Thanks to Jeff Hoel for providing the transcript for Episode 122 of the Community Broadband Bits podcast with Bob Frankston. Listen to this episode here.

00:05:

Bob Frankston: The Internet is basically a discontinuity from the tradition of communications as a service. It's something we can do ourselves. And that's very empowering. And that's the future we need to look towards.

00:16:

Lisa Gonzalez: Hello there. Welcome to the Community Broadband Bits Podcast, from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance. This is Lisa Gonzalez.

Today we have another visit from Bob Frankston. Bob and Chris have talked together in a couple of other Community Broadband Bits Podcasts, and we always enjoy having him back again. Many of our discussions focus on communities that have done interesting things with connectivity. But when Bob visits, he always makes us look at the definition of connectivity. In this discussion, Bob and Chris get into the economics of bringing ubiquitous access to the U.S., among other things. Policy makers often draw parallels between the Internet and our extensive systems of roads, or our efforts to electrify the entire country. Bob and Chris look a little deeper into these comparisons. They take a hard look at the economics of fiber networks, and how current practices need to change to take full advantage of its possibilities. Bob has an extensive library of writings at frankson.com . So if this conversation piques your interest, be sure to check out his work. Here are Chris and Bob for an interesting conversation.

01:22:

Chris Mitchell: Welcome to another edition of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast. I'm Chris Mitchell. And today I'm speaking with Bob Frankston. Welcome back to the show, Bob.

01:31:

Bob Frankston: Well, thank you. Glad to be here again.

01:34:

Chris: You and I spoke in -- I believe it was the single digits, one of the earliest episodes of the Community Broadband Bits. And there, I think we went a little bit more over your background. But you've been programming for over half a century. And you've been an entrepreneur. And, for our purposes, you've done a lot of writing about telecommunications networks, and people can find that at frankston.com . And I encourage them to go check it out. Now, is there...

Thank to Jeff Hoel for providing the transcript for Episode 121 of the Community Broadband Bits podcast with Deb Socia of Next Century Cities. Listen to this episode here.

00:04:

Deb Socia: ... communities must have self-determination -- that making decisions at the level of the community is where the best decisions get made.

00:13:

Lisa Gonzalez: Hello there. And welcome again to the Community Broadband Bits Podcast, from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance. I'm Lisa Gonzalez.

Once again, Chris is out on the road, and he's sharing his experiences with us. This past week, Chris was in Santa Monica for the kickoff of the Next Century Cities. The organization is a city-to-city collaboration advocating fast, affordable, and reliable Internet access for everyone. As one of the organizers, Chris moderated a panel of CIOs from member communities. While he was there, Chris also took a few moments to connect with Deb Socia, Executive Director of the organization. In this interview, the two discuss the organization's membership, principles, and the role of they expect to play in improving Internet access across the U.S. Video of the full event is available at nextcenturycities.org . It includes the mayors' panel discussion, moderated by Susan Crawford, in addition to the panel discussion moderated by Chris. Here are Deb and Chris, discussing Next Century Cities, with info on how your community can join.

01:14:

Chris Mitchell: Welcome to anther edition of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast. This is another live edition. This is Chris Mitchell. And today I'm with Deb Socia, Executive Director of the newly-launched Next Century Cities. Welcome to the show.

01:28:

Deb Socia: Thank you. Wonderful to be here.

01:30:

Chris: You and I are working together on this Next Century Cities. And we're speaking a day before it launches, and it will air a day after it launches.

01:37:

Deb: Yeah.

01:37:

Chris: So it's a -- you know, it'll be a little interesting to try and figure out how to phrase things properly. But you're the Executive Director. And I'm doing some policy work, as my title is Policy Director. And that's within my capacity. So people shouldn't be confused. I'm still with the Institute for Local Self-Reliance...

Thank to Jeff Hoel for providing the transcript for Episode 113 of the Community Broadband Bits podcast with Peter d'Errico of Leverett, Massachusetts. Listen to this episode here.

00:15:

Peter d'Errico: It certainly is true that if taxes go up in a town that has a democratic form of government like a town meeting, it means that people have decided to do it for themselves. No bureaucrat decided to do this and tax them.

00:27:

Lisa Gonzalez: Hello there. And welcome again to the Community Broadband Bits Podcast from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance. I'm Lisa Gonzalez.

Peter d'Errico, a member of the Select Board in Leverett, Massachusetts, joins Chris this week. Peter's also chairman of the town's Broadband Committee. We first noticed Leverett, a town of only about 2,000 people, in the spring of 2012. The community was plagued by unreliable wireline telephone service and horrible cell phone coverage. Residents relied on dial-up, satellite, and DSL for Internet access. In fact, about 6% of the population had no Internet access at all. Community leaders, including Peter, knew they had to act or risk being left even further behind. Over the past two years, the town has worked toward deploying its own fiber-to-the-home network, to serve every home and business in the community.

People in Leverett decided to fund the project with a slight increase in property taxes. As Peter explains in the interview, the move will actually save money for subscribers, because current rates for inferior service are so high. This small town in Massachusetts is a powerful example of how one local community exercised its own self-reliance to establish a necessary service.

Here are Peter and Chris.

01:40:

Chris Mitchell: Welcome to another edition of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast. I'm Chris Mitchell. And today, I'm speaking with Peter d'Errico, from Leverett, Massachusetts. He's a member of the Select Board, and chairman of the Broadband Committee for an exciting project. Welcome to the show.

01:57:

Peter d'Errico: Thank you. Good to be here.

01:59:

Chris: I'm excited to have you on this show. We've been following your project for a long time. Why don't you tell us a little bit about Leverett, in western Mass, where you're located,...

Thank to Jeff Hoel for providing the transcript for Episode 110 of the Community Broadband Bits podcast with Will Aycock of Wilson and Danna Bailey of Chattanooga. Listen to this episode here.

00:15:

Danna Bailey: When we have neighbors outside of our service territory who are specifically asking us to come and serve them, we want to be able to respond to that in a positive way.

00:24:

Lisa Gonzalez: Hello, and welcome to the Community Broadband Bits Podcast from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance. This is Lisa Gonzalez.

Earlier this month, the communities of Chattanooga, Tennessee, and Wilson, North Carolina -- both with municipal networks -- filed petitions with the FCC. Both communities requested the agency to use its authority to preempt state laws. Those laws, put in place through lobbying efforts from big-name incumbents, prevent either network from serving their neighbors. For some time now, neighboring communities have approached Wilson and Chattanooga, requesting that they expand their networks to serve their neighbors. Existing state laws preclude Greenlight, in Wilson, and Chattanooga's Electric Power Board from serving beyond strict geographic borders. In recent months, Chairman Wheeler has publicly announced that the FCC will do all it can to encourage expansion of broadband networks. He specifically pointed to the FCC's authority in Section 706, to preempt such state laws, that do nothing to encourage deployment, and only serve to protect large corporate provider interests. On July 28th, the FCC established a schedule in which it intends to take comments on both petitions. Open comments are due August 29th. Reply comments are due September 29th. We encourage every American who wants ubiquitous connectivity to file comments in support of the Wilson and Chattanooga petitions. Federal preemption of these anti-muni laws will be a significant victory toward restoring local telecommunications authority.

In this podcast, Chris and I spend some time discussing the petitions, the circumstances in Wilson and Chattanooga, and what you can do to share your opinion with the FCC.

As a bonus, Chris touched base with Danna Bailey, Vice President of Corporate Communications at Chattanooga's EPB, and Will Aycock, General Manager of Greenlight in...