Tag: "transcript"

Transcript: Community Broadband Bits Episode 311

Posted June 19, 2018 by Staff

This is the transcript for episode 311 of the Community Broadband Bits podcast. Christopher Mitchell gets an update on how folks in Larimer County, Colorado, are improving their communities' high-speed Internet access. Listen to this episode here.

Jacob Castillo: We'd love to see jobs created, wealth generated, that are low impact, environmentally-friendly types of jobs, and one of the enabling factors for that is high speed Internet.

Lisa Gonzalez: This is episode 311 of the Community Broadband Bits podcast, from the Institute for Local Self Reliance. I'm Lisa Gonzalez. While Christopher was at the Mountain Connect conference event in Vail, Colorado, he caught up with other attendees and presenters. Some of the people he checked in with were from communities that are engaged in exploring better local connectivity. Drew Davis, Jacob Castillo, and Mark Pfaffinger from Larimer County, Colorado, were at the conference and took time to update Christopher on their efforts. They've recently received results from a survey and share some of the surprises that they discovered from people in Larimer County. In addition to improving connectivity in Larimer county for students and families, Drew, Jacob, and Mark were encouraged by the economic development possibilities broadband can bring. The guys also discussed the different strategies the county may take, and the role they expect Larimer County to play as the community moves forward. Now, here's Christopher with Drew Davis. Jacob Castillo and Mark Pfaffinger from Larimer County, Colorado.

Christopher Mitchell: Welcome to another edition of the Community Broadband Bits podcast. This is Chris Mitchell coming to you from Vail, Colorado, once again, home of the Mountain Connect conference for 2018, sitting across from three folks from Larimer County: Drew Davis, the broadband program manager for the county. Welcome to the show.

Drew Davis: Thanks Chris. It's a pleasure to be here.

Christopher Mitchell: We've got Jacob Castillo, the director of economic and workforce development. Welcome to the show.

Jacob Castillo: Thank you. Pleasure to be here.

Christopher Mitchell: And Mark...

Transcript: Community Broadband Bits Episode 310

Posted June 19, 2018 by Staff

This is the transcript for episode 310 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast. In this episode, Rick Smith joins the show to dicuss Colorado's connectivity. Listen to this episode here.

Rick Smith: I've always held to the belief that just because we choose to live in rural Colorado does not mean we shouldn't have services on par with the urban areas of Colorado. If we don't solve this problem, there's not going to be a white knight come marching into town and and save the day.

Lisa Gonzalez: This is episode 310 of the Community Broadband Bits podcast from the Institute for Local Self Reliance. I'm Lisa Gonzalez. Christopher is on the road again. This time he's in Colorado at the Mountain Connect event in Vail. While he's there, he's having all sorts of conversations that we want to share. The first of his guests is Rick Smith from Cortez, Colorado. Rick was last on the show way back in 2014 for episode number 98. Rick and the community have learned a lot since then about open access, working with ISPs, and what direction they want to go next. In addition to sharing lessons learned, Rick and Chris discussed potential plans for the future, which include the Cortez pilot project and the city's foray into retail services. They also discuss what Cortez is discovering as they examine a possible citywide build out, funding options, and ways to overcome their digital divide. Now, here's Christopher with Rick Smith from Cortez, Colorado.

Christopher Mitchell: Welcome to another edition of the Community Broadband Bits podcast. I'm Chris Mitchell, recording live in Vail, Colorado at the wonderful and the ever so valuable Mountain Connect conference, sitting here across from Rick Smith, the director of general services for the city of Cortez, and a repeat guest on the show. Welcome back, Rick.

Rick Smith: Thank you very much, Chris.

Christopher Mitchell: Cortez is in the southwest corner of Colorado. It's a rural area in Montezuma County. What else should people know about it if they're not familiar?

Rick Smith: Well, we're right next door to Mesa Verde National Park. And, currently we have two fires going on. So, the state's really in a drought...

Transcript: Community Broadband Bits Episode 309

Posted June 8, 2018 by Staff

This is the transcript for Episode 309 of the Community Broadband Bits podcast. The towns of Baileyville and Calais, Maine, joined forces to create a the Downeast Broadband Utility. Christopher interviews Julie Jordan, the director of the project.

Julie Jordan: You couldn't really go out and attract young people or new employers without this good piece of infrastructure.

Lisa Gonzalez: This is episode 309 of the Community Broadband Bits podcast from the Institute for Local Self Reliance. I'm Lisa Gonzalez. As one of our most rural states,q Maine has many regions lacking in high quality connectivity. Over the past few years, we've seen several communities engage in projects to develop publicly owned networks. They want to bring broadband to places where big ISP won't upgrade their services. In this week's podcast, Christopher talks with Julie Jordan, who lives and works in one of those rural Maine communities. The towns of Baileyville and Calais have joined together to form the Downeast Broadband Utility. They plan to deploy a fiber optic network in the region for residents and businesses. Their project caught the eye of the Post Road Foundation, a nonprofit organization that is researching the possibilities of linking smart grid applications and multiple utility functions. In this interview, Christopher talks with Julie about the Downeast Broadband Utility project, some of the challenges they've had to overcome, and how the Post Road Foundation will be involved in studying their project. Now here's Christopher with Julie Jordan from the Downeast Broadband Utility in Maine.

