This week on the podcast, Christopher speaks with Valerie Fast Horse, the IT director and creator of Red Spectrum for the Coeur d'Alene Tribe. Red Spectrum, a broadband company, serves the Coeur d'Alene Reservation in North Idaho, covering nearly 380,000 acres of land.

Chris and Valerie discuss the history of the Red Spectrum and the efforts made over time to upgrade its infrastructure and continue to offer residents high-quality connections – transitioning from fixed wireless to fiber-to-the-home projects.

Valerie also discusses how Red Spectrum has expanded its services over the years, including subscribers both inside the reservation and areas outside of it, as well as barriers to expanding and the challenges of competition from other providers such as Starlink.

Despite the challenges they face, Red Spectrum continues to grow its network and uphold its high customer satisfaction rate, even bringing back subscribers who originally left for Starlink. Chris and Valerie conclude the conversation by emphasizing the importance of personal interest, community involvement, and local talent in building small, successful community broadband networks.

This show is 22 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 or view all episodes in our index. See other podcasts from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance.

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 Valerie Fast Horse, the IT director and creator of Red Spectrum for the Coeur d'Alene Tribe. Red Spectrum, a broadband company, serves the Coeur d'Alene Reservation in North Idaho, covering nearly 380,000 acres of land.

Chris and Valerie discuss the history of the Red Spectrum and the efforts made over time to upgrade its infrastructure and continue to offer residents high-quality connections – transitioning from fixed wireless to fiber-to-the-home projects.

Valerie also discusses how Red Spectrum has expanded its services over the years, including subscribers both inside the reservation and areas outside of it, as well as barriers to expanding and the challenges of competition from other providers such as Starlink.

Despite the challenges they face, Red Spectrum continues to grow its network and uphold its high customer satisfaction rate, even bringing back subscribers who originally left for Starlink. Chris and Valerie conclude the conversation by emphasizing the importance of personal interest, community involvement, and local talent in building small, successful community broadband networks.

This show is 22 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 or view all episodes in our index. See other podcasts from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance.

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 Valerie Fast Horse, the IT director and creator of Red Spectrum for the Coeur d'Alene Tribe. Red Spectrum, a broadband company, serves the Coeur d'Alene Reservation in North Idaho, covering nearly 380,000 acres of land.

Chris and Valerie discuss the history of the Red Spectrum and the efforts made over time to upgrade its infrastructure and continue to offer residents high-quality connections – transitioning from fixed wireless to fiber-to-the-home projects.

Valerie also discusses how Red Spectrum has expanded its services over the years, including subscribers both inside the reservation and areas outside of it, as well as barriers to expanding and the challenges of competition from other providers such as Starlink.

Despite the challenges they face, Red Spectrum continues to grow its network and uphold its high customer satisfaction rate, even bringing back subscribers who originally left for Starlink. Chris and Valerie conclude the conversation by emphasizing the importance of personal interest, community involvement, and local talent in building small, successful community broadband networks.

This show is 22 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 or view all episodes in our index. See other podcasts from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance.

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 Valerie Fast Horse, the IT director and creator of Red Spectrum for the Coeur d'Alene Tribe. Red Spectrum, a broadband company, serves the Coeur d'Alene Reservation in North Idaho, covering nearly 380,000 acres of land.

Chris and Valerie discuss the history of the Red Spectrum and the efforts made over time to upgrade its infrastructure and continue to offer residents high-quality connections – transitioning from fixed wireless to fiber-to-the-home projects.

Valerie also discusses how Red Spectrum has expanded its services over the years, including subscribers both inside the reservation and areas outside of it, as well as barriers to expanding and the challenges of competition from other providers such as Starlink.

Despite the challenges they face, Red Spectrum continues to grow its network and uphold its high customer satisfaction rate, even bringing back subscribers who originally left for Starlink. Chris and Valerie conclude the conversation by emphasizing the importance of personal interest, community involvement, and local talent in building small, successful community broadband networks.

This show is 22 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 or view all episodes in our index. See other podcasts from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance.

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 is joined by Angela Siefer (Executive Director of the National Digital Inclusion Alliance) and Greg Guice (Chief Policy Officer at the Vernon Berg Group) to tackle a familiar and increasingly important topic in the area of the digital divide: Universal Service Fund (USF) reform. 

