Community Broadband Bits 18 – Dewayne Hendricks

Dewayne Hendricks is a serial entreprenuer, innovator, and wireless expert. Wired magazine labeled him a broadband cowboy back in 2001. And he is our guest on the 18th episode of Community Broadband [no-glossary]Bits[/no-glossary].

Our discussion focuses on the promise of wireless technologies and how a few entrenched interests in DC (the big broadcasters and wireless telephone companies like AT&T) are preventing innovative approaches that would dramatically improve the capability of all our modern technologies.

Hendricks is a prolific tweeter that comes highly recommended from us. And he has kindly recommended two papers readers may want to read following our conversation: David Weinberger's “The myth of interference” and Paul Baran's “False Scarcity” [PDF].

We look forward to inviting Dewayne back soon to discuss the Fiber versus Wireless debate. Let us know if you have any other questions we should ask when he returns!

Read the transcript from this episode here.

We want your feedback and suggestions for the show – please e-mail us or leave a comment below. Also, feel free to suggest other guests, topics, or questions you want us to address.

This show is 26 minutes long and can be played below on this page or subscribe via iTunes or via the tool of your choice using this feed. Search for us in iTunes and leave a positive comment!

Listen to previous episodes here. You can download the Mp3 file directly from here.

Find more episodes in our podcast index.

Thanks to Fit and the Conniptions for the music, licensed using Creative Commons.

Community Broadband Bits 17 – Joe Knapp of Sandy, Oregon

Sandy has run a wireless network for over eight years and has just announced a partnership with i3 to bring FTTH to everyone using i3's technology to run trunk fiber lines through existing waste water and storm water pipes. We previously wrote about Sandy here.

Joe Knapp, the IT Director for the city of Sandy and the General Manager of SandyNet, is our guest on this week's Community Broadband [no-glossary]Bits[/no-glossary] podcast – episode 17. He discusses how Sandy began offering broadband access to itself, residents, and businesses and how they expanded to fiber originally. And toward the end, he gives us the low-down on how the partnership with i3 is structured.

We want your feedback and suggestions for the show – please e-mail us or leave a comment below. Also, feel free to suggest other guests, topics, or questions you want us to address.

This show is 30 minutes long and can be played below on this page or subscribe via iTunes or via the tool of your choice using this feed. Search for us in iTunes and leave a positive comment!

Listen to previous episodes here. You can download the Mp3 file directly from here.

Read the transcript of this episode here.

Find more episodes in our podcast index.

Thanks to Fit and the Conniptions for the music, licensed using Creative Commons.

Community Broadband Bits 16 – JD Lester and Larry Gates – Chanute, Kansas

Following the release of our case study on Chanute, Kansas, we have an interview with City Manager JD Lester and Director of Utilities Larry Gates for our 16th podcast — Community Broadband [no-glossary]Bits[/no-glossary].

JD Lester and Larry Gates discuss Chanute's network and its impact on their rural community. As detailed in the case study, Chanute built a fiber optic and wireless broadband network to connect schools, public safety, and local businesses. And they did it all without bonding or borrowing — an impressive feat with implications for many other communities that have similar needs.

We want your feedback and suggestions for the show – please e-mail us or leave a comment below. Also, feel free to suggest other guests, topics, or questions you want us to address.

This show is 20 minutes long and can be played below on this page or subscribe via iTunes or via the tool of your choice using this feed. Search for us in iTunes and leave a positive comment!

Listen to previous episodes here. You can download the Mp3 file directly from here.

Read the transcript of this episode here.

Find more episodes in our podcast index.

Thanks to Fit and the Conniptions for the music, licensed using Creative Commons.

Community Broadband Bits 15 – Geoff Daily – FiberCorps

Geoff Daily is an old friend of ours at Community Broadband Networks and he joins us for our 15th installment of the Community Broadband [no-glossary]Bits[/no-glossary] audio show. He created a nonprofit organization, FiberCorps in Lafayette, Louisiana, to maximize usage of the LUS Fiber network owned by the community.