Christopher Mitchell: Welcome to another edition of the Community Broadband Bits podcast. I'm Chris Mitchell with the Institute for Local Self Reliance up in Minneapolis, Minnesota. And today I'm speaking with Julie Jordan, the director of the Downeast Broadband Utility. Welcome to the show.

Julie Jordan: Thanks, Chris.

Christopher Mitchell: I'm really excited to be talking to you, because I was just out in Maine where the downeast region is and I find Maine to be inspiring in terms of the work that's being done from local communities and I'm just really excited to tell more people about what's happening. But the first thing is when we say "down...

Transcript: Community Broadband Bits Episode 308

Posted May 29, 2018 by Staff

This is the transcript for episode 308 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast. Mayor Marian Orr of Cheyenne, Wyoming, joins the show to discuss broadband access in the state. Listen to this episode here.

Marian Orr: The incumbents will claim that we are actually a terabyte city and I have yet to see that.

Lisa Gonzalez: This is episode 308 of the Community Broadband Bits podcast from the Institute for Local Self Reliance. I'm Lisa Gonzalez. Cheyenne, Wyoming, home to more than 60,000 people, seems like a place densely populated enough to encourage the incumbents to offer fast, affordable, reliable connectivity. While big ISPs claimed that the city is sufficiently served, businesses and residents don't agree. Speeds are not where they need to be and rates are high. In order to solve the situation, community leaders, including Mayor Marian Orr, have been looking into possible solutions. Mayor Orr took some time out of her schedule to talk to Christopher for this week's podcast. In addition to some of the steps the community is taking, Mayor Orr and Christopher discussed Senate File 100, a piece of legislation passed during Wyoming's most recent session to improve broadband access. The bill started out as a way to provide resources to local communities, but as Mayor Orr describes, incumbents intervened and the outcome changed significantly. Christopher and the mayor talk about the steps Cheyenne has taken so far and where they're headed next. Onto the interview.

Christopher Mitchell: Welcome to another edition of the Community Broadband Bits podcast. I'm Chris Mitchell with the Institute for Local Self Reliance up in Minneapolis. Today I'm speaking with Mayor Marian Orr, the mayor of Cheyenne, Wyoming. Welcome to the show.

Marian Orr: Good morning.

Christopher M: Well, I'm very excited to speak with you. I've been through Wyoming a couple of times. It is a crazy beautiful state. I get a sense you've been around all parts of it, and I'm curious if you can tell us a little bit about your corner of Cheyenne currently.

Marian Orr: Our state is beautiful. We, here in Cheyenne, we are in the southeast corner with our population is about 63,000. We are just only about a hundred...

Transcript: Community Broadband Bits Episode 307

Posted May 23, 2018 by Staff

This is the transcript for episode 307 of the Community Broadband Bits podcast. Financing a municipal network project doesn't have to be a challenge. Tom Coverick of KeyBanc Capital Markets explains what Brigham City, Utah, did to expand the Utopia open access network. Listen to this episode here.

Tom Coverick: Just as quickly as you're putting your team together to plan your network and to engineer that network, you need to be having all of the parties involved in all of the sign off involving the financial structure, at least on a parallel path with your network plan.

Lisa Gonzalez: This is episode 307 of the Community Broadband Bits podcast from the institute for Local Self Reliance. I'm Lisa Gonzalez. When a community decides that it needs to invest in broadband infrastructure, they need to consider matters such as design, business model, and management. A critical piece of bringing the vision to reality is how to finance the project. In this interview, Christopher speaks with Tom Coverick from KeyBanc Capital Markets. The two caught up at the Austin, Texas, Broadband Communities Summit in May. Who better to get candid advice, lessons learned, and special insights into what goes on into financing community broadband network projects than someone like Tom. He works with communities looking to improve local connectivity by investing in these types of projects. In addition to the role of politics, risk, and bonding, Tom and Chris talk about a few different municipalities and their chosen paths. Now, here's Christopher with Tom Coverick from KeyBanc Capital Markets.

Christopher Mitchell: Welcome to another edition of the Community Broadband Bits podcast. I'm Chris Mitchell with the Institute for Local Self-Reliance down for one final interview from the Broadband Communities Summit in Austin, Texas. Welcome to the show, Tom Coverick.

Tom Coverick: Thank you. Glad to be here.

