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.
Ammon, a town of 14,000 in southeast Idaho, has been incrementally building an open access, fiber optic network that has connected community anchor institutions and is starting to become available to local businesses. Ammon Technology Director Bruce Patterson joins us to explain how the community has moved forward with its model for improving Internet access.
They first sought some stimulus support for the network but were not selected.
Fork in the Road For UTOPIA: Forward or Backward? Community Broadband Bits Episode #85
The Utah Telecommunications Open Infrastructure Agency, which we have written about many times, is at a crossroads.
A Roadmap for the FCC To Ensure Local Authority to Build Networks - Community Broadband Podcast #84
When the DC Circuit Court handed down a decision ruling against the FCC's Open Internet (network neutrality) rules, it also clarified that the FCC has the power to overrule state laws that limit local authority to build community networks.
Meet Russellville, Kentucky's Broadband Speed Leader - Community Broadband Bits Podcast #82
The municipal electric utility in Russellville has launched Kentucky's first citywide gigabit service on its FTTH network.
Public Access Media and Community Owned Networks - Community Broadband Bits Podcast #81
After a listener suggested we do a show on the modern role of public access media, we decided to reach out to Mike Wassenaar, now a senior development officer at Free Press and formerly the Executive Director of Saint Paul Neighborhood Network, a great example of the promise of public access.
Mike and I talk about history, present, and future of public access.
Don Means on Libraries and White Spaces - Community Broadband Bits Episode 79
This week, Don Means joins us to talk about public libraries, their role in the modern era, and an interesting pilot project involving several libraries and white spaces wireless technology. Don is the coordinator of the Gigabit Libraries Network and has a passion for both libraries and expanding Internet access to all.
We offer some basic background on "TV white spaces" wireless technology (see our other coverage of that technology here).
Bob Frankston Encore Interview - Community Broadband Bits Episode #78
For those looking for our weekly podcast over the holiday break, we decided to recut one of our early interviews with Bob Frankston, a favorite of Lisa's, and put it back in the feed. We ran the original interview for episode 14 of our Community Broadband Bits podcast and again now for episode 78.
