Dan Caruso

Bandwidth

Podcast

Bandwidth: Dave Schaeffer Part 2, Founder and CEO of Cogent Communications

In this episode of The Bear Roars, Dan Caruso sits down with Dave Schaeffer—Founder and CEO of Cogent Communications—for Part Two of their conversation.

This time, Dave takes us deep inside the chaos of the early 2000s telecom collapse—when companies were vanishing overnight and billions in fiber lay stranded underground. He reveals how Cogent turned crisis into opportunity, buying distressed networks like PSI Net and LambdaNet for pennies on the dollar and stitching them into one of the most efficient global backbones ever built.

Dave and Dan unpack how Cogent’s “focus or fail” strategy defied industry dogma—selling only internet, targeting only high-density buildings, and rejecting the temptation to chase shiny new products. Dave breaks down the math of return on invested capital, the brutal discipline behind saying no to most deals, and why keeping a pure network architecture was key to long-term dominance.

It’s a front-row seat to the stories of the post-crash telecom—and a rare look at the mindset of one of the most relentless dealmakers in digital infrastructure.

Learn more about Cogent Communications: https://cogentco.com/en/

Order Dan’s Book – Bandwidth: The Untold Story of Ambition, Deception, and Innovation that Shaped the Internet Age and Dot-Com Boom: ⁠dan-caruso.com/book⁠

To nominate a founder or yourself as a future guest speaker, email: contact@loudbearproductions.com

Podcast

Bandwidth: Horace Zona, Managing Director at DigitalBridge

In this episode of The Bear Roars, Dan sits down with Horace Zona—longtime investment banker and now Managing Director at DigitalBridge—for a wide-ranging conversation on dealmaking, discipline, and the evolution of digital infrastructure.

Horace recounts his front-row seat to some of the industry’s most pivotal transactions, from AboveNet and RCN to Zayo’s rise, and the hard-earned lessons behind them. He shares why price discovery is both art and science, how curiosity shaped his career, and what really went down in boardrooms and dinners that nearly derailed deals.

They dig into the financial chess match of buying fiber in the wake of the telecom crash, the strategic tensions with rival bidders, and how relationships with investors like Charlesbank and Providence shaped outcomes. Horace also opens up about career milestones and explains why today’s AI, quantum, and robotics revolutions remind him of the late ’90s infrastructure boom.

Learn more about DigitalBridge: https://www.digitalbridge.com/

Order Dan’s Book – Bandwidth: The Untold Story of Ambition, Deception, and Innovation that Shaped the Internet Age and Dot-Com Boom: dan-caruso.com/book

To nominate a founder or yourself as a future guest speaker, email: contact@loudbearproductions.com

Podcast

Bandwidth: John Siegel, Partner at Columbia Capital

In this episode of The Bear Roars, Dan sits down with John Siegel—Partner at Columbia Capital and telecom dealmaker—for a candid conversation about collapse, conviction, and the fiber-fueled comeback of digital infrastructure.

John reflects on how Columbia navigated the “nuclear winter” following the dot-com and telecom crashes, why investing in ICG felt like career suicide at the time, and how that bold bet led to Columbia’s most successful infrastructure play.

They unpack how trust between investors and operators unlocked unprecedented value, the strategic chess match behind acquiring AboveNet, and the broader implications of Zayo’s massive rollout. John also shares stories from European deals like EU Networks and GTS Central Europe, and weighs in on how the AI-driven infrastructure boom feels eerily familiar to the fiber land rush of 20 years ago.

Learn more about Columbia Capital: https://www.colcap.com/

Order Dan’s Book – Bandwidth: The Untold Story of Ambition, Deception, and Innovation that Shaped the Internet Age and Dot-Com Boom: dan-caruso.com/book

To nominate a founder or yourself as a future guest speaker, email: contact@loudbearproductions.com

Podcast

Bandwidth: Drake Livingston, Telecom Lead at Hudson River Trading

In this episode of The Bear Roars, Dan sits down with Drake Livingston to unpack the story behind Spread Networks—an ultra-low latency fiber route built to connect Chicago and New York faster than ever before. What started as a bold idea from a former trader turned into one of the most talked-about infrastructure builds in telecom and trading history.

Drake reflects on how Spread’s team—backed by Jim and David Barksdale—quietly constructed a perfectly straight fiber line, cutting through the noise (and terrain) of traditional networks. From navigating right-of-way challenges to stripping down optical gear for speed, they engineered every detail for one purpose: to give traders an edge measured in microseconds.

Drake and Dan also dive into the acquisition of Spread by Zayo, how that move unlocked new ways of thinking about pricing, route design, and customer relationships, and why telecom companies often overlook the power of focus. Their conversation touches on the culture that made Spread different, what it taught the broader Zayo team, and where they see infrastructure innovation heading next—including quantum networks and precision timekeeping.

Order Dan’s Book – Bandwidth: The Untold Story of Ambition, Deception, and Innovation that Shaped the Internet Age and Dot-Com Boom: dan-caruso.com/book

For more information, check out Drake’s recommended podcast and reading lists:

Drake’s High Frequency Trading Reading List: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1nzytFOoJxoB79EO7l32ulm9Z6ouy-IVqGJiCDBQJdms/edit?usp=sharing Drake’s High

Frequency Trading Podcast List: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1EUOPEzA8O1HolobqpgOfXxOU0dPVfQvE8RkZDvV_pio/edit?usp=sharing

To nominate a founder or yourself as a future guest speaker, email: contact@loudbearproductions.com

Podcast

Bandwidth: Colby Synesael, Investment Banker at TD Securities

In this episode of The Bear Roars, Dan Caruso sits down with Colby Synesael—former top-ranked telecom analyst turned investment banker—to trace the evolution of digital infrastructure and its collision course with AI.

