Tag: "audio"

Pemiscot-Dunklin Electric Cooperative Steps Up, Offers FTTH in Missouri's Bootheel - Community Broadband Bits Podcast 344

Posted February 19, 2019 by lgonzalez

Missouri is one of the states where electric cooperatives are taking the lead in bringing high-quality Internet access to rural areas. This week, we talk with Jack Davis, Vice President of IT and Special Projects at Pemiscot-Dunklin Electric Cooperative. The co-op is in the midst of deploying Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) to members in their service area, located in Missouri’s “Bootheel” region.

The mostly agricultural area consists of three counties that extend down from the southeast corner of Missouri and is surrounded by Arkansas, Tennessee, and Kentucky. The co-op brought electric service to homes in the region in the 1930s and Jack and his colleagues are performing a similar service today by bringing broadband to a region where large corporate ISPs haven't invested much in infrastructure. In this interview, he describes what Internet access is like for people in the region before the cooperative decided on the project, and how strong support from residents and businesses has helped the cooperative determine the services to offer.

Jack and Christopher also discuss how the geography and environment influenced engineering and design plans, how locals are responding to the new service, and potential plans for growth in the region. In this conversation, you’ll also hear about some of the partnerships that Pemiscot-Dunklin has forged with other cooperatives in order to offer better services to cooperative members.

We want your feedback and suggestions for the show-please e-mail us or leave a comment below.

This show is 26 minutes long and can be played on this page or ...

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Conversing with Crawford: Community Broadband Bits Podcast 343

Posted February 12, 2019 by lgonzalez

Harvard Professor, author, and broadband champion Susan Crawford has been incredibly busy ever since she released her latest book Fiber: The Coming Tech Revolution — And Why America Might Miss It. Fortunately for us and our listeners, she hasn’t been too busy to take some time for Community Broadband Bits listeners. She’s here this week to talk about the book, her experiences researching it, and discussing policy recommendations aimed at bringing better connectivity to rural and urban areas.

The conversation between Christopher and Susan is one of our best podcasts. They touch on technology, competition, and how we’ve come to the point when local communities are leading the charge to bring high-quality Internet access to their residents and businesses. Susan shares some of the stories she encountered — both favorable and not so favorable — of places where local leaders are either working to hard to put broadband infrastructure in place or barely moving the dial on getting their communities better connected. 

She’s travelled all across the world to learn about how other countries approach fiber connectivity and how they’re reaping the benefits. Now, she wants to share some of those policies and ideas to help Americans realize that if we don’t adjust our mindset, we could miss out on fiber’s potential.

Order Susan's book online at Indiebound.org. Learn more about the book by reading Christopher's review.

We want your feedback and suggestions for the show-please e-mail us or leave a comment below.

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RiverStreet Networks Reaching Across Rural North Carolina - Community Broadband Bits Podcast 342

Posted February 5, 2019 by lgonzalez

While in North Carolina at the recent Let’s Connect! speaking tour, Christopher sat down with Greg Coltrain, Vice President of Business Development of RiverStreet Networks. Greg participated in panel discussions in all three communities where the community meetings occurred: Albemarle, Fuquay-Varina, and Jacksonville.

RiverStreet Networks is the product of evolution of what began as Wilkes Communications. They’ve acquired several local providers in different areas across the state and are set on bringing high-quality Internet access to rural North Carolinians. In this interview, Greg shares some of the cooperative’s history, including information on how they’ve funded their deployments.

Greg also discusses his experience on the practical side of cooperative life, such as comparative operating costs between fiber and copper, working with electric cooperatives, and the ins and outs of leasing assets from public entities. Christopher and Greg also talk about future plans that RiverStreet has to partner with North Carolina’s electric cooperatives across the state to bring connectivity to more people in rural areas.

Learn more about Wilkes Communications and RiverStreet Networks from our conversation with Eric Cramer from 2016 for episode 188 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast.

We want your feedback and suggestions for the show-please e-mail us or leave a comment below.

This show is 22 minutes long and can be played on this...

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Open Broadband Opening Up Rural Possibilities - Community Broadband Bits Podcast 341

Posted January 29, 2019 by lgonzalez

It’s cold in our Minneapolis office this week, but two of our staff — Christopher Mitchell and Katie Kienbaum — are off enjoying mild January weather in North Carolina. They’re conversing with the good folks in three different communities, where they also met up with this week’s podcast interviewee, Alan Fitzpatrick, CEO of Open Broadband. 

