Unbuffered

The North Georgia Network was the first recipient of a BTOP (Broadband Technology Opportunities Program) stimulus grant in the nation and has been an interesting success story. For the latest episode of our Community [no-glossary]Broadband Bits[/no-glossary] podcast, President and CEO Paul Belk of the NGN joins us to discuss the history, present, and future of … Continue reading "North Georgia Network Brings Gig to Schools, Jobs to Region – Community Broadband Bits Episode #46"

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This is a show I have been wanting to do for years – discussing some of the common mistakes that have been make by community owned networks. Offering broadband and other telecommunications services is a difficult business for any entity, public or private and all network owners make mistakes. The vast majority of these errors … Continue reading "Andrew Cohill Explains Common Mistakes in Community Networks – Community Broadband Bits #45"

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Episode #44 of our Community Broadband [no-glossary]Bits[/no-glossary] podcast expands on our story exploring a major victory over bad AT&T-driven legislation in Kentucky. We welcome Mimi Pickering of Appalshop and Tom FitzGerald of the Kentucky Resources Council. We discuss why the AT&T-authored bill to gut consumer protections was bad for Kentucky and how a terrific coalition … Continue reading "Kentucky Coalition Takes Down AT&T Bill to Remove Consumer Phone Protections – Community Broadband Bits #44"

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Chief Information Officer for the Carroll County Public Schools Gary Davis joins me to explain why the Carroll County Government, Public Schools, Public Library, and Community College partnered to build their own fiber optic network. He is also the Chairman of the resulting Carroll County Public Network (CCPN) of Maryland. The story starts the same … Continue reading "Carroll County Explains Many Benefits of County Owned Fiber – Community Broadband Bits #43"

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The home of the first web browser (Mosiac) is now building an exciting open access network – the twin cities of Urbana-Champaign received a stimulus award for UC2B (2B = Big Broadband). Episode #42 of Community Broadband [no-glossary]Bits[/no-glossary] features Carol Ammons of the U-C Indepedent Media Center and Brandon Bowersox-Johnson, who is on the policy … Continue reading "Catching Up on UC2B in Illinois – Community Broadband Bits Podcast #42"

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Sascha Meinrath, Director of the Open Technology Institute (OTI) at the New America Foundation, joined me at the National Conference for Media Reform to discuss what OTI does and to discuss the Commotion Wireless project. Commotion is a project that is making it easier for anyone to build wireless mesh networks that allow for secure, … Continue reading "Sascha Meinrath Causes a Commotion on Community Broadband Bits #41"

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Opelika Mayor Gary Fuller and Jennifer McCain, partner of the Motive Group discuss why this Alabama town is the first to build its own fiber optic network in the state. In short, Opelika had long been fed up with the services offered by Charter Cable and Charter was not amenable to meeting the community’s needs. They decided to … Continue reading "Opelika Builds First Full Fiber Network in Alabama – Community Broadband Bits Episode 40"

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Mike Scott, City Manager of Moultrie in Georgia, joins us for Episode #39 of the Community Broadband [no-glossary]Bits[/no-glossary] podcast to share the origins of the Community Network Services (CNS) network that joins four towns in four counties in rural southwest Georgia. In this interview, Mike Scott shares some of the benefits of the network for … Continue reading "Moultrie City Manager Discusses Origins of CNS Network in Georgia for Community Broadband Bits Episode 39"

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Nearly 20 years ago, a small community between Seattle and Bellingham, Washington, began building a fiber optic network to connect key municipal facilities. In the years since, Mt Vernon has expanded the network to many community anchor institutions and businesses locally, including in two nearby towns. Information Systems Director Kim Kleppe and Community & Economic … Continue reading "In Washington, Mt. Vernon Attracts Businesses with Open Access Network – Community Broadband Bits Episode 38"

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Blair Levin is Executive Director of Gig.U. Prior to that, he was in charge of developing the National Broadband Plan and long before that was Chief of Staff for the FCC during the Clinton Presidency. He's had a lot of experience in telecommunications policy but here we focus on what can be done to move … Continue reading "Blair Levin Discusses Gig.U and More for Community Broadband Bits Episode #37"

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