Community Broadband Bits

Today, Lisa and I are joined by Eric Lampland for a discussion of how a community could justify building a community owned network from the indirect benefits that it would create, including the savings that each household realizes from competition driving down prices. Eric Lampland is the CEO and principal consultant of Lookout Point Communications, … Continue reading "Justifying a Network with Indirect Cost Savings – Community Broadband Bits Episode 80" ★ Support this podcast ★

This week, Don Means joins us to talk about public libraries, their role in the modern era, and an interesting pilot project involving several libraries and white spaces wireless technology. Don is the coordinator of the Gigabit Libraries Network and has a passion for both libraries and expanding Internet access to all. We offer some … Continue reading "Don Means on Libraries and White Spaces – Community Broadband Bits Episode 79" ★ Support this podcast ★

For those looking for our weekly podcast over the holiday break, we decided to recut one of our early interviews with Bob Frankston, a favorite of Lisa's, and put it back in the feed. We ran the original interview for episode 14 of our Community Broadband [no-glossary]Bits[/no-glossary] podcast and again now for episode 78. Frankston … Continue reading "Bob Frankston Encore Interview – Community Broadband Bits Episode #78" ★ Support this podcast ★

When a major employer in Auburn, a town of 13,000 in northeast Indiana, told the local government that it would have to move jobs to a different location unless it had improved Internet access, the local government first encouraged it to work with the telephone company. But when that telephone company, headquartered far from Auburn, … Continue reading "In Indiana, Auburn Built Fiber Network Incrementally – Community Broadband Bits Episode 77" ★ Support this podcast ★

When it comes to building a community owned wireless network, few have more experience than Matthew Rantanen, our guest for the Community Broadband [no-glossary]Bits[/no-glossary] podcast this week. Rantanen has an impressive list of titles, two of which are Director of Technology for the Southern California Tribal Chairmen's Association (SCTCA) and Director of the Tribal Digital … Continue reading "Solar Powered Wireless on the Reservation – Community Broadband Bits Episode #76" ★ Support this podcast ★

Cedar Falls Utilities operates one of the oldest community owned networks in the nation. It started as a cable network in the 90's, upgraded to FTTH recently, and this year began offering the first citywide gigabit service in Iowa. CFU Communication Sales Manager Kent Halder and Network Services Manager Rob Houlihan join me for Community … Continue reading "Cedar Falls Shows Long Term Muni Network Success: Community Broadband Bits Episode #75" ★ Support this podcast ★

Last month, we unveiled a video teaser of our interviews in Glasgow, Kentucky over the summer regarding its municipal broadband network. This week our podcast features a few clips from those interviews with Billy Ray, the Superintendent of Glasgow's Electric Plant Board. He offers more context on the history of their network, including how they … Continue reading "Billy Ray on the Origins of the First Muni Broadband Network: Community Broadband Bits Episode #74" ★ Support this podcast ★

We welcome Todd O'Boyle of the good government group Common Cause to our Community Broadband [no-glossary]Bits[/no-glossary] podcast this week. He is the Director of the Media and Democracy program there, which recently released an explanation of network neutrality in comic form, which we discuss in our discussion. We also talk about the impression of municipal … Continue reading "Common Cause, Network Neutrality, and the FCC Come Together in Episode 73 of Community Broadband Bits Podcast" ★ Support this podcast ★

We are back with the fourth volume of our responding to “Crazy Talk” theme on the Community Broadband [no-glossary]Bits[/no-glossary] podcast. The source of this week's crazy talk is a public relations executive for Time Warner Cable, following an interview I did on WUNC in North Carolina. Lisa Gonzalez, myself, and our colleague John Farrell react … Continue reading "Responding to “Crazy Talk” Volume 4 – Community Broadband Bits Episode #72" ★ Support this podcast ★

This week's podcast features an interview with Education SuperHighway CEO Evan Marwell to discuss how we can make sure all schools have the Internet access they need to succeed. Education SuperHighway has a plan for connecting all schools with a fiber connection while also decreasing the need for long term federal funding of school connectivity. … Continue reading "Education SuperHighway Wants Better Broadband for Schools – Community Broadband Bits Episode #71" ★ Support this podcast ★