Geoff and I discuss the importance of early planning and building social relationships to help local businesses and community anchor institutions take full advantage of new community fiber networks. We discuss his efforts to get local leaders around the same table to find ways of taking full advantage of their new high-capacity network.

Lafayette is one of many communities to realize that a “build it and they will come” attitude is not sufficient to maximize the benefits of public investments in this infrastructure. Communities need to help drive usage or risk losing important benefits that can arise from a new, next-generation network.

We want your feedback and suggestions for the show – please e-mail us or leave a comment below. Also, feel free to suggest other guests, topics, or questions you want us to address.

This show is 30 minutes long and can be played below on this page or subscribe via iTunes or via the tool of your choice using this feed. Search for us in iTunes and leave a positive comment!

Listen to previous episodes here. You can download the Mp3 file directly from here.

Read the transcript of this episode here.

Find more episodes in our podcast index.

Thanks to Fit and the Conniptions for the music, licensed using Creative Commons.

Community Broadband Bits 14 – Bob Frankston

Our fourteenth episode of Community Broadband [no-glossary]Bits[/no-glossary] is an interview with Bob Frankston, who has made many important contributions to the development of both computers an telecommunications. His bio is here, but this is his present passion:

My current interest is moving beyond the 19th century concept of telecom to community owned infrastructure. This would add hundreds of billions of dollars to the US and much more value by creating opportunity for what we can't imagine.

Our interview discusses how the Internet is much more than something you connect to via a cable or telephone company. Fundamentally, we should be building networks that allow ubiquitous access to communications, not designing networks around billing relationships. Confused about what that means? Listen to our interview below and read some of his writings.

He also talks about community broadband in an interview we previously noted. You can find our other stories that involve him here.

We want your feedback and suggestions for the show – please e-mail us or leave a comment below. Also, feel free to suggest other guests, topics, or questions you want us to address.

This show is 30 minutes long and can be played below on this page or subscribe via iTunes or via the tool of your choice using this feed. Search for us in iTunes and leave a positive comment!

Listen to previous episodes here. You can download the Mp3 file directly from here.

Read the transcript of this episode here.

Find more episodes in our podcast index.

Thanks to Fit and the Conniptions for the music, licensed using Creative Commons.

Community Broadband Bits 13 – Curtis Dean of Iowa Association of Municipal Utilities

Curtis Dean, the Telecommunications Services Coordinator for the Iowa Association of Municipal Utilities, joins us for our 13th Community Broadband [no-glossary]Bits[/no-glossary] podcast. Curtis explains why Iowa has so many municipal utilities and why 28 of them offer some form of telecommunications service.

We talk about why making sure everyone in rural areas has access to affordable, reliable, and fast broadband is good for everyone in the entire country. And Curtis shares his experiences with the publicly owned FTTH network in Spencer.

We want your feedback and suggestions for the show – please e-mail us or leave a comment below. Also, feel free to suggest other guests, topics, or questions you want us to address.

This show is 30 minutes long and can be played below on this page or subscribe via iTunes or via the tool of your choice using this feed. Search for us in iTunes and leave a positive comment!

Listen to previous episodes here. You can download the Mp3 file directly from here.

Read the transcript of this episode here.

Find more episodes in our podcast index.

Thanks to Fit and the Conniptions for the music, licensed using Creative Commons.

Community Broadband Bits 12 – Todd Murren with SpringNet, Missouri

The 12th episode of the Community Broadband [no-glossary]Bit[/no-glossary]s podcast features an interview with Todd Murren of SpringNet, in Springfield Missouri. SpringNet delivers blazing broadband over Ethernet to businesses in the community. We talk about Missouri's strong restrictions on local authority around broadband and the history of SpringNet.

