Thanks to Jeff Hoel for providing the transcript for Episode 118 of the Community Broadband Bits podcast with Elin Katz and Bill Valee on better Internet access for Connecticut communities. Listen to this episode here.

00:05:

Elin Katz:  What are the economics of this going to be? Are you saying, well, no, we're going to have a model that comes at no cost to any citizen, but will get you the goal of sort of rolling through different neighborhoods?  So, those are the hard questions.

00:18:

Lisa Gonzalez:  Hi, and welcome to the Community Broadband Bits Podcast, from the Institute of Local Self-Reliance. This is Lisa Gonzalez.

In this episode, Chris takes us to Springfield, Massachusetts, where he recently attended a Broadband Communities Economic Development Conference. While he was there, he met up with Elin Katz, the Consumer Counsel for the state of Connecticut, and Bill Vallee, state Broadband Policy Coordinator. Elin shared some exciting news about efforts to expand gigabit access in three Connecticut communities. Businesses in the region have expressed a need for fast, affordable, reliable access. Community leaders are taking steps to create an environment friendly to private enterprise, with a strategy that embraces publicly-owned infrastructure. The project in mind is an "open access" network, and ISPs have already expressed interest. Elin, Bill, and Chris discuss how these communities are taking advantage of their existing assets, how they are adopting a collaborative approach, and some of the state regulatory changes that facilitate broadband deployment in Connecticut. Here is Chris, with an on-site interview with Elin Katz and Bill Vallee. 

01:25:

Chris Mitchell:  Welcome to another edition of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast. I'm Chris Mitchell. Today, live, coming to you from Springfield, Massachusetts, with Elin Katz, Consumer Counsel of the state of Connecticut. Welcome to the show.

01:38:

Elin Katz:  Thank you. Thank you very much.

01:40:

Chris:  And Bill Vallee, the Broadband Policy Coordinator in the state of Connecticut.

01:45:

Thanks to Jeff Hoel for providing the transcript for Episode 125 of the Community Broadband Bits podcast with Susan Crawford on the Responsive City. Listen to this episode here.

00:05:

Susan Crawford:  Fiber has to be the bottom layer of the responsive city -- any city that wants to involve all its citizens and have a constant web of connectivity.

00:15:

Lisa Gonzalez:  Hello there. Welcome to the Community Broadband Bits Podcast, from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance. I'm Lisa Gonzalez.

Susan Crawford has been with us before, and we are thrilled to have her back again. Susan is a professor at Harvard University, and she also authored the book, "Captive Audience." She recently released another book, this time with Stephen Goldsmith, titled, "The Responsive City:  Engaging Communities Through Data-Smart Governance." While many of our listeners may be familiar with the term "smart city," Susan and her coauthor consider  a "responsive city" something quite different. In this podcast, she and Chris delve into exactly what the term means, how it differs from the term "smart city," and how publicly-owned fiber networks can help cities become more responsive. Municipal networks are tools to improve connectivity, save public dollars, and spur economic development. But they're also an important tool to encourage citizen engagement, a critical component of our democracy. Here are Susan and Chris.

01:16:

Chris Mitchell:  Welcome to another edition of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast.  I'm Chris Mitchell. Today, I'm speaking with Susan Crawford again, professor at Harvard University, and author of "Captive Audience." Welcome to the show.

01:29:

Susan Crawford:  Hey, thanks, Christopher. Glad to be here.

01:30:

Thanks to Jeff Hoel for providing the transcript for Episode 128 of the Community Broadband Bits podcast with Eric Lampland of Lookout Point Communications. Listen to this episode here. 00:05:

Eric Lampland: But the monopoly is created by the physical infrastructure ...

00:08:

Chris Mitchell: Exactly.

00:08:

Eric: ... of those particular things, and so, yes, that does need to be replaced.

00:15:

Lisa Gonzalez: Hello. You are listening to the Community Broadband Bits Podcast, from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance. My name is Lisa Gonzalez. In episode 80 of the podcast, we introduced you to Eric Lampland, Founder and Principal Consultant at Lookout Point Communications. In that episode, Chris and Eric discussed indirect cost savings from municipal networks. This week, Eric stopped by our Minneapolis office for a discussion about "open access," today and in the future. We find that many of the communities we study that deploy or consider municipal broadband networks see an open access arrangement as the preferred business model. Traditionally, this would mean that the municipality would provide the infrastructure and providers would offer commercial or residential services to customers over the infrastructure. We also find that a large percentage of those communities find it difficult to implement this model. In our conversation, we dig into some common challenges associated with municipal open access networks. We also talk about some possible cures, and we look at how the very definition of the term "open access" is changing. Every week, we bring you the Community Broadband Bits Podcast advertisement-free. Please consider contributing in any amount to help us in carrying on this service. Just visit ILSR.org and click on the orange "donate" button.

