InterGlobix Magazine Founder and Editor-in-Chief, Jasmine Bedi, sat down in conversation with industry entrepreneur, leader, and changemaker Dan Caruso to discuss the publication of his new book, Bandwidth. In this exclusive interview, Caruso illuminates what inspired him to write about the multi-decade rollercoaster ride that was the dot com boom and explores what this boom-bust-rebirth cycle can teach the digital infrastructure industry of today.
Congratulations on your recent publication of Bandwidth, which hit shelves and websites in February 2025. If you could describe the book in three words, what would they be, and why?
Ambition, deception, and innovation are three words that really capture the essence of the story. Starting back in the 1980s and into the 1990s, pioneers and entrepreneurs jump started the bandwidth and Internet infrastructure boom. Their ambition and innovation started it all, which then gave way to an era where others wanted in on the rush for gold. These opportunists saw the chance to become very wealthy, very quickly, and some of them used deception to try to create value, mostly to benefit themselves. It all came crashing apart during the big telecom meltdown—the dot com bust to the dot com bomb that happened in the early 2000s. Then the innovators got going again, and they rebuilt the digital infrastructure industry that has made everything in today’s world possible. This boom-bust-rebirth process created the Internet as we know it today, and set the stage for Generative AI.
What inspired you to write this book, and why now?
Deep inside, I felt the need to get this story out, in part because I was involved with industry pretty much from its inception and was surrounded by so many people who worked so hard and accomplished so much. In some cases, my bandwidth colleagues worked hard and spent their whole career creating digital infrastructure and maybe didn’t have a lot to show for it. So, I wanted to tell this story for those who were in the industry, many of whom crossed paths with me, and many of whom didn’t. I wanted this book to be our story—the story of the creation of the digital infrastructure industry. My story is told as part of the bigger story, from the vantage point of being the storyteller, but also, in the first part of the book, from the perspective of someone who had a front row seat to a lot of what was transpiring. Then, as the story progresses, I become a prominent player, and in some senses, the most prominent player in certain parts of this saga. But the “why now” motivation was really sparked when Jim Crowe—one of most influential people in my career and very influential in industry—passed away, and I realized that leaders are hitting that age where they’re not going to be here to tell their stories. That’s what really got me to sit down with the attitude that I must take on this project, do it well, do it for the industry, and complete it before it’s too late.
What can the digital infrastructure industry of tomorrow learn from the digital infrastructure of yesterday?
What really sparked the dot com boom wasn’t a single trigger: It was multiple events. One was AT&T being told they could no longer be the biggest company in the world and they needed to allow competition, so Ma Bell was broken into the Baby Bells and the core AT&T. Another factor was fiber optic cable moving from the lab environment into commercial reality. At about the same point in time, the government began to award wireless spectrum to private operators with this vision that people would someday be able to carry around mobile devices and use them to talk to each other from their car and (eventually) their pockets. Lastly, and as important as all the other factors combined, 1983 was the year that the Internet was considered to have been born. Each of these factors had a pre-history, but in that 1983–1984 timeframe, all these events conspired to spark the out of control build out cycle that turned into the big boom … and subsequently the big bust of human history. Trillions of dollars of value rapidly evaporated.
So, what can we learn from the dot com boom today? Boom and bust cycles repeat themselves, and the biggest ones are caused by multiple factors. Today, a new set of multiple factors is conspiring to change our way of life. AI is currently front and center, and quantum technology, which is going to be just as big as AI, is soon to follow. Other developments, like space tech, biotech, and robotics, will add fuel to the fire. All of these will feed off each other and create another huge growth cycle. Maybe it gets out of control like the bandwidth and dot com one did; maybe it doesn’t. One thing we know for certain is there will always be boom to bust cycles, so you can learn how to be active as the world transforms itself—and hopefully not get destroyed by the bust part of the cycle.
As someone who has been through the boom-bust-rebirth cycle several times over, what advice do you have for the industry today?
