--- title: NaaS, Cloud, and the Future of 5G description: Greg welcomes Dave Ward, CEO of PacketFabric, to talk through the bigger picture of how certain services are emerging in the enterprise network market. image: https://resources.telegeography.com/hubfs/2021/Blog%20Assets/mobile-6253871_1280.jpg --- [![TG\_LOGO](https://resources.telegeography.com/hubfs/TeleGeography%20Hub%20Theme%20Nov%202025/images/TG_LOGO.svg)](https://www2.telegeography.com/) - [About](https://www2.telegeography.com/about-us) - [Research](https://www2.telegeography.com/our-research) - [Products](https://www2.telegeography.com/products) - [Solutions](https://www2.telegeography.com/solutions) - [Resources](https://resources.telegeography.com) [Log In](https://www.telegeography.com/login/login?service=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.telegeography.com%2Faccount%2Fhome%2Findex) [Contact](https://www2.telegeography.com/contact-us) ###### Data and Analysis Tools - [Cloud and WAN Research Service](https://www2.telegeography.com/cloud-and-wan-infrastructure) - [Data Center Research Service](https://www2.telegeography.com/data-center-research-service) - [GlobalComms Database](https://www2.telegeography.com/globalcomms-database-service) - [International Voice Report](https://www2.telegeography.com/telegeography-report-and-database) - [IP Networks Research Service](https://www2.telegeography.com/ip-networks-research-service) - [ISP Navigator](https://www2.telegeography.com/isp-navigatorisp-navigator) - [Transport Networks Research Service](https://www2.telegeography.com/transport-networks) - [Network Pricing Database](https://www2.telegeography.com/telegeography-pricing-database) - [WAN Cost Benchmark](https://www2.telegeography.com/wan-cost-benchmark) - [Product Passes](https://www2.telegeography.com/product-passes) ###### Consulting - [All Consulting Services](https://www2.telegeography.com/consulting) - [Submarine Cable Consulting](https://www2.telegeography.com/submarine-cable-consulting) ###### Maps - [All Map Services](https://www2.telegeography.com/map-services) - [Sponsor a Map](https://www2.telegeography.com/sponsor-a-map) - [License Map Data](https://www2.telegeography.com/license-geocoded-map-data) - [Cite a Map](https://www2.telegeography.com/cite-telegeography-map) - [Buy a Map](https://shop.telegeography.com/collections/telecom-maps/) ###### Industry - [Education](https://www2.telegeography.com/telegeography-for-education) - [Enterprise](https://www2.telegeography.com/enterprise) - [Tech](https://www2.telegeography.com/tech) - [Telecom](https://www2.telegeography.com/telecom) ###### Case Studies - [AI + Retail Telecom Data](https://www2.telegeography.com/where-to-get-global-telecom-data) - [EXA Infrastructure](https://www2.telegeography.com/exa-infrastructure-case-study) - [Orange Wholesale](https://www2.telegeography.com/orange-wholesale-case-study) - [The European Commission](https://www2.telegeography.com/the-european-commissions-data-backed-approach-to-international-policy) [Back to Resources](https://resources.telegeography.com) # NaaS, Cloud, and the Future of 5G ##### By [Jayne Miller,](https://resources.telegeography.com/author/jayne-miller) Jul 12, 2021 [WAN](https://resources.telegeography.com/tag/wan) [Cloud](https://resources.telegeography.com/tag/cloud) [Podcast](https://resources.telegeography.com/tag/podcast) Listeners know that we've covered middle mile and NaaS on this show. We've also touched on the various companies emerging around these issues. Today, we're getting extra perspective from one of those companies. Greg welcomes Dave Ward, PacketFabric's CEO, to discuss how these services are emerging in the enterprise network market. The discussion highlights the limitations of traditional carrier architectures and their inability to provide real-time, on-demand bandwidth and connectivity required by today's multi-cloud enterprise environments. Dave introduces Packet Fabric's platform as a solution, emphasizing its software-defined and cloud-native nature, which enables programmable bandwidth and network-as-a-service functionalities. The conversation also touches upon the role of 5G and edge computing in the evolving WAN landscape, suggesting a future where network capabilities are delivered through a programmable core powered by companies like Packet Fabric, often in partnership with traditional carriers. Subscribe to access all of our episodes: [Apple](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-wan-manager-podcast/id1518397175) | [Amazon](https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/706a488e-d4e8-45a9-99a4-c6e51c4a86ea/the-wan-manager-podcast) | [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/show/74XN1NIPcb34Gv1atFMGht?si=vG3SfwaVSGawNge05Opvnw) | [Stitcher](https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/the-wan-manager-podcast) |[TuneIn](https://tunein.com/podcasts/Technology-Podcasts/The-WAN-Manager-Podcast-p1334040/) | [Podbean](https://telegeography.podbean.com/) | [RSS](https://feed.podbean.com/telegeography/feed.xml) #### Key