Unbuffered

It’s been a while since we last visited with Reedsburg Utilities Commission General Manager Brett Schuppner. He’s back on the show again to help us spread the word about this Wisconsin town’s decision to switch all their muni network subscribers to affordable gigabit connectivity and to eliminate all other tiers. Brett and Christopher get into … Continue reading "Revisiting Reedsburg: LightSpeed’s All-Gig Telecommuter Paradise – Community Broadband Bits Podcast 327"

We don’t often get the opportunity to interview people from Texas, so when we heard about Mont Belvieu’s gigabit fiber optic network we knew we had to have them on the show. When we learned that four officials from the east Texas town would join us we said, “Even better!” City Manager Nathan Watkins, Director of Broadband … Continue reading "Small Town Does Fiber Bigger In Texas – Community Broadband Bits Podcast 326"

★ Support this podcast ★

We don’t often get the opportunity to interview people from Texas, so when we heard about Mont Belvieu’s gigabit fiber optic network we knew we had to have them on the show. When we learned that four officials from the east Texas town would join us we said, “Even better!” City Manager Nathan Watkins, Director of Broadband … Continue reading "Small Town Does Fiber Bigger In Texas – Community Broadband Bits Podcast 326"

When Fairpoint wouldn’t give folks in Crestone, Colorado, what they needed after repeated requests, they decided to take care of it themselves. By 2012, Ralph Abrams and his band of Internet pioneers had created Colorado Central Telecom, providing affordable, dependable fixed wireless service to premises throughout the region at much faster speeds than Fairpoint could ever … Continue reading "Colorado Community WISP Picks Up Slack When Incumbent Fails to Deliver – Community Broadband Bits Podcast 325"

★ Support this podcast ★

When Fairpoint wouldn’t give folks in Crestone, Colorado, what they needed after repeated requests, they decided to take care of it themselves. By 2012, Ralph Abrams and his band of Internet pioneers had created Colorado Central Telecom, providing affordable, dependable fixed wireless service to premises throughout the region at much faster speeds than Fairpoint could ever … Continue reading "Colorado Community WISP Picks Up Slack When Incumbent Fails to Deliver – Community Broadband Bits Podcast 325"

Great Lakes Energy (GLE) in Michigan decided in late 2017 to approve a plan to incrementally deploy Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) to cooperative members, beginning with a pilot project in Petoskey. This week, Vice President of Communications, Marketing and Energy Optimization from GLE joins Christopher to talk about what could possibly become the largest FTTH project in the … Continue reading "Great Lakes Energy’s Big Plan for Big Fiber – Community Broadband Bits Podcast 324"

★ Support this podcast ★

Great Lakes Energy (GLE) in Michigan decided in late 2017 to approve a plan to incrementally deploy Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) to cooperative members, beginning with a pilot project in Petoskey. This week, Vice President of Communications, Marketing and Energy Optimization from GLE joins Christopher to talk about what could possibly become the largest FTTH project in the … Continue reading "Great Lakes Energy’s Big Plan for Big Fiber – Community Broadband Bits Podcast 324"

Great Lakes Energy (GLE) in Michigan decided in late 2017 to approve a plan to incrementally deploy Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) to cooperative members, beginning with a pilot project in Petoskey. This week, Vice President of Communications, Marketing and Energy Optimization from GLE joins Christopher to talk about what could possibly become the largest FTTH project in the state.GLE anticipates offering its symmetrical Truestream Internet access to members in the pilot area as early as the end of October. The planning process, however, has involved several feasibility studies and at least two years of planning in addition to several more years of contemplation. Shari explains how the region GLE serves covers many different types of geographies, subscriber income levels, and different levels of Internet access competition. Some folks have only dial-up, while others have the option of cable Internet access. One of the challenges GLE faces is educating potential subscribers about the differences between what they have now and the potential with Truestream.She explains that the cooperative has decided to approach deployment with a flexible incremental approach, carefully examining demand as they deploy to determine where they go next across their service area. There’s a significant portion of seasonal homes in this northern section of the lower peninsula, and GLE sees that high-quality Internet access can help boost local economic development if those seasonal visitors have the ability to stay longer by working from the cabin.For more on the project, check out our coverage.We want your feedback and suggestions for the show-please e-mail us or leave a comment below.This show is  minutes long and can be played on this page or via iTunes or the tool of your choice using this feed. You can listen to the interview on this page or download the mp3 file directly from here.Listen to other episodes here or view all episodes in our index.Thanks to Arne Huseby for the music. The song is Warm Duck Shuffle and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license.

This week on the podcast, we get insight into a community network that puts extra emphasis on the word “community.” Diana Nucera, Director of the Detroit Community Technology Project (DCTP) talks with Christopher about how the people in her city and their diversity are the driving forces behind the connectivity they have created. Diana and Christopher review … Continue reading "Building Digital Equity in Detroit – Community Broadband Bits Podcast 323"

★ Support this podcast ★

This week on the podcast, we get insight into a community network that puts extra emphasis on the word “community.” Diana Nucera, Director of the Detroit Community Technology Project (DCTP) talks with Christopher about how the people in her city and their diversity are the driving forces behind the connectivity they have created. Diana and Christopher review … Continue reading "Building Digital Equity in Detroit – Community Broadband Bits Podcast 323"