Community Broadband Bits

While I was in Danville, Virginia, for the Broadband Community Magazine Economic Development Conference, I had a chance to sit down with Jason Grey, nDanville Network Manager. This interview is our 22nd episode of the Community Broadband [no-glossary]Bits[/no-glossary] podcast. Jason and I met five years ago when I first visited Danville to learn about its … Continue reading "Community Broadband Bits 22 – Jason Grey from Danville, Virginia" ★ Support this podcast ★

For this week's Community Broadband [no-glossary]Bits[/no-glossary], we venture outside the U.S. to interview Benoit Felten of Diffraction Analysis about the Stokab muni fiber network in Stockholm, Sweden. Stokab appears to be the most successful open access fiber network in the world. Benoit has just published a case study of Stokab and is an expert on … Continue reading "Community Broadband Bits 21 – Benoit Felten on Stokab" ★ Support this podcast ★

Amalia Deloney (follow on Twitter) joins us for our 20th Community Broadband [no-glossary]Bits[/no-glossary] podcast to discuss how her work with the Media Action Grassroots Network and the Center for Media Justice overlaps with our focus on community broadband networks. We talk about the digital divide, particularly in relation to the attempted merger between AT&T and … Continue reading "Community Broadband Bits 20 – Amalia Deloney" ★ Support this podcast ★

Today we invited John St. Julien, of Lafayette Pro Fiber fame, on episode 19 of the Community Broadband [no-glossary]Bits[/no-glossary] podcast. John was an essential piece of the organizing effort in Lafayette's efforts to build its own community fiber network. In many ways, he has worked to ensure the “community” piece is emphasized over the “fiber” … Continue reading "Community Broadband Bits 19 – John St. Julien from Lafayette" ★ Support this podcast ★

Dewayne Hendricks is a serial entreprenuer, innovator, and wireless expert. Wired magazine labeled him a broadband cowboy back in 2001. And he is our guest on the 18th episode of Community Broadband [no-glossary]Bits[/no-glossary]. Our discussion focuses on the promise of wireless technologies and how a few entrenched interests in DC (the big broadcasters and wireless … Continue reading "Community Broadband Bits 18 – Dewayne Hendricks" ★ Support this podcast ★

Sandy has run a wireless network for over eight years and has just announced a partnership with i3 to bring FTTH to everyone using i3's technology to run trunk fiber lines through existing waste water and storm water pipes. We previously wrote about Sandy here. Joe Knapp, the IT Director for the city of Sandy … Continue reading "Community Broadband Bits 17 – Joe Knapp of Sandy, Oregon" ★ Support this podcast ★

Following the release of our case study on Chanute, Kansas, we have an interview with City Manager JD Lester and Director of Utilities Larry Gates for our 16th podcast — Community Broadband [no-glossary]Bits[/no-glossary]. JD Lester and Larry Gates discuss Chanute's network and its impact on their rural community. As detailed in the case study, Chanute … Continue reading "Community Broadband Bits 16 – JD Lester and Larry Gates – Chanute, Kansas" ★ Support this podcast ★

Geoff Daily is an old friend of ours at Community Broadband Networks and he joins us for our 15th installment of the Community Broadband [no-glossary]Bits[/no-glossary] audio show. He created a nonprofit organization, FiberCorps in Lafayette, Louisiana, to maximize usage of the LUS Fiber network owned by the community. Geoff and I discuss the importance of … Continue reading "Community Broadband Bits 15 – Geoff Daily – FiberCorps" ★ Support this podcast ★

Our fourteenth episode of Community Broadband [no-glossary]Bits[/no-glossary] is an interview with Bob Frankston, who has made many important contributions to the development of both computers an telecommunications. His bio is here, but this is his present passion: My current interest is moving beyond the 19th century concept of telecom to community owned infrastructure. This would … Continue reading "Community Broadband Bits 14 – Bob Frankston" ★ Support this podcast ★

Curtis Dean, the Telecommunications Services Coordinator for the Iowa Association of Municipal Utilities, joins us for our 13th Community Broadband [no-glossary]Bits[/no-glossary] podcast. Curtis explains why Iowa has so many municipal utilities and why 28 of them offer some form of telecommunications service. We talk about why making sure everyone in rural areas has access to … Continue reading "Community Broadband Bits 13 – Curtis Dean of Iowa Association of Municipal Utilities" ★ Support this podcast ★

