This is Episode 194 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast. Chris speaks with Travis Carter of local Internet Service Provider US Internet in Minneapolis. Travis describes how this local ISP builds networks to serve the community. Listen to this episode here.

Travis Carter: We're not building this to sell it. We're building it to be a long term viable solution.

Lisa Gonzalez: Welcome to Episode 294 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance. I'm Lisa Gonzalez. This week, Chris interviews Travis Carter, Co-founder of US Internet, a Minneapolis internet and data services provider. The company is deploying fiber in the community and offering high quality internet access at affordable rates. Travis and Chris have a conversation about the company, what it's been like working with the city and the philosophy behind their pricing and customer service. This is content-rich interview in which we learn how a local provider began and how it has evolved. Here's Chris talking with Travis Carter, Co-founder of US Internet.

Chris Mitchell: Welcome to the Community Broadband Bits Podcast. I'm Chris Mitchell with the Institute for Local Self-Reliance. Today, I'm in Travis Carter's office at USI. Welcome to the show.

Travis Carter: Thanks for having me, Chris.

Chris Mitchell: Briefly, what is USI?

Travis Carter: US Internet is an internet service provider that actually started in the basement of our apartment in 1995 in southeast Minneapolis. We evolved through dial-up, DSL, ISDM, the myriad of ... I think, we counted the other day, 35 different internet connectivity technologies over the last 21 years. Today, we're sitting here with the topic we're discussing, our fiber product as well as co-location, messaging, and other supportive internet-type services.

Chris Mitchell: I think people in the area might know you from the WiFi project.

This is Episode 192 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast. Chris speaks about national public policy with Gigi Sohn, a co-founder of Public Knowledge and current Counselor to Chairman Wheeler of the Federal Communications Commission. Listen to this episode here. 

Gigi Sohn: My boss, chairman Tom Wheeler, has a mantra, and that is, "Competition, competition, competition."

Lisa Gonzalez: Welcome to episode 192 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast. From the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, I'm Lisa Gonzalez. Our podcast usually focus on what's happening in local communities, but today we widen the lens to examine how things are changing at the federal level. The current Federal Communications Commission has made it known that they intend to do whatever they can to speed up ubiquitous, high quality internet access across the US. This week, we were able to touch base with Gigi Sohn, counselor to the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission. Chris and Gigi run through some of the policies the FCC are implementing to improve connectivity for residents, businesses, and organizations across the country. They also discuss some of the activity you may not know about yet, but is important to expanding the benefits of competition for services. At the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, we have conversations with people like Gigi to share information we know matters to you, and we do it with no advertising. Please take a moment to donate at ilsr.org or muninetworks.org to help us continue to bring you accurate, interesting, quality information. Any amount helps. Now, here are Chris and Gigi Sohn, counselor to the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission.

Chris Mitchell: Welcome to another addition of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast. I'm Chris Mitchell, and today I'm speaking with Gigi Sohn, counselor to Chairman Wheeler of the Federal Communications Commission. Welcome to the show.

Gigi Sohn: It's great to be here, Chris.

This is Episode 193 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast. Ted Smith, Chief Innovation Officer for Louisville, Kentucky, joins the show to describe one touch make-ready and wireless innovation. Listen to this episode here.

Thanks to Jeff Hoel for the transcript corrections.

Ted Smith: Just like one dig, the idea would be well, how about if we just roll one truck out there, one truck in the neighborhood, one episode, streamline, go.

Lisa Gonzalez: Welcome to episode one hundred and ninety three of the Community Broadband Bits podcast, from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance. I'm Lisa Gonzalez. When a community chooses to deploy a fiber network it's no small undertaking. Planners must first complete a number of tasks before one foot of fiber can be buried or strung from utility poles. In Louisville, Kentucky, where Google Fiber has considered expansion, an issue has come up regarding utility poles and rights of providers. The debate has shined a light on One Touch Make-Ready, policy designed to hasten preparation of utility poles, while still respecting the concerns of utility companies that own or use the poles. Chris sought out Ted Smith, Chief Innovation Officer for the city of Louisville, to talk about one touch, make-ready. Chris and Ted also expand the conversation to talk about the city's creative approach to improving connectivity for residents of all income levels, and ways they're pushing the boundaries of innovation. Now, here are Chris and Ted Smith, Chief Innovation Officer from Louisville, Kentucky.

