Community Broadband Bits

It’s been a while since we last visited with Reedsburg Utilities Commission General Manager Brett Schuppner. He’s back on the show again to help us spread the word about this Wisconsin town’s decision to switch all their muni network subscribers to affordable gigabit connectivity and to eliminate all other tiers. Brett and Christopher get into … Continue reading "Revisiting Reedsburg: LightSpeed’s All-Gig Telecommuter Paradise – Community Broadband Bits Podcast 327" ★ Support this podcast ★

We don’t often get the opportunity to interview people from Texas, so when we heard about Mont Belvieu’s gigabit fiber optic network we knew we had to have them on the show. When we learned that four officials from the east Texas town would join us we said, “Even better!” City Manager Nathan Watkins, Director of Broadband … Continue reading "Small Town Does Fiber Bigger In Texas – Community Broadband Bits Podcast 326" ★ Support this podcast ★

When Fairpoint wouldn’t give folks in Crestone, Colorado, what they needed after repeated requests, they decided to take care of it themselves. By 2012, Ralph Abrams and his band of Internet pioneers had created Colorado Central Telecom, providing affordable, dependable fixed wireless service to premises throughout the region at much faster speeds than Fairpoint could ever … Continue reading "Colorado Community WISP Picks Up Slack When Incumbent Fails to Deliver – Community Broadband Bits Podcast 325" ★ Support this podcast ★

Great Lakes Energy (GLE) in Michigan decided in late 2017 to approve a plan to incrementally deploy Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) to cooperative members, beginning with a pilot project in Petoskey. This week, Vice President of Communications, Marketing and Energy Optimization from GLE joins Christopher to talk about what could possibly become the largest FTTH project in the … Continue reading "Great Lakes Energy’s Big Plan for Big Fiber – Community Broadband Bits Podcast 324" ★ Support this podcast ★

This week on the podcast, we get insight into a community network that puts extra emphasis on the word “community.” Diana Nucera, Director of the Detroit Community Technology Project (DCTP) talks with Christopher about how the people in her city and their diversity are the driving forces behind the connectivity they have created. Diana and Christopher review … Continue reading "Building Digital Equity in Detroit – Community Broadband Bits Podcast 323" ★ Support this podcast ★

Caller ID spoofing, robocalls, and general spam phone calls are one of the hassles of 21st century life. This week on Community Broadband Bits, Christopher and Richard Shockey of Shockey Consulting talk about how the problem has progressed and what leaders in telecommunications are doing about it. As we transition from our old telephone system … Continue reading "Stop the Spoof, Resist the Robocall – Community Broadband Bits Podcast 322" ★ Support this podcast ★

A year ago, we last had Jonathan Chambers of Conexon on the podcast to discuss the pros and cons of the Connect America Fund. Since then, the FCC has held an auction to expand connectivity in rural areas as part of the Connect America Fund Phase II (Auction 903) and recently released news of the winning … Continue reading "Analyzing the Auction With Jonathan Chambers – Community Broadband Bits Podcast 321" ★ Support this podcast ★

Plenty of local communities are interested in the possibilities of creating publicly owned Internet infrastructure but pause when it comes to funding. This week on the podcast, Christopher interviews Jase Wilson, CEO, and Lindsey Brannon, Head of Public Finance, from Neighborly. The firm is working with local communities and using an innovative approach to financing publicly owned … Continue reading "Neighbors Investing Through Neighborly – Community Broadband Bits Podcast 320" ★ Support this podcast ★

Communities who want the best for their citizens typically recognize the importance of digital equity and often take steps to develop digital inclusion programs. Last year on the podcast, we invited folks from the ISP Monkeybrains to explain how they were working with the city of San Francisco to develop a way to provide high-speed … Continue reading "A Monkeybrainey Plan to Improve Connectivity in San Francisco Public Housing – Community Broadband Bits Podcast 319" ★ Support this podcast ★

In the most recent report from the Blandin Foundation, Researcher Bill Coleman from Community Technology Advisors and his crew put boots to the ground to examine the results of Connect America Fund (CAF II) investments. Bill recently visited our office in Minneapolis to discuss the report with Christopher for episode 318 of the podcast. You … Continue reading "Are CAF II Investments Helping Rural Minnesota? Blandin Report Looks at the Data – Community Broadband Bits Podcast 318" ★ Support this podcast ★

