Building today’s FTTx networks at ISE Expo 2023

As the Chief Marketing Officer at IQGeo our marketing team focuses much of their time and effort on digital and virtual activities. We’re constantly working to expand our database of industry contacts, create compelling email campaigns, and organize online webinars to educate and inform the industry. And while these are all extremely valuable activities for our business, nothing compares with meeting customers, prospects, and partners face-to-face at a tradeshow, and ISE Expo 2023 in Kansas City was no exception. 

At the show this year I was struck by how engaged and active the fiber ecosystem is compared with several years ago. In past years the industry was finding its feet with many conversations about planned investments and future projects, but today it’s a very different picture. Large and small fiber operators and ecosystem players, including IQGeo, are now running fast to compete for project funding and keep pace with active fiber deployment projects. These are exciting and challenging times as the North American fiber industry matures and technology requirements rapidly evolve.

The Brightspeed success story
This industry maturity and technology evolution was very clearly illustrated in an ISE Expo conference presentation from Brightspeed and IQGeo. Hosted by Brightspeed team members Bobby Walters, Head of Fiber Engineering and Construction, and Nilesh Shroff, Vice President of Technical Solutions, they explained the role our IQGeo software plays in meeting their goal to deliver fiber broadband to over 3 million homes and businesses across twenty states. 

As the sixth largest broadband operator in the country, it was essential for Brightspeed to develop a flexible and scalable technology strategy to enable the complexity of their fiber network and the speed of their business ambitions. They selected the IQGeo network management software because of its ability to support the entire lifecycle of their network. A single, shared geospatial foundation that begins with planning and design, and extends through construction management, maintenance, and operations. 

“Without the IQGeo software, Brightspeed would have needed to deploy over 30 separate tools and functions to share important network data across all our teams.” Nilesh Shroff, VP of Technology Solutions at Brightspeed.

As further proof of the growing market maturity, operators, technology vendors, and service providers seem much more open to greater collaboration since no single player has all the answers. This was clear from my conversations on the show floor and during the Brightspeed presentation. While Brightspeed has benefited from their deployment of the IQGeo software, the IQGeo team has also taken away a great deal from the partnership.  

“Brightspeed’s vision for a single end-to-end network management solution greatly influenced IQGeo’s software development strategy. It’s critical that we continue to listen and learn from Brightspeed and other customers.” Jay Cadman, Senior VP at IQGeo.

As the fiber industry ecosystem grows ever more complex, collaboration and partnership become increasingly critical to the success of broadband operators and technology vendors like IQGeo. We have a common vision with our customers to accelerate fiber rollout, streamline construction and maintenance, and fully monetize their fiber network assets, and this is a strong foundation for our collective future success.

Virtual events and remote meetings are great, but as the ISE Expo demonstrated, there’s no substitute for direct collaboration with industry colleagues. 

IQGeo’s award winning geospatial network management software
At this years’ show we were honored to collect an ISE Network Innovator’s Award for our Network Manager Telecom software that was announced at the beginning of August. The awards for 2023 included an impressive list of winners which was another indicator of the vibrancy of the fiber network ecosystem. 

Our own Network Manager Telecom software was recognized by the judges for delivering game-changing network model management capabilities that are optimized for the challenges faced by broadband operators. Network Manager Telecom is the industry’s most agile and open network management software used by operators around the world, including Brightspeed, to accelerate and streamline the lifecycle of their networks.