Chris Mitchell: Welcome to another edition of the Community Broadband Bits podcast, I'm Chris Mitchell. Today I'm speaking with Ted Smith, the Chief Innovation Officer for the city of Louisville. Welcome to the show.

Ted Smith: Thanks for having me.

Chris Mitchell: We're excited to talk to Louisville, I've actually long known about Louisville as a basketball city. I understand that you do some other things as well. Why don't we start by just having you give us little details for people who aren't familiar with your community? What sort of things is Louisville known for?

This is the transcript for Episode 191 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast. Huntsville, Alabama, recently announced the deployment of Dark Fiber on which Google will offer services. Stacy Cantrell, Vice-President of Engineering at Huntsville Utilities, and Tom Reiman, President of the Broadband Group, join the show to explain how this came about and what the next steps are. Listen to this episode here.

Stacy Cantrell: I hope utilities can recognize that it's within their means to do this. We can put up this infrastructure. We can maintain this infrastructure and we maintain it 24/7, that's what we do.

Lisa Gonzalez: Welcome to episode 191 of the Community Broadband Bits podcast from the Institute for Local Self Reliance. I'm Lisa Gonzalez. You've probably heard the big announcement coming out of Huntsville, Alabama. After several years of exploring possibilities, Huntsville Utilities announced that they will be deploying dark fiber. Google Fiber intends to offer fiber to the home services via the network. The provider will not have an exclusive contract with the city, meaning the network will encourage competition and the city will continue to own and maintain the infrastructure. In this interview, Chris talks with Stacy Cantrell, vice president of engineering for Huntsville Utilities and Tom Reiman, president of the Broadband Group. The Broadband group has worked with Huntsville Utilities for several years as they developed the plan to improve local connectivity. The arrangement between the city and Google Fiber, one in which a large internationally recognized provider agrees to use publicly owned resources to bring retail services to an entire community, has the potential to open the door for other communities.

For municipalities that feel offering lit services is still too much of a risk, or in places with state barriers, the Huntsville model is worth watching. Now here are Stacy Cantrell from Huntsville Utilities and Tom Reiman, from the Broadband Group.

Chris Mitchell: Welcome to another edition of the community broadband bits podcast. I'm Chris Mitchell and today I'm speaking with Tom Reiman, president of the Broadband Group. Welcome to the show.

Tom Reiman: Thank you, glad to be here.

This is Episode 190 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast. Executive Director of the Greater Minnesota Partnership Dan Dorman joins the show to discuss the problem of the doughnut hole in Minnesota's broadband policy. Listen to this episode here.

Dan Dorman: In order to qualify for funding, the county seat had to be removed from the project. Now what you have is a doughnut hole.

Lisa Gonzalez: Welcome to episode one hundred ninety of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast from the Institute for Local Self Reliance. I'm Lisa Gonzalez.

As state legislatures consider allocating funds to improve internet access in rural areas, qualifying criteria had become an important issue. In this interview, Chris and his guest Dan Dorman talk about how Minnesota has developed a problem of the doughnut hole. Dan is the executive director of the Greater Minnesota Partnership, a nonprofit advocacy group dedicated to economic development policies and resources benefiting the areas outside of the Minneapolis, Saint Paul Metro Area. 

Minnesota's border to border broadband grant program has awarded grants to sparsely populated areas. As a result towns with a little higher population have not had access to funding. They may be surrounded by high quality internet access in rural areas while business and residents in these towns are stuck with slow, unreliable connectivity that hampers economic development.

Chris and Dan discuss the doughnut hole phenomena as it has occurred in Minnesota, but this could be any state that chooses to provide funding only to the most rural areas with the worst internet access, without considering the areas in between. Here are Chris and Dan Dorman executive director of the Greater Minnesota Partnership.

Chris Mitchell: Welcome to another episode of the Community Broadband Bit's podcast. I'm Chris Mitchell and today I have a repeat guest Dan Dorman executive director of the Greater Minnesota Partnership. Welcome to the show.

