January 23, 2024 | Posted in News
Today I’m chatting with Anil Varanasi, the co-founder and CEO of Meter, a company at the forefront of change with its Network as a Service (NaaS) model that’s providing Wi-Fi accessibility for all. Varanasi takes us on a journey through the genesis of Meter, sharing insights into the inspiration derived from industry giants like AWS and the pivotal market gap that fueled the creation of this venture.
What sets Meter apart is its commitment to more than just corporate triumphs. Varanasi unveils the company’s core mission — to democratize internet access, particularly in underserved communities. We dive deep into the transformative potential of Meter, exploring how it’s poised to bridge the digital gap across diverse sectors, from warehouses and manufacturing facilities to schools and communities.
Gary Drenik: How did the idea for Meter originate, and what gap in the market did you identify that led to the development of your company?
Anil Varanasi: The idea for Meter originated from a combination of inputs: we sought to build products and services that would enable us to access reliable and secure internet infrastructure without hassle. Technology has now made this possible. Most applications and activities we engage in, like watching content online, gaming, and real-time online communication, including video calls, are a result of improved networking. Everything is a packet. In the last decade, cloud networking has improved significantly, but local networking hasn’t seen the same advancement. We believe there should be a fully vertically integrated service that doesn’t require customers to lift a finger. Come to Meter, answer a few questions, and get great internet, networking, and Wi-Fi like the best technology companies with ample resources do.
Drenik: What does Network as a Service (NaaS) mean, and how does it differ from traditional networking models?
Varanasi: A good corollary here is what AWS delivered. Before AWS, companies had to spend time renting space, buying servers, and incurring expenses to set up their data centers for computing power. AWS streamlined this by offering infrastructure as a service, eliminating the need for companies to handle these complex tasks, and providing a reliable computing infrastructure. With local infrastructure, there’s a similar slog today, involving building permits, ensuring ISP availability, constructing racks, designing networks, spending considerable capital, dedicating a lot of time, and ultimately needing to be an expert in multiple areas, all while being expensive.
With Meter, all companies have to do is give us an address and a floor plan, answer some questions, and in mere weeks, excellent routing, switching, and Wi-Fi are deployed in their spaces. What’s important and different is our belief that those who build the hardware and software should be responsible for it. Today, there isn’t accountability for outcomes. Companies just sell hardware or software and absolve themselves of any responsibility afterward. Meter designs, builds, deploys, and maintains internet, networking, Wi-Fi, and security for schools, warehouses, and workplaces. This end-to-end service, without any capital costs (Meter invests in the spaces along with our customers), is critical to remove barriers for every space to have great internet infrastructure.
Drenik: How does Meter partner with IT teams today?
Varanasi: IT teams are the lifeblood of Meter. We build great products with them in mind. IT teams have numerous responsibilities, and Meter’s job is to reduce that burden. IT teams are shrinking and need to do more with less, even as the number of devices, applications, and companies dependent on the internet grows, and the number of new people learning networking and wireless decreases. We partner with IT teams to be an extension of their team, helping them deliver reliable, secure infrastructure to their customers, colleagues, and stakeholders.
Drenik: What type of companies is NaaS good for?
Varanasi: Network as a Service is ideal for businesses that care about great infrastructure. This might be because they have high-security needs, numerous clients in a warehouse, critical client applications in a school for education, or workplaces like labs or financial services firms where connectivity drives productivity.
Drenik: How does Meter plan to contribute to making the internet more accessible, especially in underserved communities?
Varanasi: It’s part of our business model and the reason Meter was started. We believe access to great infrastructure should not be contingent on having capital, technical know-how, or networking expertise. To bridge the digital divide, we have implemented a pricing model that eliminates capital costs, ensuring that individuals and communities with limited resources can benefit from robust internet connectivity.
According to a recent Prosper Insights & Analytics survey, 54% of Gen-Zers and 49% of Millennials rely on their smartphones for various functions essential to daily life, such as GPS, weather updates, social interactions, and work-related activities in education and business. Recognizing the pervasive use of smartphones, Meter aims to democratize access to great infrastructure, making it equally available across diverse sectors, including warehouses, manufacturing facilities, schools, and communities.
Everyone should be able to access great infrastructure equally, which is vital for reducing the digital gap across warehouses, manufacturing, schools, and communities. Our pricing model reflects this too: zero capital costs. We include upgrades in our service, ensuring that as technology advances, no one is left behind. By handling it end-to-end, everyone can access infrastructure akin to what Google or Amazon might be able to assemble and afford.
Drenik: Thank you, Anil, for sharing your vision and shedding light on the remarkable endeavors of Meter. Exciting times await, and we eagerly look forward to witnessing the positive impact Meter will have on bridging the digital gap across our nation whether it be within warehouses, manufacturing facilities, schools, or communities.