Building trust, bridging worlds: Assured's path to Tribal partnerships
Joel Ogren, the CEO and founder of Assured Communications, says building partnerships with tribal communities is about listening and understanding history from different perspectives.With a lengthy career that includes years spent working with the Pacific Islander community in Hawaii, Ogren has now applied his relationship-building skills to build lasting partnerships in Washington State.Namely, Assured Communications has a partnership with Toptana Technologies, which is owned by the Quinault Indian Nation. In his approach to building partnerships with tribal communities, Ogren said he signifies up front that he wants to earn the right to be considered a trusted partner. "It's important to me," he said. "We're going to do it with integrity and an open approach to the work that we do."Credentials and experience also matter, he said, adding that demonstrating the ability to deliver on a project is key. He also said Assured's success would not be possible without the company's highly qualified team of professionals."They understand this, they have those same values that help drive me," Ogren said. "The ability to address the digital divide, they see the value of what we can do for these economies."
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Greater Manchester strives to set new connectivity standards
John Duncan is the Connected Places Lead for Greater Manchester, which encompasses the largest metropolitan area in Northern England. Recently, at Connected Britain in London, Duncan appeared on Beyond the Cable, a Broadband Communities podcast, to discuss Greater Manchester's cutting-edge work to better connect the area's nearly 3 million residents.Leading strategic policy initiatives for Greater Manchester, Duncan said he works extensively with fiber and mobile providers to make sure network investments are filling inclusion gaps.The digital infrastructure in Greater Manchester has also laid the foundation for economic growth, Duncan said.As such, Duncan said Greater Manchester's new strategy to become a "growth zone" for AI has become a big focus of his lately.
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The recipe for continued growth in managed Wi-Fi
Multifamily properties that aren't meeting the connectivity needs of residents remains a major gap in 2025, but it's one that Ed Wolff, the CEO of Aerwave, hopes to help fill.As a symbol of Aerwave's recent success, the company took home the trophy for Multifamily Partner of the Year at the 2025 Broadband Communities Awards in Houston.Wolff said Aerwave was honored to receive the recognition, which he believes is a testament to Aerwave's resident-experience driven mentality."We have the good fortune of working with 30% of the NMHC 50," Wolff said.Looking ahead, Wolff said he believes Aerwave is well positioned for continued growth and success in the managed Wi-Fi space.
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Notes from the field: Telling broadband's untold stories
Abby Crawford, a podcasting and marketing specialist with FiberCom Engineering, is the host of Field Notes - a podcast that introduces her audience to public and private sector leaders in the communications industry.Through her role, Crawford said she gets to lead the storytelling efforts of FiberCom Engineering, a telecom engineering firm.Crawford said one of her missions is to elevate voices that she thinks are often overlooked in broadband, energy, and infrastructure. "I just get to ask them real questions about the work that they're doing," Crawford said. "And I get to just share why it matters."
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NextLink Internet's Bet on Rural America
Ebony Cooksey says NextLink Internet has made it their mission to expand service to rural America, especially in the Heartland. As they expand, beyond fixed wireless to fiber, she said the ISP is focused on deploying "the right tool for the toolkit," depending on the needs of individual communities. In her job, Cooksey said she deals with local officials who are very interested in enhancing economic opportunity. "They know that broadband is the way to improve economic development and healthcare, and educational outcomes for those communities," she said. As part of NextLink Internet's strategy, Cooksey said the company also makes a point to be sensitive to "non-deployment concerns" in rural communities."Some of the folks are struggling," she added. "And we want to help to improve that."A new Digital Empowerment Center, run by NextLink Internet in Seward, Nebraska, is part of the company's strategy. The center gives assistance with basic digital skills, covering everything from online banking to how to send emails. According to Cooksey, the storefront in Seward used for Nextlink Internet's Digital Empowerment Center was previously empty."We're really trying to get to those digital skills," she said, while praising Nextlink Internet's partnership with Microsoft Airband.She said for some folks, digital skills may just mean being able to see photos of their grandkids online and no longer being socially isolated.
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