 Hey, everybody out there in the world of telecom and data centers. It's the start of another month and you know what that means. It's time to welcome you to another edition of JSA's Fast Forward. That's right, Jay. Thanks for joining us as we broadcast live online via LinkedIn and YouTube and through our very own JSA TV newsroom. I'm Dean Perine, Executive Vice President at JSA. That's right, live, live, live. So like, no faking, this is real. This is a good one. It's November 1, 11, 22 a.m. Pacific. I'm Jamie Scott-Okatayas, CEO and founder of JSA. All right, Dino, how was your Halloween last night? Well, you know, Jay, here in the Midwest, Northwest Indiana, we had the sideways snow during Trick-or-Treat last night. So, yeah, me and the fam, we got probably a half block down the street before the kids were just like, you know, peace out. We'll just eat the candy out of our own buckets at home. We're done. So it was eventful, but less traditional, perhaps than years past. How about you? Well, actually, so we just moved to a new neighborhood. Don't know many folks who want to like Trick-or-Treat, you know, got a consensus that our neighborhood is a little lax Trick-or-Treaters. So we moved over to the local mall and I Googled something. I was like, where can she go to a Trick-or-Treat? So we actually went store by store for the stores participating in the local mall, which was quite fun. And then we ended up going for, you know, dinner. It was really lovely, lovely. Yeah, no, that does sound good. And you were able to get a little shopping in while you were doing that. It was like, oh, Christmas, hint, hint. So Jay, did you sneak in a couple of Twix bars or Kit Kats? Did you do that? I know that you're a chocolate fan. I am a chocolate and there's nothing better with my chocolate than peanut butter. So Reese's peanut butter cups all day, all night. I actually have, I bought like a special, like I was going to pass them out, wink, wink. And I found my freezer for when I need a little fix. So yeah, that's where we are here at the Kataya household. I've been there, Jay. A lot of times those family-sized bags of bite-sized Snickers go missing here. Very, very often, I don't know what happened to them, but I'm real good at hiding an entire family-sized bag of bite-sized Snickers. But anyway, Jamie, are we ready to jump into the news for the month? Let's do it. Let's start off with collaboration and innovations headlines. Outstanding. Welcome to the collaboration and innovation segment where we break down new partnerships, new products, new services, and new sustainability initiatives. And Jay, with that, take it away. Da-da-da-da. Okay. Here we go, guys. We've got a big partnership announcement this month between Charter Communications and Precision OT. You love those guys? The new business relationship will see Precision OT deploy their active and passive connectivity solutions to Charter Communications broadband network. We're talking 41 different US states, so nothing to sneeze at. Yeah, absolutely not. Staying with the Precision OT tip, this month they announced an enhancement to their dispersion compensation ASIC technology. That is ASIC technology. Precision OT says that the new ASIC will enable technology such as 25G tunable transceivers for those of you in the know on the engineering side. That makes sense to you. Not so much to me. And that's after they announced a big acquisition acquiring Fiber Manufacturer Optic Onyx earlier this month. So there is a lot going over there at Precision OT. So much news coming out of Precision OT. Love that. Great work from great people and Optic Onyx. That's a pretty cool name. All right. So now over to Light River announcing that they joined forces with an Oregon network provided called DFN. The project includes a network upgrade that will future prove Oregon's regional backbone network, which we love, especially rural communities, network deployment. Yay. Project that bridges that digital divide. Yeah, you got that right, Jay. A lot of people are focused there and that's right where we want them to be focused. And our next piece of news is also about addressing the digital divide as Involta announced two nonprofit internet exchanges this month. The IAXs are located in Tucson, Arizona and Boise, Idaho and are hosted inside Involta's data centers. Cheers to the strengthened local connectivity and the community enhancement that it brings. I love Involta. I just do. I'm sorry, I shouldn't be biased, but they're so great at bringing in community, really being leaders within the community and I just love it. And this is another example. All right. So now on to some other collaboration and innovation news. Partners Highland Telecon and Windstream Wholesale announced the commencement of updates on a long haul fiber route this month. It's a project called CanAm2 and traveled 440 miles from Montreal to New York City, which is a very unique cross border route which will soon again have 432 new fibers. 