Thanks to Jeff Hoel for providing the transcript for Episode 36 of the Community Broadband Bits podcast with Carole Monroe regarding the FastRoads network in New Hampshire. Listen to this episode here.

00:10:

Lisa Gonzalez:  Hi, there.  And welcome to the Community Broadband Bits Podcast, from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance.  I'm Lisa Gonzalez.

In Episode 36, Christopher Mitchell interviews Carole Monroe, the Executive Director of New Hampshire FastRoads.  Carole tells us about the network, a collaboration between several communities, that's planning to bring connections to residents and community anchor institutions all over southwestern New Hampshire.  Carole and Chris also talk about New Hampshire legislation, introduced this session.  House Bill 286, if passed, would remove some of the obstacles facing local communities' ability to build broadband infrastructure.  As can be expected, incumbents are lobbying heavily against the bill.  Carole also gives us a tutorial on pole politics, and describes the New Hampshire FastRoads model.  Here are Carole and Christopher.

00:55:

Christopher Mitchell:  Today on Community Broadband Bits, we're talking with Carole Monroe, the Executive Director of New Hampshire FastRoads.  Welcome to the show.

01:03:

Carole Monroe:  Thank you.

01:04:

Chris:  We're excited to learn a little bit more about this project in New England.  Can you start by just giving us a sense of where the project centered, and what the community is like?

01:45:

Thanks to Jeff Hoel for providing the transcript for Episode 157 of the Community Broadband Bits podcast with Blake Mobley on FTTH in rural Rio Blanco County. Listen to this episode here.

00:06:

Blake Mobley:  The county needs to make sure that the infrastructure remains in our control -- that we own it.  So that IF the county chooses to remove our current network operator, as an example, and implement a different one, we can do that without breaking the network.

00:20:

Lisa Gonzalez:  Hello.  This is the Community Broadband Bits Podcast, from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance.  I'm Lisa Gonzalez.

Last fall, voters in Rio Blanco County were one of several Colorado communities that chose to reclaim local communications authority.  At the time, we thought it was the beginning of local efforts to improve connectivity.  As it turns out, people in Rio Blanco County started taking steps to deploy fiber infrastructure fifteen years ago.  They're now in the midst of a project that will improve economic development, encourage competition, and bring broadband to this rural area of Colorado.  Blake Mobley, Rio Blanco County IT Director, talks with Chris this week.  He provides the story behind their current project, provides details on how the network will be managed, and tells us why the county chose this type of open access model.  There's more information about their project at their website, rbc.us/wtitc.  Now, here are Chris and Blake.

01:25:

Chris Mitchell:  Welcome to another edition of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast.  I'm Chris Mitchell.  Today, I'm speaking with Blake Mobley, the Rio Blanco County IT Director, in the state of Colorado.  Welcome to the show.

01:38:

Blake Mobley:  Thanks, Chris.  Thanks for having me.

01:40:

Thanks to Jeff Hoel for providing the transcript for the episode 37 of the Community Broadband Bits podcast with Blair Levin on Gig.U. Listen to this episode here.

00:10:

Lisa Gonzalez:  Hi, there, and welcome again to the Community Broadband Bits Podcast, from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance.  I'm Lisa Gonzalez.

Christopher Mitchell interviews Blair Levin, the Executive Director at Gig.U, a project of the Aspen Institute Communications and Society Program.  Blair was Executive Director of the effort that led to the National Broadband Plan.  He was also Chief of Staff for the FCC during the Clinton administration.  Blair has worked as an attorney and a Wall Street analyst.  Chris and Blair talk about different approaches in the drive to bring ubiquitous access to America.  Each model, whether centered on public or private ownership, has advantages and drawbacks.  They delve into the similarities and unique challenges of each.  Here are Christopher and Blair.

00:53:

Christopher Mitchell:  Thank you for joining us for Community Broadband Bits today.  We're talking with Blair Levin, the Executive Director of Gig.U.  Thank you for coming on the show.

01:02:

Blair Levin:  Happy to be here, Chris.

01:03:

Chris:  Can we start by getting a sense of what Gig.U is?

01:07:

Blair:  Sure.  Gig.U is a project of the Aspen Institute Communications and Society Program.  We're about three dozen university communities -- research university communities -- who came together to try to see if we can accelerate the deployment of next-generation networks to support education and economic development.  In other words, we were trying to see -- if Google in Kansas City was an example of the supply side holding a competition for the demand side -- 1100 communities competing to get that fiber -- we wanted to see what communities could do to increase the ability of the supply side to provide next-generation networks -- or fiber -- not just to one community, and not just from one provider, but to multiple communities.  With the thought that research university communities are particularly well-suited for that -- for that mission.

02:06:

Thanks to Jeff Hoel for providing the transcript for the episode 131 of the Community Broadband Bits podcast. Chris, Lisa, and Rebecca discuss the highlights of the 2014 year. Listen to this episode here.

00:04:

Chris Mitchell:  Welcome to another Community Broadband Bits Podcast.  It's a Year In Review edition.

00:09:

Lisa Gonzalez:  Yay!

00:10:

Rebecca Toews:  Woo-hoo.

00:11:

Chris:  This is going to be a very exciting day.  For everyone who's listening to this show.  On New Year's Eve.

00:19:

Lisa:  If you're listening to the show on New Year's Eve, thank you for sacrificing your plans to join us.

00:25:

Chris:  Yeah.

00:25:

Rebecca:  This means they're really excited about 2015.

00:27:

Lisa:  That's right.

