Catching Up With Terry Huval from Lafayette – Community Broadband Bits Podcast 313

We’ve been following the community of Lafayette, Louisiana, and their LUS Fiber community network from the early days. Director of Utilities Terry Huval was one of the people responsible for bringing high-quality Internet access to the community back in 2009. Terry is about to retire so we wanted to have one more conversation with him before he pursues a life of leisure.

The last time Terry was on the show, he and Christopher discussed the possibility of an LUS Fiber expansion. That was back in March 2015 for episode 144 and the network has since spread its footprint beyond city limits. Those efforts have inspired better services from competitors in addition to bringing fiber to communities that struggled with poor Internet access.

Christopher and Terry talk a little history as Terry reflects on the reactions of incumbent ISPs who tried to disrupt the LUS Fiber deployment. A winning strategy that has always served the advancement of the network, Terry tells us, has been to focus on the unique culture of Lafayette and its people. Marketing based on local pride has always kept LUS Fiber in locals’ minds. Terry discusses establishing pricing and how it relates to marketing and maintaining subscribers; in broadband, the situation is much different than with other utilities.

Terry spends some time answering a few questions on free Wi-Fi at the airport and the ways the network’s economic development benefits have kept the community’s youth in Lafayette. He also addresses how the city has dealt with state rules that apply to LUS Fiber but not to private sector ISPs and the way the city has dealt with those rules.

For more details about how the community of Lafayette developed its fiber optic network, check out our 2012 report, Broadband and the Speed of Light. You can also learn more about how to address some of the many erroneous and misleading claims about LUS Fiber and similar networks from our report Correcting Community Fiber Fallacies: Attacks on LUS Fiber.

Read the transcript for this show here.

This show is 30 minutes long and can be played on this page or via iTunes or the tool of your choice using this feed.

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.

At the State Level With Tony Neal-Graves in Colorado – Community Broadband Bits Podcast 312

The State of Colorado has made some changes in the past few years that are improving broadband deployment, especially in rural areas. In this episode of the podcast, Christopher talks about some of those changes with Tony Neal-Graves, Executive Director of the Colorado Broadband Office. While Christopher was in Vail at the Mountain Connect event, he and Tony sat down to have a conversation about broadband and deployment in Colorado.

In addition to discussing his shift from the private to public sector, Tony gets into changes in state law, including last session’s adjustments to Colorado’s right of first refusal. Tony describes what kinds of conversations he’s had with local communities and acknowledges that Colorado communities are especially good at working together to solve connectivity issues. Chris and Tony also talk about the growing role of cooperatives and state versus FCC data collection. In addition to the Colorado Department of Local Affairs (DOLA), which helps fund local broadband deployment, Colorado seems to be making some smart moves that keep raising the bar on how to fast-track smart broadband deployment.

This show is 28 minutes long and can be played on this page or via iTunes or the tool of your choice using this feed.

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

Read the transcript for this show here.

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

Cortez Discovering Future Possibilities With Muni Fiber – Community Broadband Bits Podcast 310

Cortez, Colorado, has been serving public facilities, community anchor institutions (CAIs), and businesses officially since 2011. In 2015, they expanded to bring fiber connectivity to more businesses; today, seven providers offer services on their open access infrastructure. Now, Cortez is ready to take the next step by offering retail services to residents as an ISP; they’re engaged in a pilot project that will help them determine the best way to move forward. This week, General Services Director Rick Smith joins Christopher to discuss past, present, and future in this town of approximately 9,000.

The guys met up at Mountain Connect in Vail, where they’re joining many other industry and policy professionals discuss infrastructure, connectivity, and policy. While at the conference, Rick and the city received the Community Project of the Year Award.

Rick was on the show in 2014 to describe how this rural community incrementally built its network with local investment and state contributions. This time, Cortez is considering ways to shrink its digital divide and examining funding through ways other than traditional revenue bonding. They’ve also been working on regional efforts to help neighbors get the kind of connectivity needed for economic development. Rick describes how the outdoor equipment retailer Osprey has set up its headquarters in Cortez — first on the list of necessities was not physical real estate, but the ability to access dark fiber.

As Cortez looks at challenges to achieve their goal of citywide Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH), they’re considering inventive and methodical ways to reduce costs. They are committed to bringing high-quality Internet access to every citizen in Cortez because they realize that, without action, residents face a potential monopoly provider.

This show is 29 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 episode 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.

Making A Broadband Utility in Maine – Community Broadband Bits Podcast 309

The Maine towns of Baileyville and Calais are known for their beautiful scenery and their clean rural lifestyle; soon the region will also be known for its broadband. The two communities have joined togetherto form the Downeast Broadband Utility (DBU) in order to develop a regional fiber optic network for businesses and residents. Julie Jordan, Director of DBU has joined Christopher this week to talk about the project.

Like many other rural areas in Maine, the towns found that for decades they have had difficulty attracting and retaining businesses and new residents. Community leaders recognize that the poor Internet infrastructure in the area is one of the root causes and aim to amend the problem. By working together, Baileyville and Calais can achieve what would have been extremely difficult for each to do on their own. Once community leaders began investigating what it would take to create a publicly owned network and the benefits that would result, they realized that they had the ability to improve local connectivity. Julie discusses how they’ve dealt with some of the challenges they’ve faced and how they’re preparing to contend with potential difficulties.

The Post Road Foundation, a nonprofit researching the possibilities of sustainable infrastructure, broadband connectivity, and investment, will be working with DBU. The organization is looking at ways to increase rural deployment across the U.S. DBU is one of several communities partnering with the Post Road Foundation to document discoveries that may help drive investment.

This show is 26 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.