Colby shares how a chance job at a collapsing telecom company launched a decades-long career covering the industry’s most pivotal transformations. From the post-dot-com rebuild to the emergence of communications infrastructure as a standalone sector, his vantage point has offered rare insight into the companies, strategies, and capital shifts that defined the space.

Their conversation explores the powerful impact of AI on data centers, fiber networks, and power infrastructure—revealing why energy availability, transmission, and next-gen technologies like small modular reactors are becoming central to the future of connectivity. They also examine the growing investor appetite for infrastructure-like assets and what the shift from AI training to inferencing means for metro fiber and edge deployments.

Colby and Dan look back on the critical moments that shaped the sector, while also unpacking the trends and technologies that will define its next chapter. From early industry conferences to the rise of private capital, this episode offers an insider’s view into how digital infrastructure became one of the most consequential—and investable—industries of our time.

This episode is packed with real history, sharp perspective, and a clear-eyed look at what comes next.

Order Dan’s Book – Bandwidth: The Untold Story of Ambition, Deception, and Innovation that Shaped the Internet Age and Dot-Com Boom: dan-caruso.com/book

To nominate a founder or yourself as a future guest speaker, email: contact@loudbearproductions.com

Podcast

Bandwidth: Dave Schaeffer, founder and CEO of Cogent Communications

In this episode of The Bear Roars, Dan Caruso sits down with Dave Schaeffer, founder and CEO of Cogent Communications, to unpack one of the most fascinating and unorthodox careers in telecom.

Before launching Cogent, Schaeffer ran the second-largest taxicab company in Washington, D.C., built a real estate empire, and traded in spectrum—after entering college at age 12 and nearly completing a PhD as a teenager.

Schaeffer shares the wild backstory behind his entrepreneurial path, including the strategic bets that helped him turn $1 million investments into multimillion-dollar exits long before he ever touched fiber.

Their conversation dives deep into the origins of Cogent and the six core principles that have guided its long-term success—from targeting a single product (internet access) to outmaneuvering larger players with laser focus and ruthless cost efficiency. Dan and Dave also talk about the dot-com crash, how Cogent scaled through downturns by acquiring distressed assets, and what it took to build one of the largest and most profitable IP networks in the world.

This episode is packed with sharp insight, telecom history, and lessons on what it really takes to think differently—and win.

Order Dan’s Book – Bandwidth: The Untold Story of Ambition, Deception, and Innovation that Shaped the Internet Age and Dot-Com Boom: ⁠dan-caruso.com/book⁠

To nominate a founder or yourself as a future guest speaker, email: contact@loudbearproductions.com

Podcast

Bandwidth: Andy Lipman, Partner at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius

In this episode of The Bear Roars, Dan sits down with Andy Lipman—a telecom industry trailblazer whose legal and regulatory work helped open the door to competition and laid the groundwork for the modern internet. From his early days in transportation deregulation to leading the charge against the Bell monopoly, Andy has been at the center of telecom’s most pivotal moments.

Their conversation spans the antitrust battles of the 1980s, the rise of MFS and Teleport, and Andy’s role in coining the term “CLEC” and shaping the 1996 Telecommunications Act. He shares stories about industry giants like Bill McGowan, Jim Crowe, and Bernie Ebbers, and explains how regulatory fights over interconnection fueled the explosion of internet infrastructure. Dan and Andy also talk about the dot-com bust, the legacy of WorldCom, and how today’s fiber and broadband boom traces directly back to that earlier era. They wrap by looking ahead—discussing fiber overbuilds, Starlink, and the future of telecom as critical infrastructure.

Whether you’re a policy nerd or a broadband junkie, this one’s packed with insider stories and lessons that still matter today.

Order Dan’s Book – Bandwidth: The Untold Story of Ambition, Deception, and Innovation that Shaped the Internet Age and Dot-Com Boom: dan-caruso.com/book

To nominate a founder or yourself as a future guest speaker, email: contact@loudbearproductions.com

Podcast

Bandwidth: Frank Louthan, Managing Director at Raymond James

In this episode of The Bear Roars, Dan sits down with Frank Louthan, Managing Director at Raymond James and longtime telecom analyst, to unpack the wild rise and fall of the telecom and fiber industry during the dot-com boom and bust. Frank covered many of the era’s biggest players—WorldCom, Level 3, Global Crossing—and brings a rare, unfiltered perspective on what really happened behind the scenes.

Podcast

Bandwidth: Hunter Newby, Owner of Newby Ventures

In this episode of The Bear Roars, Dan sits down with Hunter Newby, a visionary in the telecommunications and data center industries, to discuss the evolution of network infrastructure and the forces shaping its future. From his early experiences with Telex to his work with ColoATL and Neutrality, Hunter has been at the forefront of connectivity, helping to build the foundation of modern digital interconnection.

Podcast

Bandwidth: Bandwidth: Bill LaPerch, Former CEO of AboveNet

In this episode of The Bear Roars, Dan sits down with Bill LaPerch, former CEO of AboveNet and a telecom veteran who played a key role in shaping the industry’s digital infrastructure. Bill’s career spans the rise of competitive fiber networks, the telecom boom, the WorldCom collapse, and the rebirth of the industry post-dot-com bust.

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