Christopher Mitchell: You're the managing director for KeyBanc Capital Markets and how-- you've been a frequent sponsor of Next Century Cities' events and a player in a lot of municipal, and lots of other kinds of broadband, investments.

Tom Coverick: That's fair to say. Yes, we have been. We'...

Transcript: Community Broadband Bits Episode 306

Posted May 21, 2018 by Staff

This is the transcript for episode 306 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast. Doug Dawson from CCG Consulting joins the show to discuss his work, 5G hype, and the Connect America Fund. Listen to this episode here.

Doug Dawson: What we find is fiber communities grow when other communities around them are shrinking.

Lisa Gonzalez: This is episode 306 of the Community Broadband Bits podcast from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance. I'm Lisa Gonzalez. While at the Broadband Communities Summit in Austin, Texas. Christopher spoke with community leaders, advocates for universal broadband, and consultants. In this episode of the podcast, he sits down with Doug Dawson from CCG Consulting, one of the guys who's been in the business for decades. Christopher and Doug touched on a lot of issues, including his work with municipalities and publicly owned Internet infrastructure. He talks about choosing a consultant, marketing and costs, as well as how to deal with misinformation. Doug and Christopher also spend time talking about the 5G hype, rollout and specs, and whether or not it really is the solution for rural America. They talk about the Connect America Fund, and Doug shares his thoughts and predictions about the repeal of federal network neutrality protections and what it means for municipal networks and small ISPs. Check out CCGcomm.com, for more about Doug's firm, and be sure to visit Pots And Pans by CCG.com. That's Doug's blog. Read some of his excellent articles on telecommunications and related policy. Now, here's Christopher with Doug Dawson of CCG Consulting.

Christopher Mitchell:: Welcome to another edition of the Community Broadband Bits podcast. I'm Christopher Mitchell:itchell with the Institute for Local Self-Reliance with another show coming out of Austin, Texas, at the Broadband Communities Summit here in lovely Austin, Texas, right at the edge of [Texas] Hill Country. I'm speaking today with Doug Dawson, the founder and president of CCG Consulting. Welcome to the show.

Doug Dawson: Oh, thank you, Chris.

Christopher Mitchell:: So Doug, you just mentioned that 20 year anniversary. You've been doing this for some time.

Doug Dawson: We have been doing...

Transcript: Community Broadband Bits Episode 305

Posted May 10, 2018 by Staff

This is the transcript for episode 305 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast. Michael Render from RVA Market Research and Consulting discusses his work and the state of Fiber-to-the-Home. Listen to this episode here.

Michael Render: When you ask people specifically a list of factors, very good, very reliable broadband actually comes in, number one, and number two are the necessities like Washer and Dryer in the unit.

Lisa Gonzalez: This is episode 305 of the community broadband bits podcast from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance. I'm Lisa Gonzalez. As we've covered advances in publicly owned municipal networks, we've learned that anecdotes about faster connections, better rates, and more reliable service are plentiful. On the other hand, collecting other types of data isn't always so easy. That's where this week's guest comes in. Michael Render from RVA Market Research and Consulting makes it his business to study the details of before and after data of public and private networks. RVA allows us to see the trends, improvements and opinions through data analysis. Christopher caught up with Michael at the Broadband Community Summit in Austin, Texas, where the two talk about the work of RVA and some of the interesting discoveries they've encountered through their research. Learn more about their work at RVALLC.com. Now, here's Christopher with Michael Render.

Christopher Mitchell: Welcome to another edition of the community broadband bits podcast. I'm Chris Mitchell with the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, normally in Minneapolis today in Austin, Texas at the Broadband Communities Summit sitting across from Michael Render. Welcome to the show.

Michael Render: Thank you.

Christopher Mitchell: Michael is the founder of RVA, which is a, a research organization that if you're familiar with Broadband Communities Magazine, you've seen his research. If you've seen a lot of work from the Fiber Broadband Association previously, the Fiber-to-the-Home Council, you've seen his research. Just tell us a little bit about what you specialize in in terms of research.

Michael Render: Well, we've been in the business since 1990 doing various kinds of market...

Transcript: Community Broadband Bits Episode 304

Posted May 8, 2018 by Staff

This is the transcript for episode 304 of the Community Broadband Bits podcast. Saul Tannenbaum of Cambridge, Massachusetts, joins the show to discuss the citizens organization Upgrade Cambridge. Listen to this episode here.

Saul Tannenbaum: People view this as one of the things that Cambridge should be doing. In fact, people think it's ridiculous that we're not leading the efforts for municipal broadband.

