An increasing interest in publicly owned network projects has also spurred an increase in creative collaborations as communities work together to facilitate deployment, especially in rural areas. This week, we talk with Sharon Kyser, Marketing and Public Relations Manager for Newport Utilities (NU) in Newport, Tennessee, and Jody Wigington, General Manager and CEO of Morristown Utility Systems (MUS), also in Tennessee, for episode 300 of the Community Broadband Bits podcast.

We’ve written about MUS Fibernet and had Jody on the show several times to talk about how they built their own network and the ways it has improved the electric utility and helped the community. Now, they’ve entered into a partnership with their neighbors in Newport, who also want to reap the benefits of public ownership. Sharon tells us how the people in Newport need better services, economic development, and how her organization is working with MUS to make that vision a reality.

The two communities are working together to develop a Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) network for residents and businesses in the NU service area. MUS is offering the expertise they’ve developed over the past 12+ years along with other technical and wholesale services that will greatly reduce costs and deployment time for NU. This is an example of rural communities sticking together and is an example we hope to see more often in the future.

In the interview, Jody also mentions a partnership in the works with Appalachian Electric Cooperative; we spoke to him and General Manager Greg Williams about the proposed collaboration for episode 203 of the podcast. Listen to that conversation here.

This show is 30 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.

An increasing interest in publicly owned network projects has also spurred an increase in creative collaborations as communities work together to facilitate deployment, especially in rural areas. This week, we talk with Sharon Kyser, Marketing and Public Relations Manager for Newport Utilities (NU) in Newport, Tennessee, and Jody Wigington, General Manager and CEO of Morristown Utility Systems (MUS), also in Tennessee, for episode 300 of the Community Broadband Bits podcast.

We’ve written about MUS Fibernet and had Jody on the show several times to talk about how they built their own network and the ways it has improved the electric utility and helped the community. Now, they’ve entered into a partnership with their neighbors in Newport, who also want to reap the benefits of public ownership. Sharon tells us how the people in Newport need better services, economic development, and how her organization is working with MUS to make that vision a reality.

The two communities are working together to develop a Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) network for residents and businesses in the NU service area. MUS is offering the expertise they’ve developed over the past 12+ years along with other technical and wholesale services that will greatly reduce costs and deployment time for NU. This is an example of rural communities sticking together and is an example we hope to see more often in the future.

In the interview, Jody also mentions a partnership in the works with Appalachian Electric Cooperative; we spoke to him and General Manager Greg Williams about the proposed collaboration for episode 203 of the podcast. Listen to that conversation here.

This show is 30 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.

An increasing interest in publicly owned network projects has also spurred an increase in creative collaborations as communities work together to facilitate deployment, especially in rural areas. This week, we talk with Sharon Kyser, Marketing and Public Relations Manager for Newport Utilities (NU) in Newport, Tennessee, and Jody Wigington, General Manager and CEO of Morristown Utility Systems (MUS), also in Tennessee, for episode 300 of the Community Broadband Bits podcast.

We’ve written about MUS Fibernet and had Jody on the show several times to talk about how they built their own network and the ways it has improved the electric utility and helped the community. Now, they’ve entered into a partnership with their neighbors in Newport, who also want to reap the benefits of public ownership. Sharon tells us how the people in Newport need better services, economic development, and how her organization is working with MUS to make that vision a reality.

The two communities are working together to develop a Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) network for residents and businesses in the NU service area. MUS is offering the expertise they’ve developed over the past 12+ years along with other technical and wholesale services that will greatly reduce costs and deployment time for NU. This is an example of rural communities sticking together and is an example we hope to see more often in the future.

In the interview, Jody also mentions a partnership in the works with Appalachian Electric Cooperative; we spoke to him and General Manager Greg Williams about the proposed collaboration for episode 203 of the podcast. Listen to that conversation here.

This show is 30 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.

An increasing interest in publicly owned network projects has also spurred an increase in creative collaborations as communities work together to facilitate deployment, especially in rural areas. This week, we talk with Sharon Kyser, Marketing and Public Relations Manager for Newport Utilities (NU) in Newport, Tennessee, and Jody Wigington, General Manager and CEO of Morristown Utility Systems (MUS), also in Tennessee, for episode 300 of the Community Broadband Bits podcast.

We’ve written about MUS Fibernet and had Jody on the show several times to talk about how they built their own network and the ways it has improved the electric utility and helped the community. Now, they’ve entered into a partnership with their neighbors in Newport, who also want to reap the benefits of public ownership. Sharon tells us how the people in Newport need better services, economic development, and how her organization is working with MUS to make that vision a reality.

The two communities are working together to develop a Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) network for residents and businesses in the NU service area. MUS is offering the expertise they’ve developed over the past 12+ years along with other technical and wholesale services that will greatly reduce costs and deployment time for NU. This is an example of rural communities sticking together and is an example we hope to see more often in the future.

