global Products & Delivery, to discuss the UK carrier's digital transformation journey and ways BT Group is leveraging Blue Planet software to offer an improved digital experience for its customers. The two discuss the value of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in BT Group's operations and the growing opportunities with AI moving forward. Campbell also shares his experience working in diverse organizations and the importance of fostering a more inclusive work culture.

Step behind the curtain and delve into the captivating world of product innovation in our latest episode. Join Raf Francis, Director of Product Line Management, Dan Rivaud, Systems Design Architecture Engineer, and host Gina Nienaber as they provide an in-depth look at the cutting-edge technologies and intricate design considerations that went into WaveRouter, Ciena's family of purpose-built coherent metro routers. Whether you're an aspiring innovator, a technology enthusiast, or simply curious about the inner workings of groundbreaking products, this discussion will educate and inspire.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is generating a lot of buzz with bold predictions about its transformative potential. On this podcast, Ciena's International CTO Jürgen Hatheier speaks with special guest Fánan Henriques, Director of Vodafone Business International & EU Cluster, about AI's impact on the network. They talk about ways AI can improve business productivity and explore how AI can improve network planning, operations, customer service, fault detection, security, and more. Fánan also shares some lessons learned and successes Vodafone has seen utilizing AI in its own business.

Australia is ranked as one of the world's top countries for digital readiness. On this episode, Kathryn Jones, Executive of National Infrastructure Projects at Telstra InfraCo and Ciena's Lead for the Telstra account, Matt Hayes discuss what Ciena, Ericsson and Telstra have been doing to strengthen Australia's role as a global digital hub. They also discuss Telstra InfraCo's intercity fibre network build which is currently underway to help future-proof Australia's connectivity needs for the next 20+ years.

Over the past few years, Ciena's Blue Planet division has supported Building STEPS, a nonprofit organization in Baltimore, as part of its Digital Inclusion program. Tune in for an inspiring conversation between Building STEPS' Debra Hettleman and Ciena's Beth Dolce and Beth Hunter as they dive into the ways this collaboration has sparked students' interest in the industry.

As the demand for seamless connectivity skyrockets globally, Australia is emerging as a vital digital hub. On this episode of the Ciena Insights Podcast, Jarrod Nink, Chief Operating Officer at Vocus offers an insider's perspective to how the Australian network provider is capitalizing on this surging demand for bandwidth. Nink also shares more on Vocus' dynamic collaborations with global hyperscalers and its commitment to using the very best in networking technology, elaborating on Vocus' recently announced plans to deploy Ciena's WaveLogic 6.

Ciena's Adaptive Network vision for guiding network evolution with enhanced programmability, scale, automation, and intelligence first set sail back in 2018—and it's even more relevant today with the growing presence of AI, 5G, and cloud. On this episode, Mark Bieberich, VP of Portfolio Marketing at Ciena, discusses how the Adaptive Network enables service providers to optimize their existing infrastructures while incorporating new technologies and ways of leveraging their network assets. This podcast also features Ciena customers who have embraced the Adaptive Network vision.

While we usually speak with our customers or partners on the Ciena Insights Podcast, in this special episode, we speak with Yoonee Jeong, a Senior Digital Technology Specialist with the Asian Development Bank's Digital Technology for Development Division to get a different perspective on what is driving connectivity in Asia. Yoonee also shares with us what more can be done by the public and private sectors and the impact of continued innovation.

Tune in as Chief Technology Officer, Steve Alexander gazes into his crystal ball and shares 2024 predictions on emerging technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI) and its impact on the network. He also discusses other key technology trends, such as the relentless growth of bandwidth, IP/Optical convergence, and the evolving role of PON (Passive Optical Network) in improving residential broadband connectivity.

What a year! In 2023 we were joined by so many amazing customers, industry experts and organizations. To close out another successful year, Bo Gowan shares our most popular episodes.