Alan and Christopher have a practical conversation about what it’s like to be in the fixed wireless Internet access business these days. As they discuss, the model for today’s WISPs isn’t like it was in the past, which is one of the reasons fixed wireless companies such as Open Broadband are able to provide service so much more advanced. In addition to talking about technology, Alan touches on the birth of the company, some of their hardest challenges and how they overcome them, and he gets a little nostalgic remembering their first gigabit customer.

Learn more about Open Broadband at https://openbb.net/

Remember that Christopher, Katie, and the good people at NC Hearts Gigabit and the North Carolina League of Municipalities still have two more Let’s Connect! meetings set in the towns of Fuquay-Varina on January 29th and Jacksonville on January 30th. You can still make it as the meetings are in the evening.

Learn more about the Let’s Connect! meetings here.

We want your feedback and suggestions for the show-please e-mail us or leave a comment below.

This show is 22 minutes long and can be played on this page or ...

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Oregon's MINET: New Approach, New Expansion - Community Broadband Bits Podcast 340

Posted January 22, 2019 by lgonzalez

Before the Oregon communities of Monmouth and Independence banded together to form MINET, many people in the community were accessing the Internet via old dial-up connections. This week, MINET’s General Manager Don Patten comes on the show to discuss the past, present, and future of the network that has revolutionized connectivity in the far western cities near Salem and Portland.

During their conversation recorded in Washington D.C., Christopher and Don review some of the difficulties that MINET has had and the changes that have helped the organization overcome those challenges. By adopting an approach that embraces the competitive spirit, MINET has achieved a take rate of more than 80 percent.

Now, MINET is venturing into another community as they expand to nearby Dallas, Oregon. Working with atypical investors and private sector entities, MINET will be bringing service to a community that has been actively seeking connection to MINET. Don shares some details of the plan.

We want your feedback and suggestions for the show-please e-mail us or leave a comment below.

This show is 30 minutes long and can be played on this page or via iTunes or the tool of your choice using this feed. You can listen to the interview on this page or visit the Community Broadband Bits page.

The transcript for this episode is available here.

Listen to other episodes here or...

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"I Have A Dream" Brought to You Over Time and Space Via The Internet

Posted January 21, 2019 by lgonzalez

Today, the U.S. pauses to remember one of the greatest people in our modern history, the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. His work to inspire and organize civil rights warriors changed the path of our country and bettered the lives of countless Americans living during his time and moving forward. 

The Internet wasn’t a thing in 1963, and we wonder how such a tool might have changed his work. He passed many years ago, but he’s still able to use the Internet as a tool to spread his message. Today that message of ending division seems just as relevant.

In honor of Dr. King, the people who marched with him, those who continue to work to advance civil rights and social justice today, we want to share the full audio of his “I Have A Dream Speech” from August 28, 1963. 

If you’d like to read the speech, you can access it in the National Archives.

 

Getting Your Community Off to A Quick Start With CN Quickstart - Community Broadband Bits Podcast 339

Posted January 15, 2019 by lgonzalez

In September 2018, we announced that we would begin working with NEO Partners LLC to bring the Community Networks Quickstart Program to local communities interested in exploring the possibilities of publicly owned broadband networks. For this week’s podcast, Christopher talks with the people behind the program, Glenn Fishbine and Nancy DeGidio.

Glenn and Nancy have combined their talents to create the CN Quickstart Program as a way for local communities to focus on realistic possibilities early in the long process toward better connectivity through public investment. Christopher, Glenn, and Nancy discuss some of the insights communities gain with the program. In addition to discovering which incumbents already operate in the region and where, Glenn and Nancy have the data to provide information about what fiber resources are already in place. Both elements help communities considering networks look at the possibilities of competition.

With data from each unique community, the CN Quickstart Program can provide information about potential fiber, wireless, and hybrid community networks and where those routes could travel. The program can provide cost estimates to help local leaders determine which options would be affordable for their community. Not than a replacement for a feasibility study, but a complement, a community that begins their feasibility study with results from the program will be able to direct a consultant toward the vision that they’ve been able to more accurately fine tune.