Lisa Gonzalez: This is episode 304 of the Community Broadband Bits podcast from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance. I'm Lisa Gonzalez. There's something afoot in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and it's called Upgrade Cambridge. The community is the home of Harvard University, MIT, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and a long list of other entities focused on higher ed, technology, and the arts, but while people in the community appreciate all that Cambridge has to offer, they also recognize that what Cambridge needs is better connectivity. Our guest this week is Saul Tannenbaum. He's one of the people instrumental in the creation and development of Upgrade Cambridge. It's the citizens group that aims to find a way to get Cambridge what it needs: better Internet access. He and Christopher met up at the broadband community summit in Austin, Texas, where both have been sharing their knowledge and experiences to help others improve local connectivity. Saul talks about the steps the city has taken before investigation into a municipal fiber optic network stalled. He and Christopher also touch on local politics, the challenges on how to address the needs of a diverse population and what it's like to be an organizer trying to reach people and overcome misinformation. Be sure to check out UpgradeCambridge.org for more. We've also written about Saul and the city on MuniNetworks.org. Now, here's Christopher with Saul Tannenbaum from Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Christopher Mitchell: Welcome to another edition of the Community Broadband Bits podcast. I'm Chris Mitchell, coming to you live. I always question that as I say it because I'm recording it and everyone who records things is live, but the most important part here is that I'm with Saul Tannenbaum, the cofounder of Upgrade Cambridge. Welcome to the show.

Transcript: Community Broadband Bits Episode 303

Posted April 26, 2018 by Staff

This is the transcript for episode 303 of the Community Broadband Bits podcast. Christopher Mitchell and Lisa Gonzalez discuss recent state action to improve broadband access and increase local control. Listen to this episode here.

Lisa Gonzalez: Hello everybody, this is Lisa Gonzalez. I have booted Christopher out of the host chair. You're listening to episode 303 of the community broadband networks, pi---

Christopher Mitchell: Podcast. We're going to talk about pies today. Strawberry Rhubarb.

Lisa Gonzalez: Cherry Pie. Anyhow, what we're going to talk about today involves state legislation. We've got quite a bit to cover some not so great, some good and bad, and some that we really like a lot.

Christopher Mitchell: But the trends are in the upward positive direction.

Lisa Gonzalez: This is true. This is true. It's a good thing to hear. Let's start with something that's not so great we can eliminate the things that we don't like and end with the things we do like.

Christopher Mitchell: Yeah. We're talking about two pretty significantly different states that have done things that we strongly disapprove of. Wyoming, Minnesota has not done something we strongly disapprove of, but there is something on the table that would be really dumb,

Lisa Gonzalez: Right? Let's start with the really down the thing in Minnesota here where we are,

Christopher Mitchell: The person who is the chair of a, of a relevant committee that broadband related things have to go through in Minnesota to get into law, happens to be a Republican who serves my parents' district. My parents live in his district, I should say. And we find him really, really painful to deal with. He's what -- he drives a Tesla. He thinks he's super advanced, but he makes all these crazy claims and so he's carrying a bill that he wants to push into law that would allow Minnesota's broadband program, which has been subsidizing high quality broadband connections to start subsidizing slow satellite connections that are unreliable and very high cost.

Lisa Gonzalez: Very, very dumb.

Christopher Mitchell: Incredibly...

Transcript: Community Broadband Bits Episode 302

Posted April 18, 2018 by Staff

This is the transcript for episode 302 of the Community Broadband Bits podcast. Gary Evans from Hiawatha Broadband Communications joins the show for part ii of a conversation on rural connectivity. Listen to this episode here. Go back to part I here.

Gary Evans: Generally speaking, you can find the money to get it done. If I had my choice between vision and money, I'd take vision.

Lisa Gonzalez: This is episode 302 of the Community Broadband Bits podcast from the institute for Local Self-Reliance. I'm Lisa Gonzalez. A few weeks ago, Christopher sat down with his old friend, Gary Evans, who's the retired president and CEO of Hiawatha Broadband Communications. They had a great conversation about the company and life as a small independent ISP for episode 297, but there was still so much to cover. Gary and Christopher are at the mics again to continue their conversation about Hiawatha Broadband Communications. They're talking about the challenges that companies face and overcome and prospects for the future. Once again, this interview is a little longer than our usual podcasts, but we know you'll be glad we kept it that way. There's lessons to be learned and interesting stories to hear. Now, here's Christopher with Gary Evans.

Christopher Mitchell: Welcome back to another episode of the Community Broadband Bits podcast. I'm Chris Mitchell with the Institute for Local Self-Reliance up in Saint Paul, Minnesota. I guess our office is in Minneapolis, but I'm a Saint Paul, boy myself, I'm here with Gary Evans once again. He's still the retired founder of HBC.

Gary Evans: Thank you Chris. It's good to be back.

Christopher Mitchell: We talked a few weeks ago and you said you have a habit of not staying retired for long, but thus far--

Gary Evans: I'm, I'm doing some work that I'm really loving for a private equity firm in New York City that's concentrating in the area of fiber optics and so another way hopefully to help rural America because we're going to be looking at markets that the big players don't seem to have much...

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