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Fast, affordable Internet access for all.
Community Broadband Bits Podcast
Community Broadband Bits is a weekly audio show hosted by Community Broadband Networks Initiative Director Christopher Mitchell featuring interviews with people building community networks or otherwise involved with Internet policy. You can listen to episodes below or download via Apple, Google, or Spotify. Alternatively if you know what to do with it, copy the feed here.
We also produce a semi-regular video show called Connect This! that has its own site. Find other podcasts from ILSR here.
We also have an index of all episodes and links to transcripts. Keep up with new developments by subscribing to our one-email-per-week list sharing new stories and resources. We’d love to hear your feedback! Email us.
Wilson's Greenlight Leads North Carolina in Connectivity: Community Broadband Bits Episode #70
Greenlight, a muni FTTH network in eastern North Carolina's city of Wilson, is proving to be a powerful tool in attracting new residents and businesses.
Mark Creekmore Takes on Windstream - Community Broadband Bits Podcast #69
Earlier this year, Mark Creekmore transitioned from a frustrated DSL customer to a champion for better Internet access in Georgia. A concerned citizen and tech consultant, Mark joins us for the latest Community Broadband Bits podcast.
Longmont Prepares to Vote on Fiber Bonds - Community Broadband Bits Episode #68
As Longmont prepares to vote on November 5, we are paying special attention to question 2B, which will authorize the city utility to issue revenue bonds to finance the FTTH network already being built.
Jim Baller Returns for Vol 3 of Muni Network History - Community Broadband Bits Episode #67
We are excited to continue our history series with Jim Baller of the Baller Herbst Law Firm. This is Jim's third time on the program, having joined us for Episode 57 and Episode 63.
Poulsbo Wireless Mesh Pilot Extends Internet in Washington - Community Broadband Bits Podcast #66
With a population of over 9,000 just across Puget Sound from Seattle, Poulsbo is a town with a lot of commuters and a vision for improved access to the Internet to allow more to reduce the physical need to travel.
In Western Mass, Holyoke Gas and Electric Brings Broadband - Community Broadband Bits Episode #65
Holyoke Gas & Electric has been connecting community anchor institutions and local businesses in Western Massachusetts with fiber networks for years. Rather than using exception access to the Internet as a competitive advantage over more poorly connected neighbors, the Municipal Light Plant (in the parlance of Massachusetts law) is helping nearby towns to establish their own networks.
I met Senior Network Engineer Tim Haas in a lunch with people building community owned networks in Leverett and Princeton in late August.
WindomNet Creates Jobs, Benefits for SW Minnesota - Community Broadband Bits Episode #64
The small town of Windom in southwest Minnesota has long been one of the smallest FTTH networks in the nation. I have long wanted to bring WindomNet General Manager Dan Olsen on our show because it has some of the best anecdotes in the world of community owned networks. We finally got him!
To understand WindomNet, you should know that it has fewer households than what many of us consider to be the minimum threshold for a viable triple-play FTTH network.
Jim Baller on the History of Municipal Networks, Part II on Community Broadband Bits Podcast
Jim Baller is back again for the second show in our series on the history of municipal broadband networks.
Countering Crazy Talk, Volume 3, for Episode #62 of Community Broadband Bits Podcast
Lisa Gonzalez and I are back with another back and forth reaction to some of the crazy claims made by opponents of community owned Internet networks.
Prometheus Joins Us to Discuss Community Radio and Internet - Community Broadband Bits Episode 61
The Prometheus Radio Project is an impressive grassroots organization that has successfully opened the radio airwaves to communities after big corporations had effectively locked up unused radio channel for years. Prometheus Policy Director Sanjay Jolly joins us for Episode #61 of our Community Broadband Bits podcast.
Our conversation ranges from the recent history of pirate radio to the many years of actions and organizing that led to the 2010 Local Community Radio Act.