Community Broadband Bits

This week on the podcast, Christopher is joined by Jeff Magsamen, Telecom Director at Waverly Utilities in Waverly, Iowa. During the conversation, the two discuss Waverly’s journey building a municipal network, how triple play take rates have changed in the last few years, and the benefits of partnering with neighboring municipal networks to reduce startup costs. Christopher … Continue reading "Waverly Muni Fiber Another Success Story for Iowa – Episode 493 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast" ★ Support this podcast ★

This week on the podcast, Christopher is joined by Joe Poire, Director of Petrichor Broadband in Whitman County, Washington. During the conversation, the two discuss the unique role of Ports in Washington State, which for years have been building robust broadband infrastructure that could be used for increasing competition or extending access into unserved areas. … Continue reading "Public Open Access Spurs Competition in Washington State – Episode 492 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast" ★ Support this podcast ★

This week on the podcast, Christopher is joined by PJ Armstrong, Interim General Manager at Monmouth Independence Networks (MINET) operating in Oregon’s Willamette Valley. During the conversation, the two discuss how MINET came into existence over fifteen years ago, unique perspectives from an older municipal network, progress on MINET’s recent investor-backed expansion into Dallas, Oregon, … Continue reading "Perspectives From An Established Muni Network – Episode 491 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast" ★ Support this podcast ★

This week on the podcast, Christopher is joined by Bob Marshall, General Manager of the Plumas-Sierra Rural Electric Cooperative and the Plumas-Sierra Telecommunications Company. During the conversation, the two discuss Bob’s love for the cooperative movement, how Plumas-Sierra relies on fixed wireless, cable and fiber to service their rural terrain, and how they are using … Continue reading "Geography is Everything – Episode 490 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast" ★ Support this podcast ★

This week on the podcast, Christopher is joined by Matt Schmit, Director of the Illinois Office of Broadband and Chair of Illinois Broadband Advisory Council. During the conversation, the two discuss Illinois’ $420 million investment in broadband infrastructure as part of the Connect Illinois Broadband Grant program, the challenges in and solutions to both rural … Continue reading "It’s Not a Rural Broadband Challenge, It’s a Statewide Broadband Challenge – Episode 489 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast" ★ Support this podcast ★

In this episode of the podcast, we’re back for another staff conversation about all that 2021 had to offer and serve up some predictions for the coming year. Joining Christopher on the show are Senior Reporter and Editor Sean Gonsalves, Community Broadband Outreach Team Lead DeAnne Cuellar, Senior Researcher Ry Marcattilio-McCracken, GIS and Data Visualization Specialist Christine … Continue reading "Last Year and Next Year: Predictions Evaluated and Recharged – Episode 488 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast" ★ Support this podcast ★

On this week’s episode of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast, Christopher Mitchell is joined by Derek Turner, the research director for Free Press, to talk about the history of the federal government’s broadband data collection and how the Form 477 came to be.  They unpack how this data collection process has been historically flawed and how it … Continue reading "A History of Form 477 and Broadband Mapping Data – Episode 487 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast" ★ Support this podcast ★

For episode 15 of our bonus series, “Why NC Broadband Matters,” Christopher Mitchell is joined by Catharine Rice (Co-founder of NC Broadband Matters and  Project Manager at the Coalition for Local Internet Choice) and Doug Dawson (Owner and President of CCG Consulting) dig into what all these different pots of federal funding mean communities across … Continue reading "What Does All This Money Mean? – Bonus Episode 15 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast" ★ Support this podcast ★

On this week’s episode of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast, Christopher Mitchell invites the Community Broadband Networks Initiative staff onto the show to talk about what they believe were some of the biggest broadband stories of 2021. The group reminisce about what has been one of the most pivotal years for broadband infrastructure investment and … Continue reading "A Look Back on the Biggest Broadband Stories of 2021 – Episode 486 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast" ★ Support this podcast ★

On this week’s episode of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast, Christopher Mitchell welcomes Willie Painter, the public affairs manager for the Lewis County’s Public Utility District (PUD), to talk about what the county has been doing to address the lack of connectivity. We reported on Lewis County PUD’s plan to connect its 33,000 members through an open access fiber-to-the-home … Continue reading "A Washington PUD Prioritizes Open Access Fiber After Pandemic – Episode 485 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast" ★ Support this podcast ★