00:28:

Chris:  I strongly recommend that if you're listening between, say, 9 pm and midnight on New Year's Eve, you may want to reassess your life's goals.

00:38:

Rebecca:  Wait, I'm listening.

00:39:

[laughter]

00:41:

Chris:  So, we're going to talk a little bit about what happened over the course of the year, and then maybe make a few predictions for next year.

00:47:

Lisa:  But we have a special guest.

00:50:

Chris:  We DO have a special guest.  A Very.  Special.  Guest.  Rebecca Toews.  Who spells her name totally weird, like other Canadians.

00:59:

Rebecca Toews:  Hey, if you are a hockey fan, then you know how to say my name.

01:02:

Chris:  And I know we have a few listeners who are hockey fans.  So --  But Rebecca is our communications specialist, and has shown up in a number of places, so --

01:09:

Rebecca:  I'm basically the new **.  I'll be the voice of "WHAT?"

01:14:

Lisa:  One of the reasons why we brought Rebecca is because ...

01:18:

Chris:  -- we couldn't find anything else for her to do.  No ...

01:21:

Rebecca:  They're taking over my office, and I would just overhear it anyway.

01:24:

Thanks to Jeff Hoel for providing the transcript for the episode 126 of the Community Broadband Bits podcast with Melanie McCoy on how the small town of Sebewaing, Maine achieved gigabit connectivity despite state barriers. Listen to this episode here.

00:04:

Melanie McCoy:  We are owned by our residents.  They're our shareholders.  Our customers are our owners.  They were the ones that wanted this installed.  And they knew that we would be paying for it -- we all pay for it -- as ratepayers.  So we felt it was a good project.

00:22:

Lisa Gonzalez:  Hello.  You are listening to the Community Broadband Bits Podcast, from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance.  My name is Lisa Gonzalez.

In the summer of 2013, we published a story on muninetworks.org about the community of Sebewaing, Michigan.  The small town, located in the Thumb Area of the state had just released an RFP for a communitywide gigabit network.  Since then, Sebewaing has been through the RFP process, and we're happy to report, they eventually built a communitywide gigabit fiber network to serve residents and local businesses.  Even though Michigan is one of a handful of states that impose barriers to public investment in broadband infrastructure, this rural agricultural community felt it needed to something to improve its connectivity.  In this podcast, Chris interviews Melanie McCoy, Superintendent of Sebewaing Light and Water.  She describes how state restrictions bogged down the process, and could have threatened Sebewaing's ability to get the connectivity it needs.  When most people hear the term "gigabit community," their mind immediately travels to Chattanooga.  Sebewaing, Michigan's first "gigabit village," proves that urban centers are not the only places where residents can get the best connectivity.  Here are Chris and Melanie.

01:39:

Chris Mitchell:  Welcome to another edition of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast.  I'm Chris Mitchell.  Today, I'm speaking with Melanie McCoy, the Superintendent of Sebewaing Light & Water in Michigan.  Welcome to the show.

01:52:

Melanie McCoy:  Thank you.

01:53:

Thanks to Jeff Hoel for providing the transcript for episode 58 of the Community Broadband Bits podcast with Paul Meyer on economic development and the dark fiber network in Lakeland, FL. Listen to this episode here.

00:14:

Lisa Gonzales:  Hi, and welcome again to the Community Broadband Bits Podcast, from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance.  I'm Lisa Gonzalez.

Midway between Tampa Bay and Orlando lies Lakeland, Florida, and its some 100,000 residents.  We learned that Lakeland has operated a dark fiber network for years, supplying broadband infrastructure to the Pope County School District, municipal facilities, and local businesses.  Today, Chris talks with Lakeland's Fiber Optics Supervisor, Paul Meyer.  Paul describes how the community started supplying fiber connections, and how it takes advantage of opportunities to continually expand the fiber network.  Lakeland is one of the many places that quietly offer dark fiber in the local community to save public dollars, serve education, and encourage economic growth.

01:00:

Chris Mitchell:  Welcome to another episode of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast.  Today, I'm going to be speaking with Paul Meyer, the Fiber Optic Supervisor for the City of Lakeland, in Florida.  Welcome to the show.

01:11:

Paul Meyer:  Yes, good afternoon, Chris.  Thank you.

01:14:

Chris:  We're excited to lean more about what your community's been doing, in terms of building a fiber optic network.  But I always like to start by giving listeners a chance to learn a little bit about the community -- those that aren't familiar with Lakeland, Florida.

01:30:

Paul:  Well, Lakeland is in the center of the state.  We're located almost equal distance between Tampa Bay and Orlando.

01:39:

Chris:  So, between Tampa Bay and Orlando.  What's Lakeland like?  Is it an agricultural community?  Is it primarily defined by any particular economic activity?

01:49:

Thank to Jeff Hoel for providing the transcript for the episode 38 of the Community Broadband Bits podcast with Jill Boudreau, Kim Kleppe and Jana Hansen of Mount Vernon, Washington, discussing their open access fiber network connecting area businesses. Listen to this episode here.

Thanks to Jeff Hoel for providing the transcript for the episode 44 of the Community Broadband Bits podcast with Mimi Pickering and Tom Fitzgerald regarding telephone service deregulation. Listen to this episode here.

Thanks to Jeff Hoel for providing the transcript for the episode 57 of the Community Broadband Bits podcast with Jim Baller on the history of municipal broadband. Listen to this episode here.

Thanks to Jeff Hoel for providing the transcript for the episode 59 of the Community Broadband Bits podcast with Danna Bailey on Chattanooga's EPB Fiber. Listen to this episode here.