This is episode 214 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast. The CEO of GWI joins Christopher Mitchell to discuss last mile and middle mile networks. Listen to this episode here.

Fletcher Kittredge: You can't have the last mile without the middle mile. It is necessary, but it's certainly not sufficient.

Lisa Gonzalez: This is episode 214 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance. Welcome. I'm Lisa Gonzalez. Which is more likely to bring better connectivity to a larger section of the community, middle mile or last mile infrastructure investment? Both are necessary and, while there are those who believe middle mile investment inspires private providers to deploy their own last mile infrastructure, that theory has yet to be proven. On the other hand, last mile connectivity depends on solid middle mile infrastructure to connect a local community to the outside world. This week, Chris talks with someone who has expertise with both. Fletcher Kittredge, CEO of GWI, has developed projects that involve middle and last mile connectivity. He and Chris discuss a range of issues including where limited dollars should be focused when both last and middle mile infrastructure needs developing. Learn more about the company at GWI.net and read more about Maine's Three Ring Binder Project at the MuniNetworks.org tag Three Ring Binder. Now here are Chris and Fletcher Kittredge, CEO of GWI, to talk about middle mile and last mile deployment.

Christopher Mitchell: Welcome to another edition of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast. I'm Chris Mitchell and today I'm speaking with Fletcher Kittredge, the CEO of GWI in Maine. Welcome to the show.

Fletcher Kittredge: Hello. Thank you for having me.

This is episode 213 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast. Fred Goldstein, author of "The Great Telecom Meltdown" and "ISDN In Perspective," joins the show to discuss the history of the Internet with Christopher Mitchell. Listen to this episode here.

(Listen to part II of the discussion in episode 216.)

Fred Goldstein: Anything a computer did, anything you did over the phone was enhanced, unless it was plain voice.

Lisa Gonzalez: This is episode 213 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance. Welcome. I'm Lisa Gonzales. If you're listening to this podcast, you understand the importance of Internet access to education, economic development, and all around quality of life. Have you ever thought about the nature of the Internet? In this episode, Fred Goldstein joins Chris. Fred is a principal of the Interisle Consulting Group and shares his extensive knowledge of the history of what we now know as the Internet. Fred gets in to the technology, policy and regulatory actions that brought us to where we are now. This is the first of two interviews with Fred who has written two books about telecommunications, and who, in addition to his work at the firm, is a columnist for TMCnet. Now, here are Chris and Fred Goldstein, author and principal at Interisle Consulting.

Christopher Mitchell: Welcome to another edition of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast. This is Chris Mitchell, and I'm here today with Fred Goldstein, a principal of the Interisle Consulting Group. Welcome to the show.

Fred Goldstein: Thank you Chris. Glad to be here.

Christopher Mitchell: I'm glad to have you on. I've been corresponding with you for many years, definitely more than five, and I've always been impressed that your level of knowledge and history with the nuances around the Internet and past telecommunications regulation. For people who aren't familiar with you, can you tell us a little bit about your background and why they should listen to what you have to say?

This is episode 212 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast. Gail Garrett Select Board member of the Mount Washington, Massachusetts, discusses local connectivity and state grants. Listen to this episode here.

Gail Garrett: I saw it as saving our town almost. The internet is everything at this point.

Lisa Gonzalez: This is episode 212 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance. Welcome. I'm Lisa Gonzalez. Gail Garrett joins Chris for this week's show. Gail is on the Select Board of Mount Washington, Massachusetts, a small community in the extreme southwest corner of the state. She's been instrumental in the town's initiative to deploy their own Fiber-to-the-Home network to improve local connectivity and to ensure the future of this small rural town. Mount Washington recently received a state grant to help fund their project. Due to the unique circumstances, they have had some special considerations and challenges. In this interview, Gail describes their journey to better connectivity and she also discusses the nuances of the New England community approval process. Now here are Chris and Gail Garrett from Mount Washington, Massachusetts.

Christopher Mitchell: Welcome to another edition of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast. I'm Chris Mitchell. Today I'm speaking with Gail Garret, a member of the Select Board of Mount Washington in Massachusetts. Welcome to the show.