432 fibers, Jay. Does that count as Egyptian cotton in bedding? What? I know. Honestly, I know we write this stuff in, but it is true that I'm actually up on this fiber count thing and like sheets on bed and like the difference between them and a good night's sleep. It's very important to me, Jay. Yeah, okay. I get where you're going, but not giggling over it. It's just a little thread count joke to those who, you know, believe in life. Oh, you know what? Talking about Egypt, which of course makes me think mummies, which of course makes you think of Halloween and last night with my daughter, she had a cute little mummy joke. Do you want to hear it? You know I do, Jay. No, here it is. Ready? Why are mummies such great spies? I have no idea. Okay, wait, I'm getting this. They keep things under wraps. So cute. Yeah. All right, that's the g-rated joke for all of the kitties who are listening into Fast Forward today. Not exactly our target demographic, but we do like to, you know, expand our horizons here at Fast Forward. Always, I prefer a corny joke. So hopefully, people are probably tuning out right now, so we should, you know. Like a lot more. Anyway, wait, more news, yeah? Yeah. All right, so. Oh yeah, well, that's me. That's me. More news, I'm gonna move us on. Moving on, Mitra, a consulting firm specializing in business development for those in the telecom industry, and they just announced a partnership with our friends at ConnectVase. The partnership aims to automate and streamline ConnectVase's carrier wholesale processes. Sounds like a neat opportunity to try something new that can help a lot of local providers. So congratulations to our friends there at ConnectVase. And you know what? Let's keep that ConnectVase train moving forward. There's other news about them. And Global News specifically, they expanded data capabilities for users of its connected world platform in the UK. As well, they added an Italian fiber provider called Retellit to the platform. So lots of big headlines coming from ConnectVase these days and globally. Yeah, when they said they were going global, they were not kidding around. I feel like it was like less than a year ago. They're like, yeah, we're gonna be doing this and here they are doing it. Yeah, they're gonna be doing it, that's it. That's right, that's right. Ben Edmond and his team over there firing on all cylinders. Congratulations to ConnectVase. And someone is clearly at my door right now. So we'll let the ring doorbell answer for me. That's technology for you, right? They're making it happen. Let's move on now to NetNumber, another company who always has something going on. This time, they've introduced something called NetNumber Confidence Index, or N-N-C-I. It's part of their Numery Check, Numery, sorry, Numery Check solution that elevates phone numbers for valid sender and caller IDs. The N-N-C-I uses database to create a ranking for each number based on its legitimacy and it sounds like a very, very cool innovation to me, Jay. Oh, absolutely, that is awesome. Like, I want that yesterday for my own goal because I'm not answering half of them. I'm like, I don't know you, I don't answer. I'm not even answering my door right now. Right. All right, next up, guys, a new product headline from EchoSense. It's called EchoSoft Critical 8.0 and it is something to know, guys, it is so cool. It's an AI-powered solution for data center optimization and sustainability. I'm like, oh, I haven't, like... I knew you were gonna love that one. I mean, it's a way of streaming ESG and sustainability reports using dashboards, way of streamlining ESG and sustainability reports, using dashboard views, AI analytics, management support, amazing stuff. I was actually able to check out a demo of this software and literally my jaw dropped. It's, and it's available on a live webinar. So there's video out there, guys. Go ahead and check it out. Go to our blog, go to LinkedIn Live and Google EchoSense webinar. It's one to really, it's amazing. Definitely see it in action. You can also ask for a live demo off their website. So awesome stuff. Yeah, very cool. I'm gonna make no brainer prediction but we're gonna hear a lot more about this stuff over the upcoming weeks, months and years. Our last piece of collaboration in innovation news this month comes from our friends at XKL, makers of equipment like optical transponders, DMUX systems and amplifiers. This month they announced a new offering for its Dark Star line of DWDM products. It's an optimal MUX ponder that integrates MUX, DMUX filters, EDFAs and OTDRs. That's a mouthful for me but you all know exactly what I'm talking about. Well said, I have to say. Thank you. Yeah, anyway, XKL is aiming for their new Dark Star MUX ponder to offer more control over challenges in the areas of procurement, management and expansion. Well done. Way to finish strong, Dino. Thank you. Phew, that is thankfully the last of our collaboration in innovation news this month of October. Excellent. Now let's go ahead and talk about something I know is dear and dear to your heart, Jay, deals in big wins. Do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do deals in big wins. All right. We have got three notable pieces of news in the realms of mergers, acquisitions, expansions and projects. So here we go. All right. Let's go ahead and start off with Zenlayer who announced a big partnership with Mobili Saudi Arabia's second largest internet service provider. It's Zenlayer's first strategic partnership in the Middle East and will vastly expand connectivity in the region which just so you know, hosts one of the fastest growing economies in the world. And I know that you did know that, Jay. So big, big stuff from Zenlayer right now. Great. Congratulations. Absolutely. Another big deal, by the way, guys. AwareX and the competitor carriers association or CCA, an association for competitive wireless providers right here in the States. Now, AwareX's digital customer engagement, blah, blah, blah, blah. Now, AwareX's digital customer engagement solutions will be available to each and every member through a special partnership program. Great deal for both parties. Yeah, absolutely. We're definitely gonna be hearing more from AwareX