Getting to Know: Jason Basham

As Sales Engineering Supervisor, Jason Basham oversees and supports a team that serves as a customer-facing liaison between our Sales Team, IP Services, and Operations. His team is a common touchpoint for our customers that allows us to offer world-class customer service.

Before working at DQE what was the most unusual or interesting job you’ve ever had?

I spent quite a few years managing the Quick Service Restaurant Industry teams. This time was pivotal in my growth to develop a desire to do better and elevate the customer’s overall experience with our company.

Tell us something about yourself that would surprise us.

I was born in Rapid City, South Dakota, and spent the first eight years of my life in three different countries. My dad was in the USAF, and this experience likely helped shape my love of other cultures through their culinary treasures.

What advice do you have for prospective DQE candidates?

We are looking for motivated individuals with a desire to make a difference. This is a very fluid industry with a turbulent history of change and evolution. Applicants must be adaptable and comfortable with an ever-changing landscape.

What are three career lessons you’ve learned thus far?

Like what you do, don’t work for money, and look after yourself.

What are you most excited about accomplishing in your role?

I take a lot of pride in enabling my direct reports to work independently and take advantage of their unique points of view when it comes to problem-solving and solution development.

What are your hopes for our industry?

COVID-19 has presented a massive disruption to the telecommunications industry in the enterprise space. Enterprise organizations have been forced to adopt more of a Cloud-Based presence with a distributed workforce, and I don’t see that changing soon. As an enterprise communications provider, we are flexible with product and deployment models to address these changes and migration to where our end users are interacting with their resources.

What do you like to do in your spare time?

I’m heavily involved with my kids in Scouts BSA, and my oldest son recently achieved the Eagle Scout rank. I love spending time outdoors and teaching young people some of the arts of bushcraft and survival.

What does true leadership mean to you?

True leadership is a function of active listening, action, communication, and empowerment. Enabling my direct reports to perform their tasks allows them the freedom to express their unique individuality while at the same time working as a team toward common goals.

What drew you to DQE originally?

DQE Communications always impressed me while at PAETEC/Windstream. DQE was a no-brainer choice when we had options of Last Mile Providers.

What has been your favorite project so far at DQE?

I enjoy all of the complex projects, especially when we can integrate both Metro-E services and our DWDM platform. The ability to be creative to meet customer needs is one of my favorite aspects of working with the DQE Family. If I had to single out one particular project, it would have to be eiNetworks which functionally brought 100Gb Metro-E Rings to the DQE Network, which is a huge step forward!