Fiber Broadband Association Awards James Salter for Leadership in Advancing FTTH

Salter recognized with annual Dr. Charles Kao Award during Gimme Fiber Day Celebrations 

WASHINGTON, D.C.—(November 6, 2023)—The Fiber Broadband Association today announced that it presented the 2023 Dr. Charles Kao Award to James Salter, founder and CEO of Atlantic Engineering Group. The annual award recognizes individuals, organizations, and companies that leverage innovation to connect communities with fiber broadband. Salter was awarded for his leadership as an early champion of fiber broadband since the early 2000s and for his continued fiber advocacy ever since. 

The Dr. Charles Kao Award is presented each year in association with Gimme Fiber Day—an international day on November 4th to celebrate the birthday of the inventor of fiber optics. Created in 2013 by the FTTH Council Global Alliance (FCGA), Gimme Fiber Day brings recognition to the social and economic benefits of fiber broadband. 

Salter spent 15 years in the electric utility industry before becoming the founder and CEO of Atlantic Engineering Group (AEG), a fiber engineering and construction company. Before being acquired in 2022 by Young’s Communications, LLC (Y-COM), AEG helped support over 130 fiber projects, including the first city-wide FTTH network in the U.S. in 2000, and more than 60 other city-wide FTTH projects, representing 2,800,000 homes passed. 

Furthering his dedication to the industry, Salter served on the Fiber Broadband Association’s first Board of Directors (at a time when the Association’s name was the “FTTH Council Americas”) and was Board Chair in 2002. Today, Salter serves as Board Chair of On Trac, Inc., a broadband fulfillment service company. 

“I’m truly humbled to receive this honor,” Salter said. “Over the last 20-plus years, it’s been amazing to watch fiber go from a doubted technology and difficult sell to the accepted gold standard for broadband. Ironically, I recently retired to a very rural section of Georgia, and my home just got a fiber installation on Gimme Fiber Day, November 4, this year – unbelievable! The Fiber Broadband Association should be congratulated for playing such a huge role in getting us to where we are today.” 

“James’ contributions to the fiber industry have made a lasting impact on the fiber broadband industry. He is one of the great fiber leaders who created the path we’re on today, guiding us closer than ever to connecting every community to reliable, high-quality broadband,” said Gary Bolton, President and CEO of the Fiber Broadband Association. “While the fiber industry has experienced another year of exceptional growth, we continue to look to James and other fiber veterans to help us squash remaining digital inequities with the power of fiber.” 

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About the Fiber Broadband Association 

The Fiber Broadband Association is the largest and only trade association that represents the complete fiber ecosystem of service providers, manufacturers, industry experts, and deployment specialists dedicated to the advancement of fiber broadband deployment and the pursuit of a world where 

communications are limitless, advancing quality of life and digital equity anywhere and everywhere. The Fiber Broadband Association helps providers, communities, and policymakers make informed decisions about how, where, and why to build better fiber broadband networks. Since 2001, these companies, organizations, and members have worked with communities and consumers in mind to build the critical infrastructure that provides the economic and societal benefits that only fiber can deliver. The Fiber Broadband Association is part of the Fibre Council Global Alliance, which is a platform of six global FTTH Councils in North America, LATAM, Europe, MEA, APAC, and South Africa. Learn more at fiberbroadband.org. 

Press Contact: 

Ashley Schulte 

Connect2 Communications for the Fiber Broadband Association 

FBA@connect2comm.com 

Shelly Jansen Named Chief Operations Officer of On Trac, Inc.

Knoxville, TN / October 2, 2023

On Trac, Inc. is excited to announce the promotion of Shelly Jansen to the role of Chief Operations Officer.  Jansen will oversee daily operations company-wide with an emphasis on client partner relationships, project management productivity and performance, and will play a key role in driving operational and organizational strategy and growth.

Shelly has spent over two decades in the telecommunications industry and has built a legacy of exceptional team building and the implementation of technical skills in multiple locations nationwide.  Jansen’s career began with Atlantic Engineering Group in 2005 where she served as a traveling field administration manager.  Shelly’s dedication to her craft was apparent from her first day on the job.  She quickly rose to the position of project manager in Erwin, Tennessee. This role involved direct client-partner fulfillment duties, as well as management of all Aerial and Fiber crews.  In 2010, Jansen accepted the role of “Safety and Fleet Management” for AEG nationwide.  She oversaw a fleet of over 100 vehicles and enforced OSHA 30 requirements and regulations.

Over the next decade, Shelly would fulfill multiple roles for AEG across the country and would become a “Program Manager” in 2021.  This decade of hands-on experience would prove invaluable for Jansen, as she built an impressive resume of technical fiber skills including tracking software integration, underground drilling, boring and micro trenching, aerial ADSS, strand and lashing, OTDR tracing, expo equipment integration, OSHA licensure, and the cross training of dozens of staff members on premise and aerial work.  Shelly was hired by On Trac, Inc. in 2023 as a Director of Operations.  Her work ethic, technical prowess, and “team first” mindset has been a key asset to the company as it continues to broaden and expand.

About On Trac, Incorporated

Founded in 2002, On Trac is a proven leader in connectivity with a core focus on broadband fulfillment services such as drops, splicing, installations, and maintenance.  On Trac’s service history for the past 20 years includes serving more than 30 specific fiber broadband deployments with variances of customer specifications on all phases and types of work.  To date, On Trac has serviced more than 1 million fiber broadband addresses nationwide with an ever-expanding footprint.  On Trac understands the importance of quality, urgency, image, customer experience, and safety while fitting into the culture of its client partners.  On Trac is committed to the fiber broadband industry and serving its client partners with their best interests at heart.  To learn more, visit www.OnTracInc.com

Fiber Connect Keynote Address

Joseph Jones “JJ”, President of On Trac, Inc. gave a keynote address to the attendees of Fiber Connect ’23, the world’s largest fiber broadband conference.  JJ’s keynote was both challenging and inspirational with a focus on connecting communities across the country and ending the digital divide.  The theme was about heroes and how all people in the fiber broadband industry are heroes.  JJ said, “We have the greatest opportunity before us. For such a time as this, we have been placed in the greatest industry at the greatest time in our history.  One day, one day, the history books will call all of you heroes.”