Takeaways ## What is NaaS? Network as a Service (NaaS) is a cloud service model that allows organizations to consume networking infrastructure and services on demand, typically through a subscription-based or flexible consumption model. Instead of owning, building, and maintaining their own physical network infrastructure, businesses can rent these services from a cloud provider. ## Other NaaS Episodes - [What You Need to Know About Network as a Service in 2025](https://resources.telegeography.com/colt-on-naas-pod) - [How NaaS Relates to SDN and Automation](https://blog.telegeography.com/how-naas-relates-to-sdn-and-automation) - [How Enterprises Are Implementing NaaS](https://blog.telegeography.com/how-enterprises-are-implementing-naas-and-leaving-mpls) - [The Need for NaaS](https://resources.telegeography.com/the-need-for-naas) - [Nailing Down Network-as-a-Service](https://resources.telegeography.com/network-as-a-service-naas) ## Explore Related Content ![NaaS Market Summary: Products, Pricing, Adoption Rates](https://resources.telegeography.com/hubfs/NaaS%20market%20summary.png) ###### Blog Aug 7, 2026 #### [NaaS Market Summary: Products, Pricing, Adoption Rates](https://resources.telegeography.com/naas-market-summary) As the cloud-focused, remote workforce leans into more flexible, automated, on-demand enterprise network... [View More by Brianna Boudreau](https://resources.telegeography.com/author/brianna-boudreau) [Read Full Article](https://resources.telegeography.com/naas-market-summary) ![How NaaS Relates to SDN and Automation](https://resources.telegeography.com/hubfs/2023/Blog%20Assets/AdobeStock_621021396-1.jpeg) ###### Podcast Episode Sep 26, 2023 #### [How NaaS Relates to SDN and Automation](https://resources.telegeography.com/how-naas-relates-to-sdn-and-automation) [Read Full Article](https://resources.telegeography.com/how-naas-relates-to-sdn-and-automation) ![IP Transit Pricing Trends in Asia](https://resources.telegeography.com/hubfs/IP%20Transit%20Pricing%20Trends%20in%20Asia.png) ###### Blog Sep 4, 2026 #### [IP Transit Pricing Trends in Asia](https://resources.telegeography.com/ip-transit-pricing-trends-asia) Across Asia, increasing demand, new network investment, and widespread service availability are fueling... [View More by Brianna Boudreau](https://resources.telegeography.com/author/brianna-boudreau) [Read Full Article](https://resources.telegeography.com/ip-transit-pricing-trends-asia) [![TG\_LOGO\_color\_horizontal\_SIMPLIFIED 1](https://resources.telegeography.com/hubfs/TeleGeography%20Hub%20Theme%20Nov%202025/images/TG_LOGO_color_horizontal_SIMPLIFIED%201.svg)](https://www2.telegeography.com/) [Login](https://www.telegeography.com/login/login?service=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.telegeography.com%2Faccount%2Fhome%2Findex) [Contact Us](https://www2.telegeography.com/contact-us) ###### [About](https://www2.telegeography.com/about-us) - [Research](https://www2.telegeography.com/our-research) - [Products](https://www2.telegeography.com/products) - [Solutions](https://www2.telegeography.com/solutions) - [Demo](https://www2.telegeography.com/demo) ###### [Press](https://www2.telegeography.com/telegeography-press) - [Events](https://www2.telegeography.com/telecom-events) - [Careers](https://www2.telegeography.com/careers) ###### [Resources](https://resources.telegeography.com/) - [Podcast](https://www2.telegeography.com/telegeography-explains-the-internet-podcast) - [Newsletter](https://www2.telegeography.com/subscribe-to-telegeography-emails) - - All Rights Reserved 2026 - [Privacy Policy](https://www2.telegeography.com/privacy-policy) ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Jayne Miller", "url" : "https://resources.telegeography.com/author/jayne-miller" }, "dateModified" : "2026-01-31T14:51:35.569Z", "datePublished" : "2021-07-12T12:05:00.000Z", "headline" : "NaaS, Cloud, and the Future of 5G", "image" : [ "https://resources.telegeography.com/hubfs/2021/Blog%20Assets/mobile-6253871_1280.jpg" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://resources.telegeography.com/naas-cloud-and-the-future-of-5g", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://resources.telegeography.com/hubfs/assets/telegeography/telegeography-logo-blog.png" }, "name" : "TeleGeography" } } ``` ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org/", "@type" : "WebSite", "image" : "https://www2.telegeography.com/hubfs/Website/assets/logo/telegeography-logo.svg", "name" : "NaaS, Cloud, and the Future of 5G", "potentialAction" : { "@type" : "SearchAction", "query-input" : "required name=search_term_string", "target" : "{search_term_string}" }, "url" : "https://resources.telegeography.com/naas-cloud-and-the-future-of-5g" } ```