This is the transcript for episode 373 of the Community Broadband Bits podcast. In this episode, Christopher speaks with Christy Batts of CDE Lightband about Clarksville, Tennessee's municipal fiber network. Listen to the episode, or read the transcript below.

Christy Batts: When we went in and put in his new phone system and got everything set up for him, his phone traffic more than tripled. What was happening is he was missing these calls. He's now had to hire two additional people to answer the phone, but his business is booming because of it.

Lisa Gonzalez: Welcome to episode 373 of the Community Broadband Bits podcast from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance. I'm Lisa Gonzalez. Back in 2013, Christy Batts from CDE Lightband made her first appearance on the podcast to share the story of how Clarksville, Tennessee, chose to invest in a publicly owned fiber optic network. She's back this week to describe upgrades and changes that have kept the network at the top of its game. In addition to innovations in voice and video service, CDE Lightband has partnered with local cooperatives and continues to increase speeds throughout the community. Christopher and his guest talk about the network's new approach to improving subscriber Wi-Fi performance and the ways they plan to bring free Wi-Fi to public spaces in Clarksville. They also talk about how unexpected success has kept the network on sound financial footing that is benefiting the community in ways that aren't broadband related. Now here's Christopher and Christy Batts from CDE Lightband in Clarksville, Tennessee.

Christopher Mitchell: Welcome to another episode of the Community Broadband Bits podcast. I'm Chris Mitchell with the Institute for Local Self-Reliance up in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Today I'm speaking with one of our guests from our first year doing this program. Christy Batts is the broadband division director at CDE Lightband. That's a municipal electric provider that also does broadband services in Clarksville, Tennessee. Welcome back to the show, Christy.

Christy Batts: Thank you Chris. I'm glad to be back.

Christopher Mitchell: Well, it's been about six years I think, maybe a little bit more than that, and a...

This is the transcript for episode 371 of the Community Broadband Bits podcast. In this episode, Christopher speaks with Sascha Segan, lead mobile analyst at PC Mag. They discuss our recent fact sheet, Pocket Guide to 5G Hype, and Sascha offers some corrections and helpful nuance about 5G technology and regulation in the U.S. and abroad. Listen to the episode, or read the transcript below.

Sascha Segan: No technology is really going to solve what is a regulatory and market structure problem more than anything else.

Lisa Gonzalez: Welcome to episode 371 of the Community Broadband Bits podcast from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance. I'm Lisa Gonzalez. When large Internet access companies begin discussing advances in technologies they're developing, it's important to maintain perspective and not get swept away by the inevitable hype. Over the past two years or so, 5G has been on everyone's mind, and big providers haven't done anything to curb unrealistic expectations. Recently we released our Pocket Guide to 5G Hype to help manage some of the claims that have been floating around that are a little overblown. Shortly after the release of the pocket guide, this week's guest Sascha Segan from PC Mag, contacted us to let us know that he disagreed with some of the content of our resource. Since Sascha has been covering mobile technology for what Chris describes as forever, we wanted to bring him on the podcast to explain what he disagrees with and why. In this interesting discussion, Sascha provides some great education on the intricacies of 5G millimeter waves and the technology and marketing campaigns surrounding them. He and Christopher also talk about fiber deployment and what it will take to bring high quality connectivity to all of the U.S. Now here's Christopher and Sascha Segan from PC Mag.

Christopher Mitchell: Welcome to another episode of the Community Broadband Bits podcast. I'm Chris Mitchell with the Institute for Local Self-Reliance in Minneapolis. Today I'm talking to a very notable guest, Sascha Segan, PC Mag lead mobile analyst. Welcome to the show.

Sascha Segan: Thanks for having me on. Hi.

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This is the transcript for episdoe 369 of the Community Broadband Bits podcast. In this episode, Christopher talks to Greg Dean from the South Dakota Telecommunications Association. They discuss how the association's membership, which includes cooperatives, municipalities, and locally-owned companies, has invested and continues to invest in high-speed fiber connectivity for rural South Dakota. Listen to the episode, or read the transcript below.

Greg Dean: Our companies, collectively they're going to spend right to the tune of about $700 million to make sure that broadband is available and working for the citizens within their service areas, for the citizens of South Dakota.

Lisa Gonzalez: Welcome to episode 369 of the Community Broadband Bits podcast from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance. I'm Lisa Gonzalez. If you live in South Dakota, you're no stranger to large swaths of rural landscapes. If you live in one of these rural landscapes, chances are good you're also no stranger to high speed Internet access. Even though much of the state is covered with ranch and farmland, cooperatives, tribal community and small ISPs, and a few municipalities are investing in high-quality connectivity for folks in South Dakota. Many of these providers are members of the South Dakota Telecommunications Association. This week their director of industry relations, Greg Dean, talked with Christopher about connectivity in such a rural state. Greg describes what the SDTA does for members and how their connections to local communities have influenced decisions and their ability to understand local needs. He discusses how working together has helped expand high-quality Internet access, funding, and how broadband is more important than ever in rural communities. Now here's Christopher and Greg Dean from the South Dakota Telecommunications Association.

Christopher Mitchell: Welcome to another, another episode of the Community Broadband Bits podcast. This is Chris Mitchell with the Institute for Local Self-Reliance in Minneapolis. And I'm just starting the show for a second time after Greg and I are having this great conversation, so hopefully this won't seem a little bit stale to y'all. But I'll introduce Greg Dean, who is the director of industry relations...

This is the transcript for episode 367 of the Community Broadband Bits podcast. In this episode, Christopher speaks with John Lester and Brian Eisele from Clarkvsille and Johnson County, Arkansas, about Clarksville Connected Utilities' fiber network and how it's benefitting residents and businesses. Listen to the episode, or read the transcript below.

John Lester: It almost sounds like we're beginning to build a millennial Mecca here, where you can get the things easy but still have access to the rest of the world almost instantly.

Lisa Gonzalez: Welcome to episode 367 of the Community Broadband Bits podcast from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance. I'm Lisa Gonzalez. We've been following Clarksville, Arkansas, for a few years now. They started by developing a fiber network to use SCADA to improve utilities' efficiencies. Now they're on their way to a citywide Fiber-to-the-Home network. This week Christopher talks with John Lester from Clarksville Connected Utilities and Brian Eisele, a local business owner who leads the Clarksville Chamber of Commerce. They discuss the road Clarksville has traveled toward their decision to deploy Fiber-to-the-Home and some of the data points that encourage them to press forward. John talks about some of the unique choices Clarksville has made when designing their network to ensure its public purpose. Brian offers the perspective shared by Clarksville's business and residential sector. We also get to hear some of the specific examples of how the network has boosted economic development and some of the other ways Clarksville Connected Utilities is embracing the future. There was a little bit of a glitch when recording John's audio, so bear with us. The quality isn't as good as it usually is. Now, here's Chris with John Lester from Clarksville Connected Utilities and Brian Eisele, an independent business owner and leader of the local Chamber of Commerce.

Christopher Mitchell: Welcome to another episode of the Community Broadband Bits podcast. I'm Chris Mitchell with the Institute for Local Self-Reliance in Minneapolis, and today I'm speaking with John Lester, the general manager of Clarksville Connected Utilities. Welcome back to the show, John.

John Lester: ...