Gail Garrett: Thank you.

Christopher Mitchell: Well Gail, as we were just talking about as we did a little pre-interview, you are probably from the smallest town we've had on the show. Can you tell us a little bit about Mount Washington for those who haven't been out there?

Gail Garrett: Mount Washington is located on the corner of Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New York, the southwest corner of Massachusetts. We only have about 145 full-time residents. About the same number of homes or buildings and many, many of our people here of the households, about 146 households, many of them are weekenders, summer people, part-time, we have some hunting cabins. It's a very small, unique community.

This is Episode 211 of the Community Broadband Bits podcast. Fort Collins, Colorado, has opted out of a state law preventing community from building networks. Mayor Troxell joins the show to talk about what's happening now. Listen to this episode here.

Mayor Troxell: It's incumbent upon us to not only do the heads down, try and do things that we tend to do on a biweekly basis, but we also have to be lifting our head up and looking at the horizon.

Lisa Gonzalez: This is episode 211 of the Community Broadband Bits podcast from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance. Welcome, I'm Lisa Gonzalez. Wade Troxell, mayor of Fort Collins, Colorado, joins Chris for this week's interview. In 2015, voters in Fort Collins passed a measure to opt out of Colorado's SB152. As you'll find out in the interview, local voters sent a strong message that they wanted to reclaim local authority. In this interview, Mayor Troxell gives us his perspective as an elected official and community leader on why a community like Fort Collins would invest in internet infrastructure. He also provides more information about the city's undergrounding project and how it would fit in to the city's past and present plans for the future. At the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, we strive to bring you interesting stories like the one in Fort Collins. We also bring you these stories with no commercials, but our work requires funding. Please take a few moments to go to ILSR.org or Muninetworks.org and donate today to help us continue our mission. If you have donated before, thanks for your continuing support. If you're a new donor, welcome aboard and thank you. Now, here are Chris and Mayor Wade Troxell from Fort Collins, Colorado.

Christopher Mitchell: Welcome to another edition of the Community Broadband Bits podcast. I'm Chris Mitchell and today, I'm speaking with Mayor Wade Troxell of Fort Collins, Colorado. Welcome to the show.

Mayor Troxell: Good morning, Chris. Great to be here today.

This is episode 210 of the Community Broadband Bits podcast. Chris speaks with Al Crowser, the general manager of the electric utility in Alexandria, Minnesota. This community has provided Internet service to local businesses for years. Listen to this episode here.

Al Crowser: If your community decides they want to have their local government unit who probably has a very good track record on providing services, to provide that service, I think it should happen.

Lisa Gonzalez: Welcome to episode 210 of The Community Broadband Bits Podcast from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, I’m Lisa Gonzalez. Every once in a while we're able to touch base with a community that we’ve not profiled before that’s been serving local businesses with municipal fiber connectivity for a number of years. This week it’s ALP Utilities in Alexandria, Minnesota. Chris talks with Al Crowser, General Manager of ALP Utilities, who share the history of how the community got involved and bring connectivity to Alexandria and surrounding towns located in the central part of the state. Al explains how the municipal utility has evolved to now offer fiber services to local businesses and how they've done it slowly methodically. Check out their website to learn more at ALPutilities.com. Now here are Chris and Al Crowser, General Manager of Alexandria’s ALP Utilities.

Chris Mitchell: Welcome to another edition of The Community Broadband Bits Podcast. I’m Chris Mitchell and today I'm speaking with Al Crowser, the general manager of ALP Utilities in Alexandria, Minnesota. Welcome to the show.

Al Crowser: Well, thank you for having me.

Chris Mitchell: Tell me a little bit about Alexandria. I’ve been through it, but I’m guessing most of our listeners have not.

Al Crowser: Alexandria is a gem of Minnesota. It’s in a lake region of the 200 lakes in our county. It has good manufacturing, good jobs, good education, it’s the tagline for Alexandria. “It’s easy to get to and hard to leave.”

Chris Mitchell: What do you have, like about 15,000 people?

This is Episode 209 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast. Christopher Mitchell sits down with Lisa Gonzalez, Senior Researcher at MuniNetworks, to discuss crushing consolidation. Listen to this episode here.