At present, the USF is overcommitted and stretched to its limits, providing critical operational and infrastructure support for rural broadband on an unsustainable budget. Angela and Greg talk with Christopher about how modernizing and expanding the program - including making the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) permanent - is necessary to meet the equity and inclusion goals we have set as a country.

Along the way, the group discusses the challenges in designing solutions that address the challenges of universal broadband access in an evolving digital landscape.

This show is 33 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 or view all episodes in our index. See other podcasts from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance.

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 is joined by Angela Siefer (Executive Director of the National Digital Inclusion Alliance) and Greg Guice (Chief Policy Officer at the Vernon Berg Group) to tackle a familiar and increasingly important topic in the area of the digital divide: Universal Service Fund (USF) reform. 

At present, the USF is overcommitted and stretched to its limits, providing critical operational and infrastructure support for rural broadband on an unsustainable budget. Angela and Greg talk with Christopher about how modernizing and expanding the program - including making the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) permanent - is necessary to meet the equity and inclusion goals we have set as a country.

Along the way, the group discusses the challenges in designing solutions that address the challenges of universal broadband access in an evolving digital landscape.

This show is 33 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 or view all episodes in our index. See other podcasts from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance.

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 is joined by Angela Siefer (Executive Director of the National Digital Inclusion Alliance) and Greg Guice (Chief Policy Officer at the Vernon Berg Group) to tackle a familiar and increasingly important topic in the area of the digital divide: Universal Service Fund (USF) reform. 

At present, the USF is overcommitted and stretched to its limits, providing critical operational and infrastructure support for rural broadband on an unsustainable budget. Angela and Greg talk with Christopher about how modernizing and expanding the program - including making the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) permanent - is necessary to meet the equity and inclusion goals we have set as a country.

Along the way, the group discusses the challenges in designing solutions that address the challenges of universal broadband access in an evolving digital landscape.

This show is 33 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 or view all episodes in our index. See other podcasts from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance.

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 is joined by Angela Siefer (Executive Director of the National Digital Inclusion Alliance) and Greg Guice (Chief Policy Officer at the Vernon Berg Group) to tackle a familiar and increasingly important topic in the area of the digital divide: Universal Service Fund (USF) reform. 

At present, the USF is overcommitted and stretched to its limits, providing critical operational and infrastructure support for rural broadband on an unsustainable budget. Angela and Greg talk with Christopher about how modernizing and expanding the program - including making the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) permanent - is necessary to meet the equity and inclusion goals we have set as a country.

Along the way, the group discusses the challenges in designing solutions that address the challenges of universal broadband access in an evolving digital landscape.

This show is 33 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 or view all episodes in our index. See other podcasts from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance.

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 is joined by Angela Siefer (Executive Director of the National Digital Inclusion Alliance) and Greg Guice (Chief Policy Officer at the Vernon Berg Group) to tackle a familiar and increasingly important topic in the area of the digital divide: Universal Service Fund (USF) reform. 

At present, the USF is overcommitted and stretched to its limits, providing critical operational and infrastructure support for rural broadband on an unsustainable budget. Angela and Greg talk with Christopher about how modernizing and expanding the program - including making the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) permanent - is necessary to meet the equity and inclusion goals we have set as a country.

Along the way, the group discusses the challenges in designing solutions that address the challenges of universal broadband access in an evolving digital landscape.

This show is 33 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 or view all episodes in our index. See other podcasts from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance.

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 is joined by Angela Siefer (Executive Director of the National Digital Inclusion Alliance) and Greg Guice (Chief Policy Officer at the Vernon Berg Group) to tackle a familiar and increasingly important topic in the area of the digital divide: Universal Service Fund (USF) reform. 

At present, the USF is overcommitted and stretched to its limits, providing critical operational and infrastructure support for rural broadband on an unsustainable budget. Angela and Greg talk with Christopher about how modernizing and expanding the program - including making the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) permanent - is necessary to meet the equity and inclusion goals we have set as a country.

Along the way, the group discusses the challenges in designing solutions that address the challenges of universal broadband access in an evolving digital landscape.

This show is 33 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 or view all episodes in our index. See other podcasts from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance.

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