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Trust is a key factor in building lasting partnerships with tribal communities, according to Joel Ogren, the CEO of Assured Communications.
By: Brad Randall, Broadband Communities
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.
Toptana Technologies operates what has been described as “the first indigenous-owned cable landing station and backhaul network provider on the West Coast of the United States.”
The venture that is now Toptana Technologies was announced in 2022. At the time, it was also announced that Assured Communications would be the venture’s primary operations service provider and facilitator of sales and industry partnerships.
Meanwhile, the passage of time has only strengthened Assured’s collaboration with Toptana Technologies.
In June of this year, Toptana Technologies announced the latest phase of their regional network build.
The effort, and east-west fiber route project, strives to connect to Ocean Shores. The route is additionally pitched as falling along a key connectivity corridor for Seattle, Washington and Hillsboro, Oregon.
In the announcement, Assured Communications was listed as “leading all aspects of the initiative from feasibility and design through engineering, construction, and go-to-market.”
‘We’re going to do it with integrity’
Ogren said he worked hard to build trust and get Assured to where it is today.
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.”