They say the “finger of fate” is fickle, but this week it was our recording equipment that turned on us. Unfortunately, time constraints and prior commitments didn’t allow Christopher the opportunity to make a useable recording of his interview with Bill Coleman from Community Technology Advisors Bill was going to be our guest for episode … Continue reading "Sometimes Things Don’t Go As Planned – Pardon Our Podcast Delay" ★ Support this podcast ★

If you haven’t already taken a look at our most recent report, now is your chance to get some insight before you download it and dive in. Profiles of Monopoly: Big Cable and Telecom, written by our Hannah Trostle, recently left ILSR to attend grad school, and Christopher Mitchell, transforms FCC Form 477 data into … Continue reading "Mapping Monopolies and Making Recommendations – Community Broadband Bits Podcast 317" ★ Support this podcast ★

When we spoke with Justin Holzgrove, Mason PUD 3 Telecommunications & Community Relations Manager, back in October 2017, we discussed how the public utility district in Washington was about to embark on expanding its services. This week, Justin is back and he’s joined by Isak Finer, who works as Chief Marketing Officer for COS Systems. … Continue reading "Mason County PUD 3 Uses Innovation for Strategic Deployment – Community Broadband Bits Podcast 316" ★ Support this podcast ★

When you hear founder and CEO Matt Larson talk about his company Vistabeam Internet, you’ll understand he and his team received the 2018 Provider of the Year Award at Mountain Connect. At the conference in June, Matt sat down with Christopher to discuss what it’s like to be in his shoes — starting up and operating a … Continue reading "Vistabeam Internet: Driven to Connect Rural Communities – Community Broadband Bits Podcast 315" ★ Support this podcast ★

An increasing number of local communities in Colorado are finding ways to improve rural connectivity. The Delta Montrose Electric Association (DMEA), a cooperative bringing electricity to approximately 28,000 members in southwest Colorado, is in the midst of Elevate, their Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) network that will connect all co-op members. We’ve brought co-op Board Members John Gavan and … Continue reading "DMEA Co-op Serving Up Broadband and Innovation in Colorado – Community Broadband Bits Podcast 314" ★ Support this podcast ★

We’ve been following the community of Lafayette, Louisiana, and their LUS Fiber community network from the early days. Director of Utilities Terry Huval was one of the people responsible for bringing high-quality Internet access to the community back in 2009. Terry is about to retire so we wanted to have one more conversation with him … Continue reading "Catching Up With Terry Huval from Lafayette – Community Broadband Bits Podcast 313" ★ Support this podcast ★

The State of Colorado has made some changes in the past few years that are improving broadband deployment, especially in rural areas. In this episode of the podcast, Christopher talks about some of those changes with Tony Neal-Graves, Executive Director of the Colorado Broadband Office. While Christopher was in Vail at the Mountain Connect event, … Continue reading "At the State Level With Tony Neal-Graves in Colorado – Community Broadband Bits Podcast 312" ★ Support this podcast ★

Late last year, Larimer County, Colorado, commissioned a broadband feasibility study to examine the possible solutions toward better connectivity across its more than 2,600 square miles. This week, three guests from Larimer County are here to discuss the community’s plan as it’s taking shape, Broadband Program Manager Drew Davis, Director of Economic and Workforce Development Jacob Castillo, … Continue reading "Larimer County, Colorado, Interpreting Early Feasibility Results – Community Broadband Bits Podcast 311" ★ Support this podcast ★

Cortez, Colorado, has been serving public facilities, community anchor institutions (CAIs), and businesses officially since 2011. In 2015, they expanded to bring fiber connectivity to more businesses; today, seven providers offer services on their open access infrastructure. Now, Cortez is ready to take the next step by offering retail services to residents as an ISP; … Continue reading "Cortez Discovering Future Possibilities With Muni Fiber – Community Broadband Bits Podcast 310" ★ Support this podcast ★

The Maine towns of Baileyville and Calais are known for their beautiful scenery and their clean rural lifestyle; soon the region will also be known for its broadband. The two communities have joined togetherto form the Downeast Broadband Utility (DBU) in order to develop a regional fiber optic network for businesses and residents. Julie Jordan, Director of DBU … Continue reading "Making A Broadband Utility in Maine – Community Broadband Bits Podcast 309" ★ Support this podcast ★