The connectivity industry—spanning telecom giants, cable companies, and broadband providers—stands as the backbone of modern life. Yet, for all its significance, it’s an industry stuck in its ways. Fragmented systems, inefficient processes, and limited scalability have rendered this essential sector unwieldy. Connectbase is leading the charge to redefine the landscape with precision tools, innovative solutions, and a vision for a globally connected ecosystem.
“We started Connectbase to digitize and transform how the industry buys and sells connectivity,”
says Ben Edmond, founder and CEO. A veteran of telecom’s trenches since the 1990s, Edmond saw firsthand how the industry struggled. Networks ran on manual systems, reliant on guesswork, while other sectors—such as cloud computing and software—raced ahead with sleek digital models. These inefficiencies created costly gaps that ripple across businesses and homes alike.
Building a Digital Backbone
Connectbase approaches these challenges with precision and ambition. At the core of its platform, The Connected World, is a robust system managing 1.9 trillion rows of “location truth data.” This fine-grained map of network capabilities is accurate enough to act on in real time. “It has to be 911-accurate,” Edmond stresses, underscoring the platform’s enterprise-grade reliability and focus on actionable data, rather than consumer-grade approximations.
The results speak for themselves. Connectbase reduces quoting times by over 95% and enables 4.2 million digital transactions monthly for its partners. By automating workflows and providing granular insights, the platform has transformed how the industry operates. Buyers secure deals faster and more profitably by creating a connected ecosystem that ensures maximum deal participation, reduces friction to being found, and increases deal matching rates by over 30%.
Empowering Buyers and Suppliers Alike
For buyers, Connectbase provides unmatched speed and precision. Take, for example, a managed service provider in New York needing connections for a retail chain with 100 locations. Instead of navigating weeks of back-and-forth negotiations, they can leverage Connectbase to instantly locate 17 providers that meet the exact requirements—optimal price, speed, and service level agreements. This seamless process enables buyers to move faster, win deals, and control their margins effectively.
Suppliers, meanwhile, gain unprecedented efficiency and market reach. With a platform spanning six continents, Connectbase enables suppliers to tap into lucrative opportunities, including traditionally hard-to-serve markets such as Africa and Latin America. The automation of real-time data reduces friction, ensuring suppliers are quickly found, seamlessly matched to opportunities, and empowered to scale their businesses even in complex or emerging environments.
Borrowing From Travel’s Playbook
Edmond compares Connectbase’s transformation of the connectivity industry to the digital revolution in air travel. “We’ve had to digitize and understand the connectivity industry—who has what, where—to then price and present that price in a transaction,” he says. Similar to Sabre revolutionizing the airline industry and paving the way for platforms like Expedia, Connectbase is building the infrastructure for a seamless digital market in connectivity.
For buyers and sellers, this translates into less friction, faster transactions, and better outcomes. By turning a traditionally fragmented industry into a streamlined digital ecosystem, Connectbase is enabling the kind of efficiency and transparency that modern business demands.
Scaling Through Strategic Acquisitions
To amplify its reach, Connectbase has pursued targeted acquisitions. LastMileXchange brought the company deeper into Europe, not only offering tools but also fostering trust and credibility in new markets. “It brought a team, it brought understanding, it brought confidence,” Edmond notes. Similarly, MasterStream ERP opened doors in the U.S. partner channel market, connecting Connectbase to critical channel partners that serve as vital trusted advisors in the industry. Additionally, NCS was recently acquired to bring real-time inventory capabilities to digital transactions, as well as a deepening of data centers as part of the connected ecosystem. These moves are part of a broader strategy to deliver a unified, global solution for connectivity.
Global Vision, Local Impact
Connectbase’s vision is fundamentally global, but its impact is equally felt on the local level. By enabling providers to serve diverse regions—including urban hubs, rural towns, and emerging markets—Connectbase is shaping a new era of connectivity. The platform’s capabilities support critical infrastructure, from smart cities to underserved regions, ensuring access to solutions for industries and geographies often overlooked.
A Future Defined by Connectivity
Looking ahead, Edmond expects the industry to shift more in the next five years than it has in the past 30. COVID-19 highlighted connectivity’s central role, and now, the rise of AI and cloud systems is accelerating that evolution. As connectivity becomes increasingly vital to how we live, work, play, and learn, Connectbase is well-positioned to lead this transformation.
“We’re creating an industry built for the future—one that’s faster, smarter, and more connected than ever,” Edmond says.
With Connectbase at the forefront, the connectivity industry is no longer burdened by inefficiencies. It’s evolving into a dynamic, globally interconnected ecosystem, ready to meet the demands of a digital world and deliver.