The 12th episode of the Community Broadband [no-glossary]Bit[/no-glossary]s podcast features an interview with Todd Murren of SpringNet, in Springfield Missouri. SpringNet delivers blazing broadband over Ethernet to businesses in the community. We talk about Missouri's strong restrictions on local authority around broadband and the history of SpringNet. We also discuss how SpringNet has led to … Continue reading "Community Broadband Bits 12 – Todd Murren with SpringNet, Missouri" ★ Support this podcast ★

In our 11th episode of the Community Broadband [no-glossary]Bits[/no-glossary] podcast, we interview Steve Reneker — the Chief Innovation Officer & Executive Director of SmartRiverside — of Riverside, California. We discuss why Riverside built its own wired and wireless networks and how it is using them to improve the efficiency of local government operations and increase … Continue reading "Community Broadband Bits 11 – Steve Reneker of Riverside California" ★ Support this podcast ★

The tenth episode of the Community Broadband [no-glossary]Bits[/no-glossary] podcast features Vince Jordan, Telecom Manager for Longmont Power and Communication in Colorado. We have long followed the trials and tribulations of this community as they fought through two referenda against Comcast's deep pockets. Now they are expanding their network to connect businesses and residents. You can … Continue reading "Community Broadband Bits 10 – Vince Jordan from Longmont, Colorado" ★ Support this podcast ★

The ninth episode of the Community Broadband [no-glossary]Bits[/no-glossary] podcast features Leslie Nulty, from the East Central Vermont Fiber Optic Network, commonly called ECFiber. ECFiber is using a unique financing arrangement, wherein debt is sold to those in the community as the network slowly expands. They have already raised over $1 million dollars and are providing … Continue reading "Community Broadband Bits 9 – Leslie Nulty with ECFiber in Vermont" ★ Support this podcast ★

The eighth podcast in our Community Broadband [no-glossary]Bits[/no-glossary] series is a discussion with Jim Moorehead, the Chair of the Executive Committee of the Broadband Alliance of Mendocino County in California. Mendocino is a large, rural county in the northern part of the state that has been left behind by major incumbent providers including AT&T, Comcast, … Continue reading "Community Broadband Bits 8 – Jim Moorehead of Mendocino County, California" ★ Support this podcast ★

For the 7th Community Broadband [no-glossary]Bits[/no-glossary] podcast, we talk with Mary Beth Henry from Portland, Oregon. Mary Beth is the Director of the Portland Office for Community Technology and Mt Hood Cable Regulatory Commission, as well as a past president of NATOA. Our discussion covers the long struggle to ensure local businesses and residents had … Continue reading "Community Broadband Bits 7 – Mary Beth Henry of Portland, Oregon" ★ Support this podcast ★

Our sixth episode of the Community Broadband [no-glossary]Bits[/no-glossary] podcast features a discussion with Cheryl Leanza, broadband consultant with Progressive States Network. Cheryl has been very active in legislative battles at the state level, where she has helped to defend the public against anti-consumer deregulation led by AT&T, CenturyLink, and cable lobbyists. We touched on the … Continue reading "Community Broadband Bits 6 – Cheryl Leanza of Progressive States Network" ★ Support this podcast ★

For our fifth episode of the Community Broadband [no-glossary]Bits[/no-glossary] podcast, we have a discussion with Catharine Rice of SEATOA – the Southeastern Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors. We discuss legislation in North and South Carolina designed to stop communities from building their own networks. Catharine Rice has been a strong advocate for local authority, … Continue reading "Community Broadband Bits 5 – Catharine Rice of SEATOA" ★ Support this podcast ★

The fourth episode of Community Broadband [no-glossary]Bit[/no-glossary]s features Kevin Kryzda from Martin County, Florida. We discuss their county-owned network that is saving millions of dollars for the community — as detailed in our case study published last month. Activists that want to encourage publicly owned broadband in their communities should familiarize themselves with the cost … Continue reading "Community Broadband Bits 4 – Kevin Kryzda, CIO of Martin County, Florida" ★ Support this podcast ★

For the third Community Broadband [no-glossary]Bit[/no-glossary]s podcast, we decided to do a double interview, perhaps making up for skipping last week due to our Independence Day holiday. In this show, we talk with Todd Marriott from the UTOPIA open access network in Utah. The second interview is with a provider on the network: Pete Ashdown, … Continue reading "Community Broadband Bits 3 – UTOPIA and XMission" ★ Support this podcast ★