Unbuffered

In this episode of the Community Broadband Bits podcast, we get an introduction to what this week’s guest calls “the most Southern of protocols” — Wi-Fi. Here to guide us is Heather “Mo” Williams, Manager of Solutions Engineering at Ruckus Networks, Wi-Fi engineer for Black Hat conferences, and co-host on the podcast This Week in Enterprise Tech. During her … Continue reading "Why Wi-Fi is Polite and Where It’s Going Next – Community Broadband Bits Episode 410"

★ Support this podcast ★

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has worked for many years to protect privacy and civil liberties online and to support technological innovation and widespread Internet access. Ernesto Falcon, Senior Legislative Counsel at EFF, speaks with Christopher for this episode of the Community Broadband Bits podcast. After explaining EFF’s mission, Ernesto shares his background and how he got … Continue reading "A New Frontier for Broadband Funding in California – Community Broadband Bits Episode 409"

★ Support this podcast ★

After a bitter battle with Comcast and a successful referendumto reclaim local authority back in 2017, Fort Collins, Colorado, is moving forward with its municipal fiber network, Connexion. The city is starting to connect residents to the network, so we wanted to check back in with local activists and Connexion staff to find out how it’s going. In this … Continue reading "Checking in With Fort Collins Fiber Network, Connexion- Community Broadband Bits Episode 408"

★ Support this podcast ★

We last spoke to Brian Skelton, president of Tullahoma Utilities Authority, in 2013 for episode 54 of the Community Broadband Bits podcast. Since then, the Tennessee city’s municipal fiber network, LightTube, has continued to offer Internet access, voice, and video services, attracting new businesses to the region. For this episode of the Community Broadband Bits podcast, Christopher and … Continue reading "Tullahoma Thrives With Fiber Network, Plus Straight Talk on the Pandemic- Community Broadband Bits Episode 407"

★ Support this podcast ★

The breathtaking mountains of northwest Colorado have long attracted skiers and hikers, but broadband providers haven’t found the region’s rugged landscape and sparse population as appealing. Enter Project THOR, a middle mile fiber network developed out of a collaboration among local governments and private companies led by the Northwest Colorado Council of Goverments (NWCCOG). Over the last few … Continue reading "Heroic Partners Bring Middle Mile Fiber to Northwest Colorado With Project THOR- Community Broadband Bits Episode 406"

★ Support this podcast ★

Our lives have mostly moved online as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, but the millions of Americans who don’t have access to home broadband have been left behind. Whether it’s unavailable or just unaffordable, these families must risk their health to access essential services, like healthcare and education. This week for the Community Broadband … Continue reading "Digital Inclusion Saves Lives During a Pandemic- Community Broadband Bits Episode 405"

★ Support this podcast ★

The Covid-19 pandemic is affecting communities across the country in different ways. Recently, Christopher called up Scott Mooneyham, Director of Political Communications and Coordination for the North Carolina League of Municipalities, to find out how towns and cities in the Tar Heel State are faring. Christopher and Scott discuss how the spread of the novel coronavirus … Continue reading "NC Needs Local Internet Choice to Tackle Pandemic – Community Broadband Bits Episode 404"

★ Support this podcast ★

With Covid-19 cases growing across the country, it’s more important now than ever that households have access to telehealth services. For the seventh episode of the “Why NC Broadband Matters” podcast series, we spoke with Dave Kirby, president of the North Carolina Telehealth Network Association, about the role of telehealth in the healthcare system, both during … Continue reading "Benefits of Telehealth Go Beyond Covid-19 in Rural NC – Community Broadband Bits Podcast, Bonus Episode Seven"

★ Support this podcast ★

This week on the Community Broadband Bits podcast, Christopher speaks with Steve Song, a fellow at Mozilla who works to connect unserved communities across the globe. Steve shares his background starting out at a nonprofit Internet service provider in 1990s South Africa, and they discuss the negative but mostly positive effects of widespread Internet access. While acknowledging … Continue reading "Think Local, Connect Global with Smart Wireless Policy – Community Broadband Bits Episode 403"

★ Support this podcast ★

For this episode, Christopher was joined by returning guest Jonathan Chambers to discuss the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC’s) Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF), which will finance broadband deployment across rural America. Jonathan is a partner at Conexon, which works with rural electric cooperatives to plan, fund, and build fiber optic networks. The pair review the details … Continue reading "How the FCC Plans to Spend $20 Billion on Rural Broadband – Community Broadband Bits Episode 402"

★ Support this podcast ★