Image
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.
A Look Back on the Biggest Broadband Stories of 2021 - Episode 486 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast
On this week’s episode of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast, Christopher Mitchell invites the Community Broadband Networks Initiative staff onto the show to talk about what they believe were some of the biggest broadband stories of 2021. The group reminisces about what has been one of the most pivotal years for broadband infrastructure investment and community-led solutions to the digital divide, and ruminates on what’s to come in 2022.
A Washington PUD Prioritizes Open Access Fiber After Pandemic - Episode 485 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast
On this week’s episode of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast, Christopher Mitchell welcomes Willie Painter, the public affairs manager for the Lewis County’s Public Utility District (PUD), to talk about what the county has been doing to address the lack of connectivity. We reported on Lewis County PUD's plan to connect its 33,000 members through an open access fiber-to-the-home network in October.
NDIA Webinar: Digital Inclusion Funding in the Infrastructure Act - Bonus Episode of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast
This week, we are releasing a bonus episode of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast, featuring a recent National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA) webinar on the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) that recently passed in Congress.
What States, Communities, and Activists Need to Do to Make the Most of the Infrastructure Act - Episode 484 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast
On this week’s episode of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast, Christopher Mitchell brings back a longtime favorite guest, Jon Chambers, Partner at Conexon, to talk about what is next for municipal and cooperative broadband efforts given the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
Local Solutions for Expanding Broadband Accessibility - Episode 483 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast
On this week’s episode of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast, host Christopher Mitchell is joined by Russ Elliot, the CEO of Siskiyou Telephone in Northern California. The two discuss the importance of small incumbent providers, which often get lumped in with bigger telecommunications companies that leave rural communities behind when building broadband infrastructure. Small incumbent providers are often the only ones interested in building out to rural areas.
Fort Dodge Brings FTTH to Fruition - Episode 482 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast
On this week’s episode of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast, Sean Gonsalves joins regular host Christopher Mitchell in a conversation with Michael Maloney, a public finance banker and the Managing Director at D.A. Davidson based in Iowa. Maloney has spent his career working on public financing projects to hope to spur economic development, including broadband.
A Success Story in Indianola, Iowa- Episode 481 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast
On this week’s episode of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast, host Christopher Mitchell travels to Des Moines, Iowa for the Iowa Association of Municipal Utilities Telecom Conference. He speaks with Kurt Ripperger, the Fiber Superintendent for the Indianola Municipal Utilities in Iowa.
Broadband and Beyond in the Bronx - Episode 480 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast
On this week’s episode of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast, host Christopher Mitchell is joined by Danny Peralta, the Executive Managing Director of The Point in the Bronx, New York which has. The Point has been at the forefront of revitalizing the South Bronx’s Hunts Point neighborhood working to address environmental issues, increase access to the arts, and even expand Internet connectivity.
The Fight for Digital Inclusion and Equity in San Antonio - Episode 479 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast
On this episode of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast, host Christopher Mitchell is joined by DeAnne Cuellar, the State Program Director for Older Adult Technology Services (OATS). They explore the history of the digital divide in San Antonio and Cuellar's role in making the city one of the nation’s leaders in digital inclusion efforts.
Let's Talk Fiber - Episode 478 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast
On this episode of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast, host Christopher Mitchell talks fiber with Gary Bolton, CEO and President of the Fiber Broadband Association (FBA) at the Broadband Communities Summit in Houston, TX.