This is the transcript for episode 417 of the Community Broadband Bits podcast. In this episode, Christopher interviews Deb Socia and Geoff Millener from the Enterprise Center in Chattanooga, Tennessee. They discuss how the Center is working to promote digital inclusion and access to telehealth during the pandemic. Listen to the episode or read the transcript below.

Deb Socia: And so when we can give somebody a tablet or a computer and either help them sign up for low-cost access or provide them with a Wi-Fi hotspot, whatever it is, when we can do that, we can really have an impact.

Ry Marcattilio-McCracken: Welcome to episode 417, the Community Broadband Bits podcast. This is Ry Marcattilio-McCracken here with the Institute for Local Self-Reliance. Today, Christopher talks with Deb Socia and Geoff Millener. Deb is the president and CEO of the Enterprise Center in Chattanooga, Tennessee. And Geoff is the Senior Program and Operations Officer there. Christopher talks with Deb and Geoff about their work to help Chattanooga achieve digital inclusion by working with churches and other organizations to ensure people can continue their faith traditions. They discuss improving connections between people in the telehealth and telemental health services they need. A quick note, due to some recording difficulties in this episode, the audio quality is not up to our normal standards. We apologize and hope you enjoy. Now, here's Christopher talking with Deb Socia and Geoff Millener.

Christopher Mitchell: Welcome to another episode of the Community Broadband Bits podcast. I'm Christopher Mitchell with the Institute for Local Self-Reliance in Saint Paul, Minnesota, where we are all working from home still. Today, I'm returning with one of my favorite guests, my favorite people of all times, Deb Socia, who is now the president and CEO of the Enterprise Center and Enterprise and it could be called Enterprise in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Welcome to the show.

Deb Socia: Thanks Chris. Good to see you.

Christopher Mitchell: It is great to see you. And also we have Geoff Millener, who is an all right guy in his own right, the Senior Program and Operations Officer at the Enterprise...

This is the transcript for episode 415 of the Community Broadband Bits podcast. In this episode, Christopher interviews lawyers Ken Fellman and Geoff Wilson to learn how broadband monopolies got an anti-local authority law passed in Colorado in 2005. Listen to the episode, or read the transcript below.

Ken Fellman: We hate this bill. We are local government people, we believe in local control, we believe that local communities ought to be in charge of their own destiny.

Jess Del Fiacco: Welcome to episode 415 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast. This is Jess Del Fiacco, Communications Manager here at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance. Today Christopher talks with Ken Fellman and Geoff Wilson. They discuss how Qwest, now called CenturyLink, used their influence to get a bill that limits municipal networks adopted in Colorado. At the time, Ken and Geoff did what they could to change the bill to make it less restrictive. They helped to remove the limitations that would have stopped all municipal networks, like what we saw happen in North Carolina. Ken and Geoff also tell Christopher about what has happened in the state since then and how changes, over time, have resulted in the bill being less harmful than it was in the early years. Now, here's Christopher talking with Ken Fellman and Geoff Wilson.

Christopher Mitchell: Welcome to another episode of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast. I'm Christopher Mitchell with the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, which is located in Minneapolis, as well as several other cities. I'm coming to you from Saint Paul, Minnesota today. And I'm going to speak with Ken Fellman, a partner with the Denver law firm, Kissinger & Fellman. Ken's been representing local government in Colorado and throughout the country for over 35 years. Welcome to the show, Ken.

Ken Fellman: Thank you.

Christopher Mitchell: And I'm also welcoming Geoff Wilson, who is a special counsel at Murray Dahl Beery & Renaud, and who has worked at the Colorado Municipal League on these issues, where he was the general counsel. Welcome to the show, Geoff.

Geoff Wilson: Thank you. Pleased to be here.

Christopher Mitchell:...

This is the transcript for episode 413 of the Community Broadband Bits podcast. In this episode, Christopher talks to Tanna Greathouse, a local resident in Boone, North Carolina who is operating an online business from home. Tanna shares her frustration with unreliable, expensive, and poor Internet connectivity in her community and how it has negatively affected her work productivity during the pandemic. Listen to the episode, or read the transcript below.

Tanna Greathouse: The ability to telework, to do this all remotely, I think, is a huge epiphany for our entire country really. For any business owners, there's a lot of money that could be saved in a very uncertain environment.

Jess Del Fiacco: Welcome to episode 413 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast. This is Jess Del Fiacco, Communications Manager here at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance. Today, Christopher talks to Tanna Greathouse, a Boone North Carolina resident, who operates an online business from home that helps entrepreneurs streamline their work by taking care of administrative tasks. A lack of connectivity options in the area means that Tanna has to sign up for three overlapping services, paying over $300 a month for unreliable slow and high latency Internet connections.

Jess Del Fiacco: Tanna and Chris talk about the struggle to perform even basic cloud-based productivity work and how this struggle has been amplified by the coronavirus pandemic, which has seen business grow, but connectivity problems get worse. They talk about what things might look like if there were more local Internet choice and how the rise of telework will likely change how large and small businesses operate in the future. Now here's Christopher talking with Tanna Greathouse.

Christopher Mitchell: Welcome to another episode of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast. I'm Christopher Mitchell at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance. I'm here talking to Tanna Greathouse, who is just outside Boone, North Carolina, and runs her company, Your Favorite Assistant. And Tanna reached out to us because of real struggles using the Internet access that is available in that part. So Tanna, welcome to the show.

Tanna Greathouse: Hi, thanks for...

This is the transcript for episode 412 of the Community Broadband Bits podcast. In this episode, Christopher talks with Catharine Rice, Project Manager for The Coalition for Local Internet Choice, and Co-Founder of NC Broadband Matters. He is also joined by Jack Cozort, a government relations consultant. Chris, Jack, and Catharine talk about the history of North Carolina's HB 129, the anti-competition law that restricted local authorities from deploying broadband in their communities. Listen to the episode, or read the transcript below.

Catharine Rice: I remember Jim Baller saying, "Catharine." I said, "Jim, I don't know how to be a lobbyist," and he's like, "Time to learn."

Jess Del Fiacco: Welcome to episode 412 of the Community Broadband Bits podcast, another installment of our series focused on North Carolina, sponsored by NC Broadband Matters. This is Jess Del Fiacco, Communications Manager here at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance. Today, Christopher is joined by Catharine Rice, Project Manager for The Coalition for Local Internet Choice, and Co-Founder of NC Broadband Matters. He's also joined by Jack Cozort, a government relations consultant who's involved with broadband and the North Carolina State Legislature. This is part one of a conversation about the history of North Carolina's HB 129, the law that preempted local telecommunications authority in the state. Chris, Jack and Catharine begin by discussing what the economic situation was in Wilson North Carolina in the years prior to the adoption of HB 129.

Jess Del Fiacco: In particular, how local leaders were working to take the community into the future with infrastructure investments. After attempting to work with the large incumbent providers, the city decided to invest in a broadband network on their own. They then faced pushback from Time Warner Cable, which wanted to put an end to Wilson's network and prevent other communities from having the ability to develop their own networks. Jack and Catharine describe the experience of being involved in the process as lobbyists and large corporate entities pushed misinformation in order to pass legislation to prevent competition.

Jess Del Fiacco: Don't miss the second...