Christopher Mitchell: Hey Lisa, come over here.

Lisa Gonzalez: Got my heels on, too.

Christopher Mitchell: Welcome to podcast 209 with the focus on consolidation and independence.

Lisa Gonzalez: If I had my fife, I'd be playing it for the crowd.

Christopher Mitchell: Yes, you would, in your Ren Fair costume, no doubt, predating our great Declaration of Independence.

Lisa Gonzalez: Nice try, Chris.

Christopher Mitchell: I just want everyone to know, Lisa loves the Renaissance Fair.

Lisa Gonzalez: I do, yes, but you know what I love even more?

Christopher Mitchell: Consolidation?

Lisa Gonzalez: No. Crushing consolidation.

Christopher Mitchell: Yes, crushing consolidation, which either could be a descriptive term, because that's what consolidation can be, or it could be what we would like to do to consolidation, which is to crush it.

Lisa Gonzalez: That's right, yes.

Christopher Mitchell: We want to talk today about consolidation, what happens when companies combine and that sort of thing. We want to talk about consolidation in the wake of Google having just bought Webpass, an ISP that we interviewed a few weeks ago and thought was really great and one of those signs of those innovative young companies that can bring competition to the marketplace and give people choices, and now they're owned by Google. Google certainly has a history of delivering very high quality services and customers tend to like them, but frankly as Google grows, I am worried about whether or not they can keep that up. I'm very disappointed that Webpass is no longer independent.

Lisa Gonzalez: Womp, womp, womp.

This is episode 208 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast. John Brown, the president of CityLink Telecommunications, joins the show to discuss the Internet of Things and public-private partnerships. Listen to this episode here.

John Brown: We don't really even consider ourselves technically an Internet service provider. We are a broadband applications delivery company.

Lisa Gonzalez: Welcome to episode 208 of the Community Broadband Bits podcast, from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance. I'm Lisa Gonzalez. In this episode, Chris visits with John Brown, president of CityLink Telecommunications. Chris and John have a rich and detailed discussion that reveals the entrepreneur's roots, his philosophy behind public-private collaboration, and they even discuss the pros and cons of the Internet of Things. This conversation runs a little longer than our usual podcast. We want to satisfy those of you who've contacted us and asked for more detail on these kinds of issues. Learn more about the company, located in Albuquerque, at CityLinkFiber.com. Now here are Chris and John Brown, president of CityLink Telecommunications.

Chris Mitchell: Welcome to another edition of the Community Broadband Bits podcast. I'm Chris Mitchell, and today I'm speaking with John Brown, the president of CityLink Telecommunications in Albuquerque. Welcome to the show.

John Brown: Thank you. Great to be here, Chris.

Chris Mitchell: I'm excited to have you on this show. I've known you for many years, as you've been building fiber networks, and certainly, I think, trying to build more than you've been able to, something we'll be getting into, but let's start off by just a brief description of what is CityLink? What separates it from other telecommunications companies?

This is Episode 207 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast. In this episode, Bruce Patterson returns once again. This time, he explains how virtualization gives residents control on the open access infrastructure. Listen to this episode here.

Watch the video "Ammon's Model: The Virtual End of Cable Monopolies."

Bruce Patterson: The words that the public is going to use to say the same thing is virtualization. We are actually are taking this technology and bringing it to the customer edge and letting them access the same type of functionality from their home.

Lisa Gonzalez: Welcome to Episode 207 of The Community Broadband Bits Podcast from the Institute for Local's Self-Reliance. I am Lisa Gonzalez. We have had Bruce Patterson, Ammon, Idaho's IT director on the show before to talk about the city's fiber network. This time he is joining Chris to discuss recent developments as the city gets down to the business of building out its Fiber-to-the-Home network. As well as implementing a unique funding approach, Ammon is using its open access infrastructure to give users more control than they would have with the typical connection. In this interview, Bruce provides more detail about the plan and how Ammon is moving forward one neighborhood at a time. Be sure to check out our new video "Ammon's Model: The Virtual End of Cable Monopolies," to learn more about their journey to become a network of the future at MuniNetworks.org. We have a number of stories that cover their progress. Now here is Chris and Bruce Patterson, IT director at Ammon, Idaho.

