The Next Internet Is Coming… And It’s Smarter Than Ever

Most people assume the internet is stable, durable, and ready for whatever comes next. The truth is a bit more complicated. Modern networks were never designed for today’s scale, and for the first time we are seeing technology that can make them smarter, simpler, and far more reliable.

In this episode of IT Visionaries, host Chris Brandt talks with Anil Varanasi, CEO and Co-Founder of Meter, about how the next era of networking is taking shape. Anil explains why traditional infrastructure struggles to keep up, how a unified approach can remove layers of complexity, and why the future of the internet is moving toward faster and more resilient systems.

He also shares how natural language tools and purpose-built models are transforming the work of network engineers, and why autonomous networking may arrive sooner than most people expect. These advancements are creating a path to networks that can configure, maintain, and optimize themselves without increasing operational burden.

Key Moments:

00:00 – Why Modern Networks Are Broken

02:50 – The Pain of Multi-Vendor Sprawl

05:04 – Rebuilding the Entire Stack From Scratch

08:31 – Why Meter Refused to Ship Until It Was Great

11:39 – Hardware, Software, Delivery: A Single Platform

13:34 – No CapEx and Automatic Hardware Refresh

18:26 – How Meter Handles Growth, Migration & Space-Level Infrastructure

20:32 – The Real Reason Networks Fail (Configuration + Compatibility)

23:51 – GUI vs CLI: What Engineers Really Want

25:56 – Introducing Command: Natural-Language Networking

27:37 – Auto-Generated Dashboards and Custom Software

30:38 – Why AI Shouldn’t Be an Empty Buzzword

32:51 – Toward Fully Autonomous Networks by 2027

36:46 – The Network Engineer Shortage & What Comes Next

38:33 – What Autonomous Networking Actually Means

41:38 – Why the Internet Will Keep Growing Faster

43:02 – The Customers Who Need Meter Most

45:39 – Factory Floors, Warehouses, Data Centers, and Edge

48:32 – Nine New Hardware Platforms & Design Philosophy

52:56 – How Meter Maintains Networks Without Downtime

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This episode of IT Visionaries is brought to you by Meter - the company building better networks. Businesses today are frustrated with outdated providers, rigid pricing, and fragmented tools. Meter changes that with a single integrated solution that covers everything wired, wireless, and even cellular networking. They design the hardware, write the firmware, build the software, and manage it all so your team doesn't have to.

That means you get fast, secure, and scalable connectivity without the complexity of juggling multiple providers. Thanks to meter for sponsoring. Go to meter.com/itv to book a demo.

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