DQE's Nikki Marsh Details Why Fiber Is Pittsburgh's New Gold

What happens when Pittsburgh's nearly 30-year fiber powerhouse gets a jolt of fresh investment, new leadership and an AI-fueled market that can't get enough connectivity? Nikki Marsh, Chief Revenue Officer of DQE, joins TechVibe to pull back the curtain on why fiber has become the new gold in today's digital economy. With 5,000 miles of fiber across Western Pennsylvania and beyond, DQE is helping businesses, hospitals, data centers and communities stay connected with utility-grade reliability and a Pittsburgh-first mindset. Nikki explains why fiber is no longer a commodity, how AI and data centers are driving massive demand for bandwidth, and why DQE's "reliably reliable" approach goes far beyond keeping the network up. From enterprise connectivity and managed routers to SD-WAN, security, cellular failover and unified communications, DQE is building the easy button for businesses that need their networks to perform without finger-pointing or friction. This is a true Pittsburgh tech infrastructure story, one that shows how the region's fiber backbone is helping attract new industries, support business growth and position Western Pennsylvania for the next wave of AI-powered opportunity. The Pittsburgh Technology Council produces TechVibe to explore Pittsburgh's technology and innovation ecosystem. Transcript: DQE === [00:00:00] It's Jonathan Kersting here with the Pittsburgh Tech Council, and of course, Tech Vibe. I got to have the best conversations with some of the coolest people hanging out in Pittsburgh's tech sector, and today we are talking to Nikki Marsh of DEQE, and I love DEQE 'cause of its history. It goes back almost 30 years. They were doing fiber before fiber was cool, and- Yeah ... the moment of fiber is today, as far as I'm concerned. And I'm so excited to learn about how DEQE's been moving forward, and with you as the chief revenue officer, Nikki, what you guys are doing, you've really transformed the company 'cause there's new ownership there with DEQE. And over the past few years, you guys have made some pretty bold moves to really kinda take this company to some new levels, and I'm just so excited to explore this with you today 'cause I think it's a, it's a true Pittsburgh story in just so many ways. So thanks for hanging out with me today in the Huntington Bank Studios. Oh, it's fun to be here. Thank you. Glad to be here with you First off, you have an incredible background that I think people need to know about. If there's anyone that [00:01:00] knows your industry, it is you. You've been doing this your entire life. I think you were born like... Doing telecom? Doing telecom. Born into telecom. Give us a little bit about yourself and your background, so I'm Pittsburgh native, but I started in the telecom industry in the early 1990s- ... with NCI Telecommunications that was acquired by Verizon, so I've been in the industry for longer than I like to claim. That's okay, man. I love it. But, I've been really blessed with the experience because in evolving in the telecom sector, I've had the opportunity to be on both sides of the desk. Okay. Yeah. I was in telecom, telecom sales and leadership, but then I was able to take a little bit of a hiatus from my telecom sales career- and move to the other side of the desk where I was a global head of IT for a publicly traded company here in Pittsburgh and even in consulting. So I've gotten the best of both worlds and perspective on- The technology that we leverage in thinking about it, we live in Pittsburgh, and in all the telecom companies that I've worked for, Pittsburgh's like a tier [00:02:00] three city. Wow. We aren't getting the financial- Tier three. Oh, man. Yeah, we're not getting... No one is coming here and saying, "Oh, we want to invest in Pittsburgh." Interesting. Okay. It's Charlotte, Chicago, Jacksonville, Nashville. They view Pittsburgh as a little bit of a passe city, so we're not getting those investments, and that was disheartening for me- Yeah ... as I live here, raising my children here, want to continue to see this city thrive- economically- and make sure that, there's a future for my family here. And when I thought about it, I thought the best way to ensure that is to use the expertise that I have, take advantage of this opportunity with DQE, who is fully invested in Pittsburgh- 100% ... with their fiber assets, and allow them to grow and ensure that, as a city, we continue to develop- and can attract the right industry. Having that infrastructure today is so critical for our city to continue to thrive, so that's what appealed to me. I was like- I like that ... "I want to go do that." I like the way you turned that around. Yeah. I think that's a very cool way of looking at it, [00:03:00] and the idea that literally fiber is the foundation of ou