over the upcoming months and years as that platform is exploding right now. But, and we mentioned it earlier in our broadcast, but some more big news coming from Precisiono T as they acquired Fiber Manufacturer Optic Onyx earlier this month. The acquisition is a strategic move that will further strengthen Precisiono T's position in the optical networking market and enhance its capabilities to serve a wider range of applications. Oh, I love that. And if they partner together, then they get acquired together and it's a nice, wonderful move forward there. Okay, so guys, that is a wrap for deals and big wins. Let's move on to Movers and Shakers. And here comes your Movers and Shakers news for the month for new hires from new hires to award wins, events and publishing news. Yep, and by the way, let's start with a brand new podcast for the industry. Because you know what, we need really awesome podcasts and we heard you guys, now you've got one. It's a new video podcast called Partners and Peering and it's all about peering. So yay, from trends to tips to interviews, the show is hosted by the good folks over at 1623 Farnum and already there's two episodes out there. So check it out. Yeah, absolutely. Those two episodes, very, very popular. It's fun. It's insightful. Great podcast from our friends at 1623. And speaking of podcasts, another one to check out is the latest episode of the podcast called Telegeography. Explains the internet. Telegeography is one of those names that I feel like has been in the industry forever and they just continue to innovate. So it features Louis Fialo, Vice President of Chinatelcom Americas where he talked about what's next for cloud and network ecosystem in Latin America. Talk about a global piece of news. We talked about Chinatelcom. We talked about Latin America. Lots of stuff going on there at Telegeography. Explains the internet. Yep, and tells geography. Can't get more global than them. And speaking of Latin America, another mover and shaker is Scala Data Centers. Of course, you know them as the leading Latin American platform for sustainable data centers. That's right, Jay. Scala recently took home a big trophy at the Merit Awards last month. The Merit Awards recognized the best of the best in tech and Scala took home the gold in the energy category. Congratulations to our friend, that's Scala. Yeah, and staying with events guys. Last week, of course, the Global Carrier Awards in London. So many of you guys there in person at Capacity Europe and Global Carrier Awards being something we all look forward to each year. Special shout outs to some fine winners. We have ConsoConnect, EdgeConnex, and Ufinet, all of whom were recognized with awards at that event. Yeah, lots of award news right now. So another making headlines is NetNumber who was named to Inc's second annual Power Partners Awards. NetNumber's big recognition came in the productivity category. Congratulations to our friends at NetNumber. And meanwhile, literally as we speak, I was just liking and sharing and chatting with the folks on LinkedIn at ConnectBase because they are currently hosting their annual customer summit. It's taking place over the last few days in their headquarters location. Here in Boston, this year the event includes the first ever awards ceremony. So we'll have to stay tuned to see how the new ConnectBase awards event is going on literally as we speak right now. Right now, right now. This is like news as it happens. And now we're gonna like predict into the future because PTC recently announcing their speaker lineup for the much anticipated January 2024 conference in Honolulu. Well, guys, prepare now for the future. There's lots of great looking panels, keynotes, opportunities. I encourage everyone to check it out. And of course, JSA will be there reporting all the news from the event. So if you're one of the few in our industry not planning to be in Hawaii so sad, we'll still have you covered. So yeah, they just released their speaker lineup, some amazing folks there. Check it out and pack your bags. Yeah, pack your bags. It's time to head to Honolulu in the middle of the winter. But Dean is still gonna be in Northwest Indiana. But that's beside the point. But we will also be at DCV Connect Virginia next week to bring you all the latest from that event. So make sure to check out our Q&A video with event organizers right now. We've also got a special edition of our No Before You Go briefing that's definitely worth checking out for all of the attendees. Yeah, we just simulcasted that live a couple of hours ago. So- Hey, weren't you just on our channel? It's happening. Definitely check it out. It's on LinkedIn and JSA TV. So are really great. And we got to speak with two keynote speakers as well as the DCV Connect Virginia organizer. Really amazing. I'm so excited for some panels coming up next week in Virginia. So check it out guys. Also speaking JSA TV, our YouTube channel over 100,000 subscribers, so excited. Don't forget that all of our JSA TV live interviews, especially from capacity Europe last month that just dropped all available on demand. So hit it, hit it up. Yes, that's right. And that is it for our movers and shakers this month, Jay. We did it. Yeah. And in fact, for our whole great broadcast right here, fast forward this month. So be sure to read up on all the details of these stories and more on jsa.net. Yeah, and thanks for tuning in. We'll see you next month for all the latest in the world of telecom and data centers. So long everybody and thank you, Dino, as always. And for all of our viewers, stay safe, happy networking.