Glenn and Nancy also talk about why they decided to develop this tool and what they hope to accomplish, along with hopes for...

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Taking Control Through Software Defined Networks - Community Broadband Bits Podcast 338

Posted January 8, 2019 by lgonzalez

Many of us are accustomed to Internet access from companies that own the infrastructure, offer only a few options, and are one of a small number of providers. For the most part, we've learned to accept that model, but will it ever change? This week’s guest, President of EntryPoint Networks Jeff Christensen, explains why that model is broken and how we can fix it through software defined networks (SDNs). We can turn that model around to put control in the hands of users.

EntryPoint works primarily with municipalities to develop open access networks that separate infrastructure from services. As you’ll hear from Jeff, this approach takes the open nature of the Internet even further to encourage innovation, competition, access to goods, services, information, and ideas. EntryPoint’s approach turns the traditional closed system most American’s are used to on its head.

Jeff explains how the growing use of the cloud and changes in other technology have brought us to the moment when we can change how we interact with the Internet. Moving forward, users rather than ISPs, will drive technology innovations. Christopher and Jeff discuss how cloud edge computing will drive that shift, how SDNs enable innovation, and how municipalities fill a role they are already familiar with as keepers of infrastructure. They also get into some of the considerations to keep in mind if a community is looking at SDN technology.

Ammon, Idaho, has already adopted a dynamic open access approach with a SDN; Jeff and Christopher discuss the way the community has blazed a trail for other municipalities and the benefits it is bringing. They talk about Ammon’s innovative financial approach, Local Improvement...

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Predictions for 2019, Year in Review for 2018 - Community Broadband Bits Podcast 337

Posted December 26, 2018 by lgonzalez

We left our crystal ball, tarot cards, and astrology charts at home, but that won’t stop us from trying to predict what will happen in 2019 for this week’s annual predictions podcast. Each year, we reflect on the important events related to publicly owned broadband networks and local connectivity that occurred during the year and share our impressions for what we expect to see in the next twelve months. As usual, the discussion is spirited and revealing.

This year we saw the departures of Research Associate Hannah Trostle and Communications Manager Nick Stumo-Langer as both decided to head off to grad school. This year, you’ll hear our new Communications Specialist Jess Del Fiacco and Research Associate Katie Kienbaum keeping those seats warm. Hannah and Nick take time out of their schedules to offer some predictions of their own at the end of the show.

In addition to recaps of last year's predictions for state legislation, cooperative efforts, and preemption, we get into our expectations for what we expect to see from large, national incumbent ISPs, local private and member owned providers, and governments. We discuss federal funding, local organizing efforts and issues that drive them, concentration of power, our predictions for digital equity, efforts in big cities, open access, rural initiatives, and more. This podcast is packed with good stuff!

We want your feedback and suggestions for the show-please e-mail us or leave a comment below.

This show is 45 minutes long and can be played on this page or via iTunes or the tool of your choice using this feed. You can listen to the interview on this page or visit the...

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Telehealth: Promoting Healthier People and Stronger Local Economies - Community Broadband Bits Podcast 336

Posted December 18, 2018 by lgonzalez

Many of our regular listeners will recognize this week’s guest voice. Craig Settles has been operating as an industry analyst and consultant since 2006. He’s also host of the Gigabit Nation radio talk show and Director of Communities United for Broadband.

In recent years, Craig has focused much of his attention on telehealth and the ways communities large and small can use their broadband infrastructure to implement telehealth applications. The ability to use high-quality connectivity to deliver healthcare has expanded as access to broadband and innovation has increased. Craig describes the ways “telemedicine” has evolved into “telehealth.” In this discussion, Craig and Christopher discuss the ways that telehealth positively impact residents and their healthcare providers. Communities are also discovering that access to online medical care and related applications can spur economic development in rural and urban settings.

While exploring different approaches to implementing telehealth via publicly owned infrastructure, Craig also discovered some of the challenges facing local communities. In this conversation, he and Christopher talk about some of the different issues that may arise and how local communities have addressed those issues. He also has words of advice for those who want to be sure to develop infrastructure that is capable of providing the kind of connectivity that can provide this increasingly critical feature. Craig has some suggestions for resources for people interested in learning more and for local communities also interested in making telehealth a widely available service.

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