I end the book with a chapter called “Final Reflections,” and in those reflections, I focus on the fundamentals of business. Entrepreneurs need to build businesses that really have durable value in the form of producing cash flow. This doesn’t mean you have to produce cash flow early into cycles, but you have to be building a business model that really will generate sustainable cash flows over time. At the end of the day, durable cash flow is what makes businesses real and valuable. Having something unique—something hard to replicate or displace—with moats that will ensure the business survives the test of time is essential. During hype cycles, entrepreneurs can get away with being sloppy by using great stories to raise money and perhaps achieve a really nice valuation. But you’re living on borrowed time if you’re not building a real business. So, in this new cycle of AI and beyond, I encourage entrepreneurs really to think about their business concept. What are you building? What about it is really valuable, really unique? Resist the temptation to substitute storytelling for building concrete business value, hoping that you’re going to find someone to buy you out at a valuation that doesn’t really reflect the business. Perhaps you will get lucky, and this will happen. More likely, you will fail.
Looking ahead at the next 10–20 years and considering the ubiquitous nature of digital infrastructure, what does that future look like to you, and what is the importance of convergence?
The beginning of the book offers perspective around what’s going to happen with digital infrastructure in the future. Bandwidth is only going to become more important. Digital infrastructure in general has only become more critical as technology evolves. Right now we’re seeing Generative AI be transformative, but so far we’re seeing it in a narrow way. Very large data center deployments are underway where land is cheap and power is available. But the effect of AI will proliferate throughout the network, and then quantum is going to add to the demand for networks. Quantum technology is going to create the quantum Internet of Things, with quantum computing at the core and edge. Space tech will produce growing data in the sky, with devices communicating with one another and bringing that data back to Earth. The world is going to look as different 20 years from now as today’s world looks from the vantage point of 20 years ago. However, the IT and infrastructure shifts are going to happen more quickly and be more profound—and networking of all types will intensify. We’re seeing that today, but basically we’re going to see it on steroids as each year marches on. Of note, I believe the quantum realm that will be introduced will fundamentally alter how humankind exists in such a profound way that we can’t even get our heads around it today.
Finally, I’m really curious about your nickname, “The Bear.” How did you get it?
I tell the story in the book—you have to get pretty deep before I cover it—but it’s not because I was a cuddly bear and a nice guy to hug. I was a grizzly bear with sharp claws and a loud roar. You know, when you reflect back on your career and what you accomplished, you also have to grapple with how you went about accomplishing it. I’ve asked myself some hard questions. Did I have to be so aggressive at times? Did I have to work so hard, work so intensely, and expect everyone around me to have the same intensity? Or could I have accomplished most of what I accomplished with a style that wouldn’t have left so much collateral damage along the way? The nickname stems from my method: Work hard and be aggressive when I need to be aggressive. Maybe I didn’t use my EQ as much as I should have, and maybe I could have been a little bit softer, but it all worked out in the end.
ABOUT DAN CARUSO
Dan Caruso is Managing Director of Caruso Ventures, a prominent investment firm focusing on quantum technology and space tech. A three-time Decacorn entrepreneur, Caruso shares his expertise with aspiring innovators through numerous organizations. Dedicated to supporting the entrepreneurial community, he also currently serves on the boards of Elevate Quantum (a designated US Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration TechHub focused on supporting quantum technologies) and Colorado Thrives (an organization dedicated to advancing economic mobility for Coloradans) and is Chairman of the Board of Endeavor Colorado (a global community for high-growth scaling entrepreneurs). Previously, Caruso was Founding Partner, Chairman, and CEO of Zayo Group Holdings, Inc., where investors enjoyed a 8.5 billion USD equity exit on a one billion USD investment. Through organic expansion and 45 acquisitions, Zayo amassed one of the largest commercial fiber networks in the world, which provides mission critical bandwidth to impactful countries across the globe. Other career highlights include co-founding executive roles at Level 3 Communications and leadership positions at Metropolitan Fiber Systems (MFS), both of which achieved multi-billion-dollar enterprise values. Caruso also spearheaded the 2004 take-private of ICG Communications, which achieved a remarkable 25x return and led to the ideation of Zayo. Caruso holds an MBA from the University of Chicago and a BS in mechanical engineering from the University of Illinois. His numerous accolades include the Chicago Booth Distinguished Alumni Award for Entrepreneurship, the Colorado Technology Association’s Bob Newman Lifetime Achievement Award, and the Colorado Governor’s Corporate Citizenship Medal.