Christopher Mitchell: Welcome to another edition of The Community Broadband Bits Podcast. I am Chris Mitchell and today I'm speaking again with Bruce Patterson, the technology director for the city of Ammon in Idaho. Welcome back to the show.

Bruce Patterson: Thanks for having me, Chris.

Christopher Mitchell: I am really excited to talk to you again. We have just completed this long, less than a year odyssey, but longer than we thought it would be to make this video about your project. Tell me how you describe to people what you are doing in Ammon?

This is Episode 206 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast. Christopher Mitchell introduces us to Bob Farmer, Information Systems Director from the city of Glenwood Springs, Colorado. They discuss what lies ahead for the municipal network. 

Bob Farmer: Since we've started providing that direct access we've seen our products related to fiber grow consistently by 20% annually for the last 7 years without really marketing, just from improving the customer service.

Lisa Gonzalez: Welcome to Episode 206 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance. I'm Lisa Gonzalez. In this episode Chris introduces us to Bob Farmer, Information Systems Director from the City of Glenwood Springs, Colorado. Bob shares how the municipal network has benefited the community and how it's evolved over the years. He also describes how they've dealt with specific challenges to improve services to the community and discusses a few of the problems Glenwood Springs contends with today. Now let's listen to Chris and Information Systems Director Bob Farmer discuss potential solutions and lessons learned in Glenwood Springs, Colorado.

Chris Mitchell: Welcome to another edition of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast. I'm Chris Mitchell. Today I'm speaking with Bob Farmer, the Information Systems Director for Glenwood Springs in Colorado. Welcome to the show.

Bob Farmer: Thanks for having me on your show.

Chris Mitchell: I was excited to book you after we had such a fun panel last week in Mountain Connect. We were on with several other folks from Colorado that are doing great things. I'm a little bit ashamed that for all the years that you guys have been operating we haven't spoken with you, so we'll rectify that today. Let's start with just a little description of what Glenwood Springs is like. It's pretty nice, if I remember correctly from the last time I drove through.

This is Episode 205 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast. Westfield, Massachusetts, now has its own community network Whip City Fiber. To learn more, Chris spoke with Operations Manager Aaron Bean and Key Accounts & Customer Service Manager Sean Fitzgerald.

Aaron Bean: It can be done and it can be done really well at a small municipal level, so fear not. It can be done successfully.

Lisa Gonzalez: Welcome to episode 205 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance. I'm Lisa Gonzalez. Westfield, Massachusetts has recently deployed its new Fiber-to-the-Home pilot project, Whip City Fiber. The community's municipal gas and electric utility is taking charge of the project, which is growing to more neighborhoods as residents and businesses direct the expansion with early sign-ups. Aaron Bean, operations manager, and Sean Fitzgerald, key accounts and customer service manager both from Westfield Gas and Electric join Chris today. Aaron and Sean describe how this Massachusetts town has started bringing fast, affordable, reliable connectivity to residents and businesses in an area of the state where incumbents just don't offer high-caliber services. Westfield Gas and Electric has a loyal following among the community and is now providing that same level of customer service to its Fiber-to-the-Home customers. Check out our stories on Westfield at muninetworks.org and learn more about the service at whipcityfiber.com. Now here is Chris with Aaron Bean, operations manager, and Sean Fitzgerald, key accounts and customer service manager, both from Westfield Gas and Electric.

Chris Mitchell: Welcome to another edition of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast. I'm Chris Mitchell and today I'm speaking with Aaron Bean, the operations manager of Westfield Gas and Electric. Welcome to the show.

Aaron Bean: Good morning, Chris.

Chris Mitchell: We also have Sean Fitzgerald, the key accounts and customer service manager also from Westfield, Massachusetts. Welcome to the show.

Sean Fitzgerald: Thank you, Chris.

Chris Mitchell: I'd love to start off by learning a little bit about Westfield for people that have not been there. What's the size of the community, what kind of things do you guys do there?