Dan Dorman: Happy to be here, Chris. Thanks for asking me to be on. 

This is Episode 189 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast. Wes Kelley, the Executive Director of the Columbia Power & Water System, joins the show to discuss his work in several different municipalities. Listen to this episode here.

Wes Kelley: You know when the high school kids say that we have the best internet, then we have arrived.

Lisa Gonzalez: Hello and welcome to episode 189 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast from the Institute For Local Self Reliance, I'm Lisa Gonzalez. Many of our podcasts focus on a particular community, but this week our guest has worked in 3 different communities. We first contacted Wes Kelley, Executive Director of the Columbia Power & Water System, because we knew he had played an integral part in developing the community network in Pulaski, Tennessee. At the time we didn't know it, but he had also worked in Hillsdale, Michigan. In this conversation, Chris and Wes talk about some of the lessons Wes has learned along the way as he's coped with different challenges and victories unique to each community. Wes has some good advice for other towns who may be trying to decide whether or not a municipal network is right for them. Here's Wes Kelley, Executive Director of the Columbia Power & Water System.

Chris Mitchell: Welcome to another edition of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast. I'm Chris Mitchell. Today I'm speaking with Wes Kelley, Executive Director of the Columbia Power & Water Systems in Tennessee. Welcome to the show.

Wes Kelley: Thank you, it's my pleasure to be here.

Chris Mitchell: We're going to get into a number of background issues, talking more generally about this situation with municipal networks. We're also going to talk a little bit about Pulaski in Tennessee; but we're going to start in Columbia, where you are currently, before we go back in time. Tell me a little bit about what's happening in Columbia.

This is Episode 188 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast. Eric Cramer, President and CEO of Wilkes Communications and RiverStreet Networks, describes this North Carolina's approach to providing Internet service in rural areas. Listen to this episode here.

Eric Cramer: We're not like Wall Street. We're not publicly traded. Our mission essentially is to serve the unserved. That's why we're here. 

Lisa Gonzalez: Good day and welcome to episode 188 of the Community Broadband Bits podcast from the Institute of Local Self Reliance. I'm Lisa Gonzalez. Co-operatives are playing an increasingly important role in bringing high-quality internet access to people in rural areas. In some places like Wilkes County, North Carolina, residents and businesses can get faster, more affordable, more reliable connectivity than many urban centers. Why? Because local, member-owned cooperatives consider themselves part of a community. They recognize the need and often choose to invest in future-proof fiber infrastructure. 

In this interview, Chris talks with Eric Cramer, President and CEO of Wilkes Communications and RiverStreet Networks. 

Eric describes the beginnings of the co-op and how the organization has gone from offering telephone service to services more in tune with today's market. Eric also describes how the co-op plans to expand. Neighboring communities also passed over by big and common carriers are turning to the co-op because they realize they may wait forever if they wait for the big providers. Check out the cooperatives website at wilkes.net and learn more about our expanding list of stories on cooperatives at the co-op tag at muninetworks.org. Here's Eric Cramer, president and CEO of Wilkes Communications talking with Chris about the cooperative and much more.

Chris Mitchell: Welcome to another addition of the Community Broadband Bits podcast. I'm Chris Mitchell. Today I'm speaking with Eric Cramer, the president and CEO of Wilkes Communication and RiverStreet Networks in North Carolina. Welcome to the show. 

Eric Cramer: Thank you. Glad to be here. 

This is Episode 187 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast. Andrew Blum, author of Tubes: A Journey to the Center of the Internet published in 2012, joins the show to describe his tour of the infrastructure of the Internet. Listen to this episode here.

Andrew Blum: When my Internet at home broke and the guy came to fix it and said, “I think a squirrel is chewing on your Internet” and I realized that if squirrels could chew on the piece of the Internet behind my building there had to be other pieces of the Internet that squirrels can chew on.

