All Day Digital

The data center industry is pouring billions of dollars to restart old nuclear facilities and develop new technologies as it searches for more energy sources. In this episode of All Day Digital, Mike King of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission shares what the future of nuclear energy in the U.S. might look like.

 In 2025, Amazon’s Project Kuiper service is entering the satellite internet residential market, joining Starlink, HughesNet and Viasat. In this episode of All Day Digital, expert Tim Courtney assesses Amazon’s clear opportunity for bundling, satellite’s impact for rural areas and its potential to disrupt fixed-line providers.

Drawing from CoBank’s unique visibility into the private broadband market, Jeff Johnston shares his expert opinions in this year-end episode of All Day Digital. He explains why we’re seeing a decline in deal value, what’s behind the standoff between buyers and sellers and how investors could be lured back into the private broadband market.

While the BEAD funding program is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to expand rural broadband coverage, some providers have decided the red tape burdens just aren’t worth it. In this episode of All Day Digital, Chad Duval with Moss Adams encourages small rural providers to think defensively and pursue BEAD funding for their service territories — otherwise, someone else will. 

About six years ago, rural operators were told to rip out and replace non-compliant, Chinese-made equipment from communication networks. However, the mandate is underfunded, operators need assistance and solutions are stalled in Congress. In this episode of All Day Digital, telecom policy expert and Rural Wireless Association general counsel Carri Bennet shares what’s happening behind the scenes in Washington.

Federal programs are helping bridge the digital divide, but what then? Maintaining, sustaining and keeping networks affordable is the next objective, says Shirley Bloomfield, CEO of NTCA-The Rural Broadband Association. In this episode of All Day Digital, Bloomfield shares NTCA’s creative approaches to current rural broadband challenges.

The U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that the FCC’s Universal Service Fund is unconstitutional, a split from two circuit courts’ previous decisions. In this episode of All Day Digital, the former executive director of the FCC’s National Broadband Plan, Blair Levin, discusses what this means for rural telecom operators who rely on USF support and why he thinks the Supreme Court will take the case. 

Competition, growth opportunities and the race to get broadband service to the un- and underserved is forcing some providers to think more creatively about funding their capital budgets. CoBank’s Mike Harder explains how banks are innovating their lending to this market as borrowers look to increase their leverage and risk. 

From Virginia to Alaska, the U.S. government is boosting national security investments, creating new opportunities and challenges for rural broadband operators. Telecom investor and Army veteran Chad Crank warns that as world geopolitics become increasing unstable, the U.S. government should work with the private sector to reduce risks from bad actors.

 Over the last two years, more data has been created than in all of human history combined, and it’s not slowing down.
The “compute” phase of generative artificial intelligence — when computers are learning from other computers — doesn’t need to be near where the application is used. But it does take a lot of energy. In this episode of All Day Digital, data center investor Alexey Teplukhin explains why rural markets are ideal for this function.