Doug Dawson, Broadband Industry Guru – Community Broadband Bits Podcast 306

Doug Dawson and his firm, CCG Consulting, recently marked their 20th year working in the telecommunications industry. Prior to establishing the firm, Doug already had significant experience in the field, having worked in the industry since 1978. Doug belongs to a small cadre of professionals who have the technical expertise and policy knowledge to set them apart. While Christopher was at the Broadband Communities Summit in Austin, he was lucky enough to spend some time with Doug and the two talked about a broad range of topics for episode 306 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast.

Remember you can listen to our weekly podcast by signing up here on iTunes or listen using this feed. Commercial-free conversations like this are filled with useful information for anyone interested in better connectivity in their community. This 34-minute conversation with Doug is only one of many interviews we’ve had with high-quality guests that offer insights into better connectivity.

In addition to sharing how Doug’s work has developed as the industry has changed, he describes some of the lessons he’s learned from working with different types of clients. Doug and CCG has consulted for private and public sector clients — those whose needs vary along with their definitions of success. Doug also shares his predictions about 5G and all the surrounding hype. Chris and Doug talk about Connect America Funding and ways to bring broadband to rural America. He’s been pondering the consequences of the FCC’s decision to remove federal network neutrality protections and what it means for municipal networks and smaller ISPs. Doug has some logical predictions on how local entities will move forward without network neutrality in place.

Check out the CCG Consulting website and be sure to peruse Doug’s blog, POTs and PANs. You can sign up for delivery of his articles directly to your inbox. You can also follow Doug on Twitter.

Read the transcript for this show here.

You can download this mp3 file directly from here. Listen to other episodes here or view all episodes in our index.

Thanks to Arne Huseby for the music. The song is Warm Duck Shuffle and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license.

Straight Talk About 5G; Potential, Limitations, Hype – Community Broadband Bits Podcast 299

If we want to talk technical stuff on the Community Broadband Bits podcast, we know Eric Lampland is one of the best guys to call. Eric is Founder and Principal of Lookout Point Communications. Earlier this month, he and Christopher presented information about 5G at the Iowa Association of Municipal Utilities Telecommunications Conference. They took some time during the conference to sit down with the mics and have a conversation for episode 299 of the podcast.There’s been scores of hype around the potential of 5G and, while the technology certainly opens up possibilities, Eric and Christopher explain why much of that hype is premature. 5G networks have been touted as an affordable answer to the pervasive problem of rural connectivity, but like other wireless technology, 5G has limitations. Eric breaks down the differences between evolutions of wireless technologies up to now and explains what needs they will fulfill and where we still have significant work to do.Eric also helps us understand GPON and NG-PON2, the technology that much of Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) relies upon. He describes how the technology is evolving and how new possibilities will influence networking.For information on 5G, we recommend you check out these resources from Next Century Cities:Guest Blog: What Can Cities Do To Prepare for the Next Generation of Mobile Networks? by Tony Batalla, head of Information Technology for the city of San Leandro, California.Next Century Cities Sends Mayoral Letter to FCC in Defense of Local Decision-Making, Releases New Market Research on 5G, Smart City Deployments – Read the full letter here.Report: Status Of U.S. Small Cell Wireless/5G & Smart City Applications From The Community Perspective, by RVA, LLC Market Research & ConsultingFact sheet on the RVA report.This show is 33 minutes long and can be played on this page or via iTunes or the tool of your choice using this feed.Read the transcript for this show here.You can download this mp3 file directly from here. Listen to other episodes here or view all episodes in our index.Thanks to Arne Huseby for the music. The song is Warm Duck Shuffle and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license.

Catching up with Lincoln on Fiber, 5G, and US IGNITE – Community Broadband Bits Podcast 285

David Young is a veteran of our Community Broadband Bits podcast, having been interviewed in episodes 182, 228, and 238. For reasons that are beyond this interviewer, he still has a job in Lincoln as the Fiber Infrastructure and Right of Way Manager. Just kidding David – you are such a friendly person I cannot help but say mean things about you due to my own character flaws. Don't worry folks, I'm just a little bit anxious to get out of 2017 alive. And does anyone actually read these podcast descriptions anyway? Where were we?  Ah yes – David consented to another interrogation while we were both in Atlanta for the Broadband Communities Economic Development conference. He updates us on the progress around the Fiber-to-the-Home network that Allo is building using conduit leased from Lincoln. We also talk about Lincoln's progress in working with wireless carriers to deploy 5G and the role David played in helping the Nebraska Legislature develop appropriate deployment policies for the entire state. We wrap up talking about US IGNITE. Ending 2017 with David Young is a privilege so you might want to ignore next week when our Community Broadband Networks staff discusses our past predictions for 2017 and what we are thinking about heading into 2018. This show is 17 minutes long and can be played on this page or via iTunes or the tool of your choice using this feed.Read the transcript of this show here.You can download this mp3 file directly from here. Listen to other episodes here or view all episodes in our index.Thanks to Arne Huseby for the music. The song is Warm Duck Shuffle and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license.