This week, we are releasing a bonus episode of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast, featuring a recent National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA) webinar on the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) that recently passed in Congress.  In this webinar, NDIA Policy Director, Amy Huffman breaks down the programs created by the more than $65 billion that’s been allocated to … Continue reading "NDIA Webinar: Digital Inclusion Funding in the Infrastructure Act – Bonus Episode of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast" ★ Support this podcast ★

On this week’s episode of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast, Christopher Mitchell brings back a longtime favorite guest, Jon Chambers, Partner at Conexon, to talk about what is next for municipal and cooperative broadband efforts given the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The two discuss the importance of rural cooperatives when connecting some of the most underserved … Continue reading "What States, Communities, and Activists Need to Do to Make the Most of the Infrastructure Act – Episode 484 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast" ★ Support this podcast ★

On this week’s episode of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast, host Christopher Mitchell is joined by Russ Elliot, the CEO of Siskiyou Telephone in Northern California.  The two discuss the importance of small incumbent providers, which often get lumped in with bigger telecommunications companies that leave rural communities behind when building broadband infrastructure. Small incumbent providers are … Continue reading "Local Solutions for Expanding Broadband Accessibility – Episode 483 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast" ★ Support this podcast ★

On this week’s episode of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast, Sean Gonsalves joins regular host Christopher Mitchell in a conversation with Michael Maloney, a public finance banker and the Managing Director at D.A. Davidson based in Iowa. Maloney has spent his career working on public financing projects to hope to spur economic development, including broadband. The three … Continue reading "Fort Dodge Brings FTTH to Fruition – Episode 482 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast" ★ Support this podcast ★

On this week’s episode of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast, host Christopher Mitchell travels to Des Moines, Iowa for the Iowa Association of Municipal Utilities Telecom Conference. He speaks with Kurt Ripperger, the Fiber Superintendent for the Indianola Municipal Utilities in Iowa.  The two talk about the journey of Indianola’s citywide fiber-to-the-home municipal network. While initially … Continue reading "A Success Story in Indianola, Iowa- Episode 481 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast" ★ Support this podcast ★

On this week’s episode of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast, host Christopher Mitchell is joined by Danny Peralta, the Executive Managing Director of The Point in the Bronx, New York which has. The Point has been at the forefront of revitalizing the South Bronx’s Hunts Point neighborhood working to address  environmental issues, increase access to the arts, … Continue reading "Broadband and Beyond in the Bronx – Episode 480 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast" ★ Support this podcast ★

On this episode of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast, host Christopher Mitchell is joined by Deanne Cuellar, the State Program Director for Older Adult Technology Services (OATS). They explore the history of the digital divide in San Antonio and Cuellar’s role in making the city one of the nation’s leaders in digital inclusion efforts.  The two also … Continue reading "The Fight for Digital Inclusion and Equity in San Antonio – Episode 479 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast" ★ Support this podcast ★

On this episode of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast, host Christopher Mitchell talks fiber with Gary Bolton, CEO and President of the Fiber Broadband Association (FBA) at the Broadband Communities Summit in Houston, TX.  The two discuss a recent fiber optic technician training program that FBA is rolling out, not only to fill expertise gaps and the labor shortage, but also … Continue reading "Let’s Talk Fiber – Episode 478 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast" ★ Support this podcast ★

For episode 14 of our bonus series, “Why NC Broadband Matters,” we’re joined by Amy Huffman, Policy Director at National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA) and Christa Vinson, Program Officer of Rural Broadband and Infrastructure at Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), to talk about the state of digital inclusion across the country.  Vinson updates us on … Continue reading "Tides Are Turning With Digital Inclusion – Bonus Episode 14 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast" ★ Support this podcast ★

On this week’s episode of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast, host Christopher Mitchell is joined by Angela Bennink (Telecommunications Director for Kitsap Public Utility District) and Laura Loe (Executive Director of Share The Cities Community Education & Share The Cities Action Fund) from Washington state.  The group discusses the struggles Public Utility Districts (PUDs) have experienced over … Continue reading "The Long and Winding Road for Publicly Owned Broadband in Washington State – Episode 477 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast" ★ Support this podcast ★