Postmortem in Wyoming: Cheyenne Mayor on Interrupted Legislation – Community Broadband Bits Podcast 308

Local communities considering investment to improve connectivity for businesses and residents have many factors to consider, including state laws. The best laid plans for broadband can be torpedoed if state legislators are influenced enough by incumbent lobbyists to pass laws that complicate local authority or funding. This week, we hear about Wyoming from Cheyenne Mayor Marian Orr.

Mayor Orr describes how incumbents in her community claim that access to broadband is plentiful, but business leaders and residents describe a different reality. In order to seek out possible solutions, the city has now created a broadband task force to analyze the problem.

Earlier this year, Mayor Orr expressed excitement about SF 100, a state bill that was written to provide funding for local communities interested in exploring better solutions for local connectivity. While the bill was in committee, however, lobbyists from incumbents CenturyLink and Spectrum found a way to derail the parts of the bill that would help places like Cheyenne make their own decisions. Now, the bill requires that funding be used only for public-private partnerships and focus only on the areas with the worst connectivity.

This show is 16 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.

Don’t Forget the Financing! – Community Broadband Bits Podcast 307

When municipalities and other local governments are planning for publicly owned Internet infrastructure, they must coordinate many moving pieces to get the project going and to keep it on a successful track. In this interview, Christopher and Tom Coverick, Managing Director at KeyBanc Capital Markets, discuss one of the most important components of community network planning: finance.

Christopher and Tom met up at the May 2018 Broadband Communities Summit in Austin, Texas.

In addition to some of the types of bonding and other mechanisms communities use to fund their projects, Christopher and Tom discuss the politics and ancillary issues that affect local leaders’ decisions to take the step to finance for a project. Risk is a consideration and it affects the cost of financing. Tom advocates that financing should be part of the equation early in the planning process and he explains why his experience has led him to this conclusion. Christopher and Tom also talk about some creative funding techniques that local communities have used to make borrowing more palatable and suitable for their unique situations.

This show is 25 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.

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.

Digging Into the Details With RVA Market Research & Consulting – Community Broadband Bits Podcast 305

RVA Market Research & Consulting is a firm known for its ability to provide detailed review, analysis, and forecast for Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) deployment. They also offer information on the needs and desires of current and potential subscribers regarding other telecommunications issues. This week, RVA Founder Michael Render visits with Christopher about the firm’s work and discoveries.

The organization makes contact with Internet access providers, experts, vendors, and people or businesses to get the latest opinions and thoughts on services and satisfaction. They’re experts at interpreting that data to help organizations such as ISPs, investors, nonprofits, local government, and others create successful strategies for future initiatives. While RVA and Michael Render are well-known in the telecom industry, the company works in other areas, tailoring their extensive reports and recommendations to the needs and specific questions of their clients.

In this interview, Michael and Christopher discuss some of the changing trends he’s seen over the years in how subscribers use connectivity, what subscribers are looking for in a provider, and what subscribers consider the most important factors relating to Internet access. They touch on the differences between subscribers living in single-family dwellings and apartments or condos and Michael provides some insight into how the demand for FTTH has changed over the years, including how munis have influenced growth.

Check out RVA’s recent report for Next Century Cities, Status of U.S. Small Cell Wireless / 5G & Smart City Applications From The Community Perspective.

They’ve also provided the research for a 2016 graphic from the Fiber Broadband Association (formerly the FTTH Council) on multifamily home values and FTTH.

Check out more at the RVA, LLC website.

This show is 25 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.

Grassroots for Better Connectivity in Cambridge, Massachusetts – Community Broadband Bits Podcast 304

As Christopher rubbed elbows with other broadband advocates, policy wonks, and industry professionals at the Broadband Communities Summit in Austin, Texas, he had the opportunity to interview several people we’ve been wanting to bring on the show. Saul Tannenbaum from Cambridge, Massachusetts, was at the event and he talked with Christopher about the citizen’s group, Upgrade Cambridge. As one of the city’s fiercest municipal network advocates, Saul started the group when city efforts at better connectivity hit a brick wall.

Saul and Christopher discuss the Cambridge community’s own unique personality and how it lends itself to both positive forces and ingrained challenges in the effort to bring high-quality connectivity to a diverse city. With strong science, technology, and art sectors, Cambridge realizes that fiber is their best bet and the city has taken past steps to explore the possibilities. Political changes at the municipal level created a new hurdle and when it became obvious that only a strong local grassroots movement could keep the issue moving, he took on the role of organizer.

Learn more at the Upgrade Cambridge websiteon Facebook, and @UpgradeCambMA. We’re also following this grassroots effort and their strategy.

This show is 27 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.

State Legislatures Take Action On Broadband – Community Broadband Bits Podcast 303

We’re a little off kilter these days when it comes to state legislation. Typically, we spend our efforts helping local communities stave off bills to steal, limit, or hamstring local telecommunications authority. This year it’s different so Christopher and Lisa sat down to have a brief chat about some of the notable state actions that have been taken up at state Capitols.

We decided to cover a few proposals that we feel degrade the progress some states have made, bills that include positive and negative provisions, and legislation that we think will do nothing but good. Our analysis covers the map from the states in New England to states in the Northwest.

In addition to small changes that we think will have big impact – like the definition of “broadband” – we discuss the way tones are shifting. In a few places, like Colorado, state leaders are fed up with inaction or obstruction from the big ISPs that use the law to solidify their monopoly power rather than bring high-quality connectivity to citizens. Other states, like New Hampshire and Washington, recognize that local communities have the ability to improve their situation and are taking measured steps to reduce barriers to broadband deployment.

While they still maintain significant power in many places, national corporate ISPs may slowly be losing their grip over state legislators. We talk about that, too.

For more on these and other bills, check out our recent stories on state and federal legislation.

This show is 24 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.