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 ★...
Jan 08, 2014•25 min•Ep. 80
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 ★...
Dec 31, 2013•24 min•Ep. 79
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 ★...
Dec 24, 2013•15 min•Ep. 78
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 ★...
Dec 17, 2013•22 min•Ep. 77
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 ...
Dec 10, 2013•19 min•Ep. 76
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 ★...
Dec 03, 2013•20 min•Ep. 75
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 ★...
Nov 26, 2013•10 min•Ep. 74
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" ★ Sup...
Nov 19, 2013•19 min•Ep. 73
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 ★...
Nov 12, 2013•24 min•Ep. 72
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 ★...
Nov 05, 2013•18 min•Ep. 71
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 ★...
Oct 29, 2013•17 min•Ep. 70
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 ★...
Oct 22, 2013•24 min•Ep. 69
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 ★...
Oct 15, 2013•20 min•Ep. 68
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 ★...
Oct 08, 2013•23 min•Ep. 67
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 ★...
Oct 01, 2013•20 min•Ep. 66
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" ★ S...
Sep 24, 2013•17 min•Ep. 65
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 ★...
Sep 17, 2013•27 min•Ep. 64
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 ★...
Sep 10, 2013•18 min•Ep. 63
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 ★...
Sep 03, 2013•20 min•Ep. 62
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 Bro...
Aug 27, 2013•22 min•Ep. 61
The Spanish Fork Community Fiber Network (SFCN) is an incredibly successful HFC cable network in Utah. It delivers television, telephone, and Internet access at incredibly low rates to most of the community despite competition from Comcast. Located south of Provo, Spanish Fork has a population of 35,000. Director of Information Systems and SFCN Director John … Continue reading "Spanish Fork Discusses Stunning Success – Community Broadband Bits Podcast #60" ★ Support this podcast ★...
Aug 20, 2013•28 min•Ep. 60
Chattanooga's EPB Fiber is the highest profile community network in the U.S. It was the first network in the nation to offer a symmetrical gigabit tier to every last address in the community. On today's Community Broadband [no-glossary]Bits[/no-glossary] podcast, Danna Bailey joins us to discuss the network. Danna Bailey is EPB's Vice President of Corporate … Continue reading "Chattanooga's EPB Fiber on Community Broadband Bits Podcast Episode #59" ★ Support this podcast ★...
Aug 13, 2013•25 min•Ep. 59
In Florida, Lakeland is one of several communities that has built a dark fiber network in a low-risk bid to expand connectivity for anchor institutions and to spur economic development. City of Lakeland Fiber Optics Supervisor Paul Meyer joins us for episode #58 of the Community Broadband [no-glossary]Bits[/no-glossary] podcast. Meyer explains why Lakeland began offering … Continue reading "Lakeland Dark Fiber In Depth – Community Broadband Bits Podcast #58" ★ Support this podcast ★...
Aug 06, 2013•23 min•Ep. 58
Jim Baller has been helping local governments to build community owned networks for as long as they have been building them. He is the President of and Senior Principal of the Baller Herbst Law Group in Washington, DC. Jim joins us for Episode #57 of the Community Broadband [no-glossary]Bits[/no-glossary] podcast to discuss some of the … Continue reading "Jim Baller Discusses Municipal Broadband History – Community Broadband Bits Episode #57" ★ Support this podcast ★...
Jul 30, 2013•31 min•Ep. 57
Last week, we discussed how Shafter's plans in California for a community fiber network changed with the Great Recession. Today we have an interview with Shafter Assistant City Manager Scott Hurlbert with an expanded discussion of how the community adjusted and what its next steps will be. Shafter transitioned from leased T1 lines to a … Continue reading "Shafter Fiber Network, Then, Now, and Next – Community Broadband Bits Episode #56" ★ Support this podcast ★...
Jul 23, 2013•26 min•Ep. 56
Following up on our first “Responding to Crazy Talk” episode last month, we decided to publish a second edition this week. Again, Lisa Gonzalez and I respond to real arguments made by those who oppose community owned Internet networks. Today, we used three arguments from a debate in 2011 that included myself, Jim Baller, Jeff … Continue reading "Responding to More “Crazy Talk” – Community Broadband Bits Podcast #55" ★ Support this podcast ★...
Jul 16, 2013•21 min•Ep. 55
For our 54th episode of the Community Broadband [no-glossary]Bits[/no-glossary] podcast, we are back in Tennessee to interview Brian Skelton, General Manager of the Tullahoma Utilities Board. They built the network in 2008 and have weathered the tough economy, meeting the business plan while greatly benefiting the community. This is a particularly content-rich interview, covering the … Continue reading "Tennessee Town Tullahoma Tells us Why They Built a Network – Community Broadband Bits Episode...
Jul 09, 2013•31 min•Ep. 54
Waverly, a town of 10,000 in Iowa, decided to create a city owned telecommunications utility with a successful referendum vote in 2000 but has only recently decided to move forward with a major investment to offer services. Mike Litterer, Interim General Manager of Waverly Light and Power, joins us to discuss the project. Following the … Continue reading "Waverly Waits 13 Years to Build Fiber Network – Community Broadband Bits Episode #53" ★ Support this podcast ★...
Jul 02, 2013•16 min•Ep. 53
We welcome Harold Feld, Senior Vice President of Public Knowledge back to the show to discuss the latest update in the so-called IP Transition. Back in episode 32, Harold explained the five fundamental protections needed for our telecommunications system. Today he returns to discuss the ways in which some of the islands devastated by Sandy … Continue reading "IP Transition Catches Fire Island – Community Broadband Bits Podcast Episode #52" ★ Support this podcast ★...
Jun 25, 2013•16 min•Ep. 52
Clarksville is the fifth largest city in the state but was among the first networks in nation to offer symmetrical fast connections with a 10 Mbps basic offering when it launched. Christy Batts, Broadband Division Manager of Clarksville Department of Electricity, joins us to share some of the lessons learned and successes from Clarksville, which … Continue reading "Catching Up on Clarksville – Community Broadband Bits Episode #51" ★ Support this podcast ★...
Jun 18, 2013•25 min•Ep. 51
