This week on the podcast, Christopher speaks with Brieana Reed-Harmel, Municipal Fiber Manager for the City of Loveland, located in Colorado’s Northern Front Range about an hour north of Denver. The city is home to over 80,000 residents as well as a municipal fiber broadband network called Pulse.

Chris and Brieana discuss Loveland’s population expansion over the past few years and Pulse’s resulting plans to extend beyond city limits into the “urban fringe,” which is more difficult to receive grant funding to serve. Brieana shares the ways in which the municipal network has leveraged its relationships, having partnered with its local school district to connect unserved areas during the pandemic, and currently in conversation with the county, which will help Loveland with the matching funds it needs for upcoming grant expansions. Brieana speaks to the challenges of building out the network through inflation and the pandemic. She stresses the importance of having a solid business model and great project management, as well as the scrappiness and ongoing investment needed to ensure a municipal network is sustainable and can bring residents quality connectivity at the best value. 

This show is 25 minutes long and can be played on this page or via Apple Podcasts or the tool of your choice using this feed. 

Transcript below.

We want your feedback and suggestions for the show-please e-mail us or leave a comment below.

Listen to other episodes here or view all episodes in our index. See other podcasts from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance here.

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

This week on the podcast, Christopher speaks with Brieana Reed-Harmel, Municipal Fiber Manager for the City of Loveland, located in Colorado’s Northern Front Range about an hour north of Denver. The city is home to over 80,000 residents as well as a municipal fiber broadband network called Pulse.

Chris and Brieana discuss Loveland’s population expansion over the past few years and Pulse’s resulting plans to extend beyond city limits into the “urban fringe,” which is more difficult to receive grant funding to serve. Brieana shares the ways in which the municipal network has leveraged its relationships, having partnered with its local school district to connect unserved areas during the pandemic, and currently in conversation with the county, which will help Loveland with the matching funds it needs for upcoming grant expansions. Brieana speaks to the challenges of building out the network through inflation and the pandemic. She stresses the importance of having a solid business model and great project management, as well as the scrappiness and ongoing investment needed to ensure a municipal network is sustainable and can bring residents quality connectivity at the best value. 

This show is 25 minutes long and can be played on this page or via Apple Podcasts or the tool of your choice using this feed. 

Transcript below.

We want your feedback and suggestions for the show-please e-mail us or leave a comment below.

Listen to other episodes here or view all episodes in our index. See other podcasts from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance here.

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

This week on the podcast, Christopher speaks with Brieana Reed-Harmel, Municipal Fiber Manager for the City of Loveland, located in Colorado’s Northern Front Range about an hour north of Denver. The city is home to over 80,000 residents as well as a municipal fiber broadband network called Pulse.

Chris and Brieana discuss Loveland’s population expansion over the past few years and Pulse’s resulting plans to extend beyond city limits into the “urban fringe,” which is more difficult to receive grant funding to serve. Brieana shares the ways in which the municipal network has leveraged its relationships, having partnered with its local school district to connect unserved areas during the pandemic, and currently in conversation with the county, which will help Loveland with the matching funds it needs for upcoming grant expansions. Brieana speaks to the challenges of building out the network through inflation and the pandemic. She stresses the importance of having a solid business model and great project management, as well as the scrappiness and ongoing investment needed to ensure a municipal network is sustainable and can bring residents quality connectivity at the best value. 

This show is 25 minutes long and can be played on this page or via Apple Podcasts or the tool of your choice using this feed. 

Transcript below.

We want your feedback and suggestions for the show-please e-mail us or leave a comment below.

Listen to other episodes here or view all episodes in our index. See other podcasts from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance here.

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

This week on the podcast, Christopher speaks with Brieana Reed-Harmel, Municipal Fiber Manager for the City of Loveland, located in Colorado’s Northern Front Range about an hour north of Denver. The city is home to over 80,000 residents as well as a municipal fiber broadband network called Pulse.

Chris and Brieana discuss Loveland’s population expansion over the past few years and Pulse’s resulting plans to extend beyond city limits into the “urban fringe,” which is more difficult to receive grant funding to serve. Brieana shares the ways in which the municipal network has leveraged its relationships, having partnered with its local school district to connect unserved areas during the pandemic, and currently in conversation with the county, which will help Loveland with the matching funds it needs for upcoming grant expansions. Brieana speaks to the challenges of building out the network through inflation and the pandemic. She stresses the importance of having a solid business model and great project management, as well as the scrappiness and ongoing investment needed to ensure a municipal network is sustainable and can bring residents quality connectivity at the best value. 

This show is 25 minutes long and can be played on this page or via Apple Podcasts or the tool of your choice using this feed. 

Transcript below.

We want your feedback and suggestions for the show-please e-mail us or leave a comment below.

Listen to other episodes here or view all episodes in our index. See other podcasts from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance here.

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

This week on the podcast, Christopher speaks with Brieana Reed-Harmel, Municipal Fiber Manager for the City of Loveland, located in Colorado’s Northern Front Range about an hour north of Denver. The city is home to over 80,000 residents as well as a municipal fiber broadband network called Pulse.

Chris and Brieana discuss Loveland’s population expansion over the past few years and Pulse’s resulting plans to extend beyond city limits into the “urban fringe,” which is more difficult to receive grant funding to serve. Brieana shares the ways in which the municipal network has leveraged its relationships, having partnered with its local school district to connect unserved areas during the pandemic, and currently in conversation with the county, which will help Loveland with the matching funds it needs for upcoming grant expansions. Brieana speaks to the challenges of building out the network through inflation and the pandemic. She stresses the importance of having a solid business model and great project management, as well as the scrappiness and ongoing investment needed to ensure a municipal network is sustainable and can bring residents quality connectivity at the best value. 