Lisa Gonzalez: Hello and welcome to Episode 187 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance I’m Lisa Gonzalez. The Internet has become so ingrained in our lives we rarely think about its physical structure. In 2012 Andrew Blum published Tubes: A Journey to the Center of the Internet. His book brings us into that unseen world that we often forget about until something goes wrong. In this interview Andrew and Chris discuss his motivation for writing the book, some of the surprising things he learned a long the way and the unrestrained nature of the Internet itself. Here at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance we strive to bring you quality resources like the Community Broadband Bits Podcast and we do it with no advertising. 

If you’re one of our listeners you appreciate the unique information we offer and you understand that there’s very few places to get this information please take a moment to donate at ilsr.org or muninetworks.org to help us continue to bring you accurate, interesting, quality information. Any amount helps. Now here’s Chris talking with Andrew Blum, author of Tubes: A Journey to the Center of the Internet.

Chris Mitchell: Welcome to another edition of the Community Broadband Bits podcast. I’m Chris Mitchell and today I’m speaking with Andrew Blum the author of Tubes" A Journey to The Center of the Internet. Welcome to the show.

Andrew Blum: Thanks for having me.

Chris Mitchell: It’s great to have you on. You and I talked around the time the book came out and I’ve really enjoyed it and I should have had you on four years ago.

This is Episode 186 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast. All the way from Colorado, St Vrain Valley School District Chief Technology Officer Joe McBreen joins the show to explain why schools need so much bandwidth. Listen to this episode here.

Joe McBreen: In July of 2014, after a competitive process, which the city blew everybody away, we actually moved to a 10 gig network, so we tenfold increased our bandwidth and saved $100,000 in one fell swoop.

Lisa Gonzalez: Good day and welcome to Episode 186 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance. I'm Lisa Gonzalez. Educators are finding exciting new ways to teach our children. This is great news for kids who had the opportunity to experience exciting new technologies that inspire their learning process. On the flip side, many of these new approaches require fast, affordable, reliable connectivity that schools just don't have or struggle to afford. 

In this Podcast, Chris talks with Joe McBreen, chief technology officer for the St. Vrain Valley School District, in Longmont, Colorado. After years of working with incumbents, the school district found a way to obtain better service for less by collaborating with the City of Longmont. Here are Chris and Joe, talking about the process and how life has changed at the St. Vrain Valley School District.

Chris Mitchell: Welcome to the Community Broadband Bits Podcast. I'm Chris Mitchell. Today, I'm speaking with Joe McBreen, the chief technology officer for the St. Vrain Valley School District. Welcome to the show.

Joe McBreen: Thank you. Glad to be here. 

Chris Mitchell: I first came into contact with you, I think, when we were looking at what was happening in Longmont, which is part of your territory. Where else does St. Vrain Valley go?

This is Episode 185 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast. Chris debates Ryan Radia, Associate Director of Technology Studies at the Competitive Enterpise Institute, on local governments, Internet access, and bandwidth caps. Listen to this episode here.

Ryan Radia: It’s undoubtedly true that if a city comes in and says, “We’re going to invest a lot of money in building a broadband network that’s better than the one that currently exists.” That’s to put pressure on the incumbent to offer better service. The question is whether that overall outcome is better for consumers.

Lisa Gonzalez: Hello, you’re listening to episode 185 of the Community Broadband Bits podcast from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, I’m Lisa Gonzalez. The question of what is best for subscribers is at the heart of technology policy. In this episode, Chris takes up a friendly debate with Ryan Radia, associate director of technology studies with the Competitive Enterprise Institute. The power of incumbents and their role, the reach of regulation and how municipal networks fit into the landscape are only a few of the issues Chris and Ryan discuss in episode.

Not only do we need to think about these matters in the context of today but we need to consider them as technology advances and try to develop intelligent policy that will embrace the future. Now here are Chris and Ryan Radia of the Competitive Enterprise Institute taking up different views and presenting their arguments on technology policy.

Chris Mitchell: Welcome to another edition of the Community Broadband Bits podcast, I’m Chris Mitchell and today we have a bit of a treat, we’re going to have a debate. A debate that discusses the viewpoints from both my point of view and my guest, Ryan Radia, the associate director of technology studies with the Competitive Enterprise Institute, Welcome to the show.

Ryan Radia: Thanks for having me Chris.