It was a gorgeous September night, not atypical of San Diego, when more than 500 tech leaders came together in celebration of the region’s most forward-thinking people. Presented by Cox Business, the 18th Annual Top Tech Awards honored fourteen outstanding tech innovators who are ushering in a future that will change the way we do just about everything. And behind the awards and festivities of that night a powerful throughline emerged: Connectivity is the backbone of innovation.
Cox Business knows a lot about both things and is helping San Diego’s tech leaders transform their operations. At the Top Tech Awards, we spoke with three leaders who underscore the way our services support what’s happening—and what’s ahead—for community nonprofits, a major league ballpark, or a 24/7 hospitality company.
No more ‘little islands’: Freeing nonprofit IT to focus squarely on its mission
IT Director for SAY San Diego Ben Mortenson has been around long enough to know what it’s like to run a nonprofit on copper.
Before partnering with Cox Business, SAY’s network consisted of aging point-to-point copper connections. Bandwidth was slow, and the IT team was stretched thin maintaining Cisco routers across multiple offices. They also had separate phone systems at each site.
“They were little islands,” Mortenson said. “We had locations where if it rained, we’d lose phones and internet.”
Cox fiber changed everything. Having secured permits to trench across roads to bring fiber to previously unreachable locations, SAY now enjoys a managed phone system and seamless connection between all the nonprofit’s sites.
In addition, RapidScale modernized SAY’s IT infrastructure by moving operations to the cloud as well as taking over router management. “They literally take a load off of me,” Mortenson says. “Now I have more time to focus on other things—like exploring AI securely within HIPAA guardrails.”
It’s not just Mortenson’s IT life that’s been made easier, since he doesn’t expend energy troubleshooting. The transformation has made a difference for the SAY staff, which can enter case notes and update records on tablets when they’re out in the field. This boosts efficiency and cuts down on paper waste at the same time.
When a Ballpark becomes a small (and smart) city
When Ray Chan joined the San Diego Padres 15 seasons ago, Petco Park was running on a single 10MBPS Cox Internet line. That’s barely enough for a modern household, let alone a whole stadium. Much has changed since that time and today, Petco is a whole digital ecosystem that supports everything from ticketless entry (no more panic over lost tickets!) and mobile payments to grab-and-go self serve items and augmented-reality fan experiences.
“Our job is to build the vision and roadmap for every business unit—and ultimately to see how technology can help us win on the field,” said Chan, the club’s Vice President of Technology.
Chan’s team has a big job: It manages cybersecurity and AI connectivity across the ballpark, the team’s spring training facility in Arizona, and the Padres’ academy in the Dominican Republic.
Cox Business is the backbone that powers 81 regular season games, postseason play, and more than 200 non-baseball-related events including concerts and Comic-Con events. These are some complex connectivity needs, and having upgraded to fiber and scaled bandwidth, the Padres are proud to deliver a seamless fan experience. Current visitors to the stadium enjoy 2 GPS connectivity, but Chan has plans to scale to 10 Gps.
“Petco Park is basically a little city,” Chan said. “Every innovation we bring to fans relies on a solid backbone. Having Cox as a partner helps us scale up when needed, whether it’s for 4K broadcast uploads or facial recognition at the gates.”
Digital hospitality elevates with 10 GPS fiber
At Jamul Casino Resort, technology is as essential to the guest experience as fine dining or gaming tables. Tara Sparks, IT operations manager, redefined both front- and back-of-house operations when she led a 10Gps fiber transformation in partnership with Cox Business.
“Connectivity is no longer a back-end concern,” Sparks said. “it’s the backbone of the guest experience and operational success.”
The new network supports mobile-frist experiences for guests and advanced digital systems not just for gaming but also for hospitality, security, and back-office functions.
Behind the scenes, the upgrade enables future-focused initiatives like Internet of Things (IoT) integration, cloud-based operations, and AI-powered guest personalization. Sparks considers this kind of infrastructure as a strategic asset: “Invest in scalable, high-speed networks to future-proof your operations, [and] partner with providers who understand your industry. For us, that’s Cox Business.”
A shared foundation for innovation
Across sectors, Mortenson, Chan, and Sparks—and other tech leaders like them—are solving different problems. But they share a common thread (made of fiber…!) that is high-capacity, reliable, secure connectivity. This foundation enables them to build and innovate for their teams, their customers, and their communities.
What Jodi Duva, California vice president of Cox Business, said of the recipients of the Top Tech Awards, holds true in the broader sense. These innovators “exemplify the entrepreneurial spirit and creative problem-solving that make our region a true hub for technological advancement.”
Whether for a nonprofit modernizing casework, stadiums hosting sporting and other events, or casinos breaking barriers in digital hospitality, Cox Business is more than a service provider. It’s a partner in shaping San Diego’s connected future.
Her passion for communications, creativity, and community guides her professional and personal life activities. She has a versatile background including work in public relations, marketing, corporate communications, social media management, special events planning, fundraising, and online advertising. She currently is a Public Relations Manager for Cox Communications providing strategic public relations for Cox's California markets including counsel for Cox Business, the commercial division of Cox Communications.
- How Cox Business is Powering Innovation City-wide in San Diego - October 17, 2025