We also discuss how SpringNet has led to hundreds of new jobs in the community from one single employer, to say nothing of the many others.

We want your feedback and suggestions for the show – please e-mail us or leave a comment below. Also, feel free to suggest other guests, topics, or questions you want us to address.

This show is 30 minutes long and can be played below on this page or subscribe via iTunes or via the tool of your choice using this feed. Search for us in iTunes and leave a positive comment!

Listen to previous episodes here. You can download the Mp3 file directly from here.

Read the transcript of this episode here.

Find more episodes in our podcast index.

Thanks to Fit and the Conniptions for the music, licensed using Creative Commons.

Community Broadband Bits 11 – Steve Reneker of Riverside California

In our 11th episode of the Community Broadband [no-glossary]Bits[/no-glossary] podcast, we interview Steve Reneker — the Chief Innovation Officer & Executive Director of SmartRiverside — of Riverside, California.

We discuss why Riverside built its own wired and wireless networks and how it is using them to improve the efficiency of local government operations and increase digital inclusion. Riverside has received numerous awards for the local government and the nonprofit SmartRiverside program.

We want your feedback and suggestions for the show – please e-mail us or leave a comment below. Also, feel free to suggest other guests, topics, or questions you want us to address.

This show is 17 minutes long and can be played below on this page or subscribe via iTunes or via the tool of your choice using this feed. Search for us in iTunes and leave a positive comment!

Listen to previous episodes here. You can download the Mp3 file directly from here.

Read the transcript of this episode here.

Find more episodes in our podcast index.

Thanks to Fit and the Conniptions for the music, licensed using Creative Commons.

Community Broadband Bits 10 – Vince Jordan from Longmont, Colorado

The tenth episode of the Community Broadband [no-glossary]Bits[/no-glossary] podcast features Vince Jordan, Telecom Manager for Longmont Power and Communication in Colorado. We have long followed the trials and tribulations of this community as they fought through two referenda against Comcast's deep pockets. Now they are expanding their network to connect businesses and residents.

You can learn more about Longmont's approach on its website for the project. Our interview discusses some of the history behind the network, reflections on referenda, and the interesting approach Longmont has taken to avoid getting involved in the cable television business while still making sure everyone can view the content they want.

Read the transcript of this episode here.

We want your feedback and suggestions for the show – please e-mail us or leave a comment below. Also, feel free to suggest other guests, topics, or questions you want us to address.

This show is 25 minutes long and can be downloaded here, played below on this page, or subscribe via iTunes or via the tool of your choice using this feed. Search for us in iTunes and leave a positive comment!

Listen to previous episodes here. Find more episodes in our podcast index.

Thanks to Fit and the Conniptions for the music, licensed using Creative Commons.

Community Broadband Bits 9 – Leslie Nulty with ECFiber in Vermont

The ninth episode of the Community Broadband [no-glossary]Bits[/no-glossary] podcast features Leslie Nulty, from the East Central Vermont Fiber Optic Network, commonly called ECFiber. ECFiber is using a unique financing arrangement, wherein debt is sold to those in the community as the network slowly expands. They have already raised over $1 million dollars and are providing services in three towns.

The network is ultimately owned by the 23 towns that joined together to form the initiative. Leslie explains the history behind the network, the financing approach, and some lessons for others who want to duplicate it.

Leslie has also just appeared on Gigabit Nation along with her husband, Tim Nulty, to discuss their approach.

We want your feedback and suggestions for the show – please e-mail us or leave a comment below. Also, feel free to suggest other guests, topics, or questions you want us to address.

This show is 25 minutes long and can be played below on this page or subscribe via iTunes or via the tool of your choice using this feed. Search for us in iTunes and leave a positive comment!

Listen to previous episodes here. You can download the Mp3 file directly from here.

Read the transcript of this episode here.

Find more episodes in our podcast index.

Thanks to Fit and the Conniptions for the music, licensed using Creative Commons.