This show is 25 minutes long and can be played on this page or via Apple Podcasts or the tool of your choice using this feed. 

Transcript below.

We want your feedback and suggestions for the show-please e-mail us or leave a comment below.

Listen to other episodes here or view all episodes in our index. See other podcasts from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance here.

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

This week on the show we're featuring an episode of our new Building for Digital Equity podcast, which looks at how organizations and individuals around the country do work at the intersections of broadband infrastructure, affordability, access, and skills. From frontline specialists helping households sign up for the Affordable Connectivity Program to building small, digital equity-minded ISPs in Arizona, this series showcases the work and lessons from those helping folks get and stay connected in our communities and towns.

On this episode of the podcast, we talk with Brandon Forester - the National Organizer for Internet Rights at Media Justice. Christopher and Brandon talk about helping communities build more agency over how technology shows up in their neighborhoods and among the digital communities they create for themselves. He shares how Media Justice came to prioritize prison phone justice as one of its first issues, what organizing is and how local solutions may differ across communities, and the need to avoid purity politics in doing digital equity work.

This show is 20 minutes long and can be played on this page or using the podcast app of your choice with this feed.

Transcript below. 

We want your feedback and suggestions for the show-please e-mail us or leave a comment below.

Listen to other episodes here or see other podcasts from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance here.

Thanks to Joseph McDade for the music. The song is On the Verge and is used per his Free-Use terms.

This week on the show we're featuring an episode of our new Building for Digital Equity podcast, which looks at how organizations and individuals around the country do work at the intersections of broadband infrastructure, affordability, access, and skills. From frontline specialists helping households sign up for the Affordable Connectivity Program to building small, digital equity-minded ISPs in Arizona, this series showcases the work and lessons from those helping folks get and stay connected in our communities and towns.

On this episode of the podcast, we talk with Brandon Forester - the National Organizer for Internet Rights at Media Justice. Christopher and Brandon talk about helping communities build more agency over how technology shows up in their neighborhoods and among the digital communities they create for themselves. He shares how Media Justice came to prioritize prison phone justice as one of its first issues, what organizing is and how local solutions may differ across communities, and the need to avoid purity politics in doing digital equity work.

This show is 20 minutes long and can be played on this page or using the podcast app of your choice with this feed.

Transcript below. 

We want your feedback and suggestions for the show-please e-mail us or leave a comment below.

Listen to other episodes here or see other podcasts from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance here.

Thanks to Joseph McDade for the music. The song is On the Verge and is used per his Free-Use terms.

This week on the show we're featuring an episode of our new Building for Digital Equity podcast, which looks at how organizations and individuals around the country do work at the intersections of broadband infrastructure, affordability, access, and skills. From frontline specialists helping households sign up for the Affordable Connectivity Program to building small, digital equity-minded ISPs in Arizona, this series showcases the work and lessons from those helping folks get and stay connected in our communities and towns.

On this episode of the podcast, we talk with Brandon Forester - the National Organizer for Internet Rights at Media Justice. Christopher and Brandon talk about helping communities build more agency over how technology shows up in their neighborhoods and among the digital communities they create for themselves. He shares how Media Justice came to prioritize prison phone justice as one of its first issues, what organizing is and how local solutions may differ across communities, and the need to avoid purity politics in doing digital equity work.

This show is 20 minutes long and can be played on this page or using the podcast app of your choice with this feed.

Transcript below. 

We want your feedback and suggestions for the show-please e-mail us or leave a comment below.

Listen to other episodes here or see other podcasts from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance here.

Thanks to Joseph McDade for the music. The song is On the Verge and is used per his Free-Use terms.

This week on the show we're featuring an episode of our new Building for Digital Equity podcast, which looks at how organizations and individuals around the country do work at the intersections of broadband infrastructure, affordability, access, and skills. From frontline specialists helping households sign up for the Affordable Connectivity Program to building small, digital equity-minded ISPs in Arizona, this series showcases the work and lessons from those helping folks get and stay connected in our communities and towns.

On this episode of the podcast, we talk with Brandon Forester - the National Organizer for Internet Rights at Media Justice. Christopher and Brandon talk about helping communities build more agency over how technology shows up in their neighborhoods and among the digital communities they create for themselves. He shares how Media Justice came to prioritize prison phone justice as one of its first issues, what organizing is and how local solutions may differ across communities, and the need to avoid purity politics in doing digital equity work.

This show is 20 minutes long and can be played on this page or using the podcast app of your choice with this feed.

Transcript below. 

We want your feedback and suggestions for the show-please e-mail us or leave a comment below.

Listen to other episodes here or see other podcasts from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance here.

Thanks to Joseph McDade for the music. The song is On the Verge and is used per his Free-Use terms.

This week on the show we're featuring an episode of our new Building for Digital Equity podcast, which looks at how organizations and individuals around the country do work at the intersections of broadband infrastructure, affordability, access, and skills. From frontline specialists helping households sign up for the Affordable Connectivity Program to building small, digital equity-minded ISPs in Arizona, this series showcases the work and lessons from those helping folks get and stay connected in our communities and towns.

On this episode of the podcast, we talk with Brandon Forester - the National Organizer for Internet Rights at Media Justice. Christopher and Brandon talk about helping communities build more agency over how technology shows up in their neighborhoods and among the digital communities they create for themselves. He shares how Media Justice came to prioritize prison phone justice as one of its first issues, what organizing is and how local solutions may differ across communities, and the need to avoid purity politics in doing digital equity work.

This show is 20 minutes long and can be played on this page or using the podcast app of your choice with this feed.

Transcript below. 

We want your feedback and suggestions for the show-please e-mail us or leave a comment below.

Listen to other episodes here or see other podcasts from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance here.

Thanks to Joseph McDade for the music. The song is On the Verge and is used per his Free-Use terms.