Thanks to Jeff Hoel for providing the transcript for Episode 133 of the Community Broadband Bits podcast with Howard County CIO Chris Merdon the Maryland County’s efforts to improve Internet access by building a fiber network. Listen to this episode here. 00:08: Chris Merdon: In this case, the landlord believes that it’s a great attractor to … Read More
When we started to hear rumors that the White House was investigating community owned networks, we were excited but not sure what to expect. I have to admit that seeing President Obama – the President of the United States – saying that Cedar Falls was smart to invest in themselves was much more powerful than I … Read More
While at the Broadband Communities Economic Development conference in Springfield last year, I had the good fortune to catch a panel with Chris Merdon, the CIO of Howard County, Maryland. Howard County has become an Internet Service Provider, not just to itself, but to private firms as well. To improve Internet access for businesses, it is … Read More
Many of us in the public interest telecommunications sphere are excited that the FCC appears poised to reclassify Internet access, which seems a necessary first step of protecting the open Internet. Though we often focus on the false claims of the self-interested cable and telephone lobbyists when criticizing those who oppose FCC action on this, a … Read More
Ever since the last time I spoke with Blair Levin on Episode 37, I have wanted to have him back for a friendly discussion about public or private ownership of next generation networks. Though Blair and I entirely agree that local governments should be free to decide locally whether a community broadband network investment is a … Read More
This week, we helped to launch Next Century Cities, a collaborative effort of local governments that are making smart investments and partnerships to ensure their communities have fast, affordable, and reliable Internet access. Deb Socia is the Executive Director of Next Century Cities, coming to it from a nonprofit organization she developed in Boston called Tech … Read More
Lisa Gonzalez and I have been wading though all kinds of crazy talk since the cities of Wilson and Chattanooga filed petitions with the FCC to strike down state laws that prevent them from offering Internet access to their neighbors. In our first episode of Crazy Talk since way back in episode 72, we deal with … Read More
In just the last year the Lafayette Utility System (LUS) gigabit network has attracted 1300 high-tech jobs. Chairman Wheeler praises the network for doing what many communities hope to do, but cannot because of state laws limiting municipal broadband networks. Critics are desperate to discredit the network, using false statements and misinformation. The Reason Foundation released a paper by Steven … Read More
Thank to Jeff Hoel for providing the transcript for Episode 109 of the Community Broadband Bits podcast with Alyssa Clemsen-Roberts. Listen to this episode here. 00:16: [Teaser] Alyssa Clemsen-Roberts: They provide services that the market is not filling in their area, and they do it very well. 00:22: Lisa Gonzalez: Hey there. This is the Community … Read More
