Unbuffered

For years, we have urged municipal networks to cooperate in various ways to lower costs. For instance, by building a shared middle mile network to aggregate their bandwidth and get a better deal due to the higher volume. So it came as a [no-glossary]bit[/no-glossary] of a shock that Georgia Public Web has been helping many … Continue reading "Connecting Georgia's Munis – Community Broadband Bits Podcast 156"

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Many communities feel like they are an island without proper connectivity but Islesboro, Maine, is literally an island… without proper connectivity. This week, we talk with Page Clason, Manager of the Broadband Internet Working Group for the island that is moving toward a fiber solution to expand high quality Internet access. We discuss the differences … Continue reading "Maine Island Stranded Without Fiber – Community Broadband Bits Podcast 155"

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After reading “Amtrak's Lessons for Access to the Airwaves,” I knew we wanted to talk to Michael Calabrese and Patrick Lucey of the Open Technology Institute at the New America Foundation to discuss wireless policy. Unfortunately, scheduling challenges kept Patrick off the this show but we do have a great discussion for this week's Community … Continue reading "Recent Advances in the Wireless Future – Community Broadband Bits Episode 154"

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We were excited to begin writing about the Upgrade Seattle campaign back in January and this week we are presenting a discussion with several people behind the campaign for episode 153 of the Community Broadband [no-glossary]Bits[/no-glossary] podcast. We are joined by Sabrina Roach, Devin Glaser, and Karen Toering to discuss what motivates the Upgrade Seattle … Continue reading "Upgrade Seattle on Need For Better Access – Community Broadband Bits Episode 153"

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After Santa Fe found its residents and businesses were often paying the same rates for connections at half the speed of peers in Albuquerque, the City began investigating the local broadband market. This week on Community Broadband [no-glossary]Bits[/no-glossary], Sean Moody joins us to discuss the situation and what Santa Fe is doing to spur more … Continue reading "Santa Fe's Targeted Fiber Investment – Community Broadband Bits Podcast 152"

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Back in March, I spoke at the Iowa Association of Municipal Utilities Telecom conference, which is always an event with interesting people. While there, I met Doug Hammer and Krista Allen of Harlan Utilities. With just over 5,000 people, Harlan is small but they actually have better Internet and cable choices than most of us, … Continue reading "Small ISPs and Paperwork – Community Broadband Bits Episode 151"

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This week, we are focusing on security concerns for community networks. Community networks tend to be small, with limited staff to keep track of the many challenges of running a network. Our guest this week on Community Broadband [no-glossary]Bits[/no-glossary] is Weston Hecker, Senior Systems Security Analyst and Pen Tester for KLJ. After defining what penetration … Continue reading "Ensuring Security on Community Networks – Community Broadband Bits Episode 150"

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Our second episode of Community Broadband Bits featured an interview with Monica Webb, Chair of the Wired West Board and Spokesperson. Three years later, we are excited to have Monica on the show again to update us on their recent progress. As we recently noted, the state has decided to contribute significantly to the capital … Continue reading "The Latest on Wired West Rural Fiber – Community Broadband Bits Podcast 149"

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In the aftermath of the Comcast/TWC merger being effectively denied by the Department of Justice and Federal Communications Commission, we thought it was a key moment to focus on antitrust/anti-monopoly policy in DC. To discuss this topic, we talk this week with Teddy Downey, Executive Editor and CEO of the Capitol Forum as well as … Continue reading "Comcast Merger Wrap-up and Anti-Monopoly Policy – Community Broadband Bits Episode 148"

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The first gigabit city in Wisconsin, Reedsburg, has a municipal fiber network operated by the city-owned electric utility. This week, we talk with General Manager of the Utility Commission, Brett Schuppner. Reedsburg fiber goes back to 2003, which makes it one of the oldest FTTH networks in the nation. Located about an hour outside of … Continue reading "In Reedsburg, Expansion Weighed After Muni Fiber Success – Community Broadband Bits Episode 147"

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