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