In the interview, Jody also mentions a partnership in the works with Appalachian Electric Cooperative; we spoke to him and General Manager Greg Williams about the proposed collaboration for episode 203 of the podcast. Listen to that conversation here.

This show is 30 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.

Emmett, Idaho’s Systems Administrator Mike Knittel joins Christopher for episode 296 of the Community Broadband Bits podcast this week. Mike explains how the city of about 7,000 has taken a similar approach as other municipalities by first investing in Internet infrastructure to unite the city’s needs. We get to hear their story.

Emmett, however, has taken advantage of its self-reliant can-do attitude to collaborate among departments and build its own network. Mike explains how working between departments reduced the cost of their deployment, has helped them speed up their construction, and has created groundwork for future expansion. Mike also shares some of the ways that Emmett is discovering new and unexpected ways to use their infrastructure and how the community has supported the project.

Mike has some plans for Emmett's new infrastructure and we can't wait to check in with him in the future to find out all the new ways they're using their fiber.

This show is 29 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.

Emmett, Idaho’s Systems Administrator Mike Knittel joins Christopher for episode 296 of the Community Broadband Bits podcast this week. Mike explains how the city of about 7,000 has taken a similar approach as other municipalities by first investing in Internet infrastructure to unite the city’s needs. We get to hear their story.

Emmett, however, has taken advantage of its self-reliant can-do attitude to collaborate among departments and build its own network. Mike explains how working between departments reduced the cost of their deployment, has helped them speed up their construction, and has created groundwork for future expansion. Mike also shares some of the ways that Emmett is discovering new and unexpected ways to use their infrastructure and how the community has supported the project.

Mike has some plans for Emmett's new infrastructure and we can't wait to check in with him in the future to find out all the new ways they're using their fiber.

This show is 29 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.

Emmett, Idaho’s Systems Administrator Mike Knittel joins Christopher for episode 296 of the Community Broadband Bits podcast this week. Mike explains how the city of about 7,000 has taken a similar approach as other municipalities by first investing in Internet infrastructure to unite the city’s needs. We get to hear their story.

Emmett, however, has taken advantage of its self-reliant can-do attitude to collaborate among departments and build its own network. Mike explains how working between departments reduced the cost of their deployment, has helped them speed up their construction, and has created groundwork for future expansion. Mike also shares some of the ways that Emmett is discovering new and unexpected ways to use their infrastructure and how the community has supported the project.

Mike has some plans for Emmett's new infrastructure and we can't wait to check in with him in the future to find out all the new ways they're using their fiber.

This show is 29 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.

Emmett, Idaho’s Systems Administrator Mike Knittel joins Christopher for episode 296 of the Community Broadband Bits podcast this week. Mike explains how the city of about 7,000 has taken a similar approach as other municipalities by first investing in Internet infrastructure to unite the city’s needs. We get to hear their story.

Emmett, however, has taken advantage of its self-reliant can-do attitude to collaborate among departments and build its own network. Mike explains how working between departments reduced the cost of their deployment, has helped them speed up their construction, and has created groundwork for future expansion. Mike also shares some of the ways that Emmett is discovering new and unexpected ways to use their infrastructure and how the community has supported the project.

Mike has some plans for Emmett's new infrastructure and we can't wait to check in with him in the future to find out all the new ways they're using their fiber.

This show is 29 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.

Emmett, Idaho’s Systems Administrator Mike Knittel joins Christopher for episode 296 of the Community Broadband Bits podcast this week. Mike explains how the city of about 7,000 has taken a similar approach as other municipalities by first investing in Internet infrastructure to unite the city’s needs. We get to hear their story.

Emmett, however, has taken advantage of its self-reliant can-do attitude to collaborate among departments and build its own network. Mike explains how working between departments reduced the cost of their deployment, has helped them speed up their construction, and has created groundwork for future expansion. Mike also shares some of the ways that Emmett is discovering new and unexpected ways to use their infrastructure and how the community has supported the project.

Mike has some plans for Emmett's new infrastructure and we can't wait to check in with him in the future to find out all the new ways they're using their fiber.

This show is 29 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.

Emmett, Idaho’s Systems Administrator Mike Knittel joins Christopher for episode 296 of the Community Broadband Bits podcast this week. Mike explains how the city of about 7,000 has taken a similar approach as other municipalities by first investing in Internet infrastructure to unite the city’s needs. We get to hear their story.

Emmett, however, has taken advantage of its self-reliant can-do attitude to collaborate among departments and build its own network. Mike explains how working between departments reduced the cost of their deployment, has helped them speed up their construction, and has created groundwork for future expansion. Mike also shares some of the ways that Emmett is discovering new and unexpected ways to use their infrastructure and how the community has supported the project.

Mike has some plans for Emmett's new infrastructure and we can't wait to check in with him in the future to find out all the new ways they're using their fiber.

This show is 29 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.