Greenlight, a muni FTTH network in eastern North Carolina's city of Wilson, is proving to be a powerful tool in attracting new residents and businesses. We spoke with General Manager Will Aycock about the network and how it has benefited the community. Our interview covers a number of subjects, including how the network is attracting … Continue reading "Wilson's Greenlight Leads North Carolina in Connectivity: Community Broadband Bits Episode #70" ★ Support this podcast ★

Earlier this year, Mark Creekmore transitioned from a frustrated DSL customer to a champion for better Internet access in Georgia. A concerned citizen and tech consultant, Mark joins us for the latest Community Broadband [no-glossary]Bits[/no-glossary] podcast. He discusses his history with Windstream and the steps he went through to improve his Internet access. Along with … Continue reading "Mark Creekmore Takes on Windstream – Community Broadband Bits Podcast #69" ★ Support this podcast ★

As Longmont prepares to vote on November 5, we are paying special attention to question 2B, which will authorize the city utility to issue revenue bonds to finance the FTTH network already being built. The successful referendum from 2011 gave the City authority to build the network and this referendum, if successful, will finance a … Continue reading "Longmont Prepares to Vote on Fiber Bonds – Community Broadband Bits Episode #68" ★ Support this podcast ★

We are excited to continue our history series with Jim Baller of the Baller Herbst Law Firm. This is Jim's third time on the program, having joined us for Episode 57 and Episode 63. We continue our discussion with a recap of the events of 2004, including Jim's work with Lafayette to find a compromise … Continue reading "Jim Baller Returns for Vol 3 of Muni Network History – Community Broadband Bits Episode #67" ★ Support this podcast ★

With a population of over 9,000 just across Puget Sound from Seattle, Poulsbo is a town with a lot of commuters and a vision for improved access to the Internet to allow more to reduce the physical need to travel. City Councilmember Ed Stern joins us for the 66th episode of Community Broadband [no-glossary]Bits[/no-glossary] to … Continue reading "Poulsbo Wireless Mesh Pilot Extends Internet in Washington – Community Broadband Bits Podcast #66" ★ Support this podcast ★

Holyoke Gas & Electric has been connecting community anchor institutions and local businesses in Western Massachusetts with fiber networks for years. Rather than using exception access to the Internet as a competitive advantage over more poorly connected neighbors, the Municipal Light Plant (in the parlance of Massachusetts law) is helping nearby towns to establish their … Continue reading "In Western Mass, Holyoke Gas and Electric Brings Broadband – Community Broadband Bits Episode #65" ★ Support this podcast ★

The small town of Windom in southwest Minnesota has long been one of the smallest FTTH networks in the nation. I have long wanted to bring WindomNet General Manager Dan Olsen on our show because it has some of the best anecdotes in the world of community owned networks. We finally got him! To understand … Continue reading "WindomNet Creates Jobs, Benefits for SW Minnesota – Community Broadband Bits Episode #64" ★ Support this podcast ★

Jim Baller is back again for the second show in our series on the history of municipal broadband networks. He is the President of the Baller Herbst Law Group in Washington, DC, and a long time advocate for both community owned networks specifically and better access to the Internet for all more generally. We kicked … Continue reading "Jim Baller on the History of Municipal Networks, Part II on Community Broadband Bits Podcast" ★ Support this podcast ★

Lisa Gonzalez and I are back with another back and forth reaction to some of the crazy claims made by opponents of community owned Internet networks. This is something we started with Episode 50 and continued in Episode 55. For volume 3 of our Crazy Talk series, we address some recent claims made in opinion … Continue reading "Countering Crazy Talk, Volume 3, for Episode #62 of Community Broadband Bits Podcast" ★ Support this podcast ★

The Prometheus Radio Project is an impressive grassroots organization that has successfully opened the radio airwaves to communities after big corporations had effectively locked up unused radio channel for years. Prometheus Policy Director Sanjay Jolly joins us for Episode #61 of our Community Broadband [no-glossary]Bits[/no-glossary] podcast. Our conversation ranges from the recent history of pirate … Continue reading "Prometheus Joins Us to Discuss Community Radio and Internet – Community Broadband Bits Episode 61" ★ Support this podcast ★