01:38:

Chris Mitchell: Welcome to another edition of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast. I'm Chris Mitchell. Today, I'm in the office with Lisa Gonzalez.

01:47:

Lisa: Hey there.

01:47:

Chris: And we've got Eric Lampland back, the Founder and Principal Consultant for Lookout Point Communications.

01:53:

Eric: It's good to be here with you, Chris.

01:55:

Thanks to Jeff Hoel for providing the transcript for Episode 129 of the Community Broadband Bits podcast with Michael Liimatta of the nonprofit Connecting for Good in Kansas City, Missouri. Listen to this episode here. 

00:04: Michael Liimatta: It's a digital world that we live in. And so, if you're not online, you're not really a fully-functioning citizen.

00:11:

Lisa Gonzalez: Hello. You are listening to the Community Broadband Bits Podcast, from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance. This is Lisa Gonzalez. This week, Chris and his guest, Michael Liimatta, discuss digital inclusion efforts in Kansas City. Michael is President of the nonprofit, Connecting for Good, an organization in the region, aiming to bring more lower-income households online. As our listeners know, Google Fiber is now deploying in the community. Chris and Michael discuss whether or not the deployment has increased rates of adoption. Michael and Chris ponder some proposed ideas for bringing lower-income households online: Charging a very low rate. Should access be free? How does home access affect adoption, as opposed to access in a library or other community space? We encourage you to visit connectingforgood.org to learn more about the organization, especially if you feel your community could benefit from a digital inclusion program. We bring you the Community Broadband Bits Podcast advertisement-free each week. Please consider contributing to help us continue to carry on this valuable service. It's easy. Visit ILSR.org and click on the orange "donate" button. Here are Chris and Michael.

01:26:

Chris Mitchell: Welcome to another edition of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast. I'm Chris Mitchell. And today, I'm speaking with Michael Liimatta, the President of a nonprofit organization, Connecting for Good. Welcome to the show.

01:40:

Michael Liimatta: Thank you very much.

01:42:

Thanks to Jeff Hoel for providing the transcript for Episode 123 of the Community Broadband Bits podcast with Rick Mervine of Aurora, Illinois. Listen to this episode here. 

00:05:

Rick Mervine: The objective here is not to go out and cover the same amount of money that they were paying before. The objective here is to make sure they get a scalable connection that can grow with their needs, and, you know, provide them a reasonable baseline of expense, with all the advantage -- with all the ability to take advantage of the technology.

00:23:

Lisa Gonzalez: Hello there. Welcome again to the Community Broadband Bits Podcast, from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance. I'm Lisa Gonzalez. Not long ago, I visited with Rick Mervine, an Alderman from Aurora, Illinois. We started looking at the community of Aurora last year, and discovered that they have developed an interesting business model for their network, OnLight Aurora. They use both nonprofit and limited-profit entities. Since Chris has been globetrotting quite a bit lately, it's my turn to take over the microphone. And so this week, I decided to share some of the highlights of my conversation with Rick. The community realized in the early 2000s that there were a couple of reasons why publicly-owned infrastructure was a good idea. So they started with a vision, came up with a plan, and then deployed their network. The network began serving municipal facilities in 2008. And then about a year and a half ago, they branched out to work with community anchors and a few businesses. A key consideration has always been a long-term approach. Community leaders focus on the ability to develop a network that's scalable, to serve far into the future. Here's a little bit of my conversation with Alderman Rick Mervine, from Aurora, Illinois. So, I'm talking today with Rick Mervine. He's an Alderman in Aurora, Illinois, home of OnLight Aurora. Hi, Rick. How are you?

01:39:

Rick Mervine: How are you doing, Lisa?

01:40:

Lisa: I'm doing great. Thanks for asking. What were some of the reasons why Aurora decide to go ahead and invest in a fiber network?

01:46:

Thanks to Jeff Hoel for providing the transcript for Episode 122 of the Community Broadband Bits podcast with Bob Frankston. Listen to this episode here. 

Thank to Jeff Hoel for providing the transcript for Episode 120 of the Community Broadband Bits podcast with Christopher Mitchell and Lisa Gonzalez - Responding to Crazy Talk regarding the FCC Petitions from Chattanooga and Wilson. Listen to this episode here. 

Thank to Jeff Hoel for providing the transcript for Episode 121 of the Community Broadband Bits podcast with Deb Socia of Next Century Cities. Listen to this episode here. 

Thank to Jeff Hoel for providing the transcript for Episode 109 of the Community Broadband Bits podcast with Alyssa Clemsen-Roberts. Listen to this episode here. 

Thank to Jeff Hoel for providing the transcript for Episode 113 of the Community Broadband Bits podcast with Peter d'Errico of Leverett, Massachusetts. Listen to this episode here.