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Building Business and Community Goodwill Through Marketing – Episode 6 of the Connect This! Show

This week on Connect This! Christopher and Travis Carter (CEO, USI Fiber) are joined by Kim McKinley (Deputy Director and Chief Marketing Officer, UTOPIA Fiber) and Kyle Hollifield (VP of Business Development, Magellan Advisors), both veterans with years of experience.

Marketing means more that a logo with a snappy slogan, and it can be hard to quantify the value in taking precious dollars and applying them to tasks other than fiber in the ground and the supporting electronics.

The group emphasizes how important it is to get right from the start, and the impact it can have on take rates, positive word-of-mouth, and a sense of goodwill. They discuss why marketing should be both a budget priority and a central part of any business plan, and what it means for everyone from installation subcontractors to CEO to play a role. Travis, Kyle, and Kim share some of their favorite marketing success stories. 

Subscribe to the show using this feed

Email us broadband@muninetworks.org with feedback and ideas for the show.

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Where to Next From the Federal Government on Broadband? – Episode 5 of the Connect This! Show

On Episode 5 of Connect This! Christopher is joined by Travis Carter (CEO, US Internet), Sarah Morris (Director, New America’s Open Technology Institute), and Doug Dawson (President, CCG Consulting) to discuss what we might expect from the federal government on broadband next year.

The group talks about what a Biden administration might do, whether we’ll see federal legislation to overturn restrictive state laws which prohibit municipal broadband, and the prospective future of the Accessible, Affordable, Internet for All Act which passed the House in June and currently sits stalled in the Senate.

Subscribe to the show using this feed.

Email us broadband@muninetworks.org with feedback and ideas for the show.

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Open Access Networks – Episode 4 of the Connect This! Show

On Episode 4 of Connect This! Christopher is joined by Jeff Christensen (President, EntryPoint Networks), Dane Jasper (CEO and Co-Founder, Sonic), and Travis Carter (CEO, US Internet) to talk about open access models, and the challenges and opportunities they present. During the discussion they discuss barriers to entry, differentiation, dark fiber, and why we don’t see more cities pursuing projects like this. They also have a little fun sharing what they think the FCC has gotten right and wrong over the last 4 years, and what Comcast’s recent announcement about bandwidth caps will mean for users and competing Internet Service Providers (ISPs).

Mentioned during the episode was Chris’ conversation with NetEquity Networks’ Isfandiyar Shaheen and Althea Networks’ Deborah Simpier about innovating financing models for expanding fiber networks.

Read the transcript for this episode.

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Digital Inclusion – Episode 3 of the Connect This! Show

On Episode 3 of Connect This!, Christopher is joined by Angela Siefer, Executive Director of the National Digital Inclusion Alliance, Deb Socia, President of The Enterprise Center in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and Travis Carter, CEO of US Internet to talk about digital inclusion and solving the broadband gap.

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5G, CBRS, and Urban WISPs – Episode 2 of the Connect This! Show

Host Christopher Mitchell speaks with Mason Carroll (Monkeybrains), Deborah Simpier (Althea Networks), and Travis Carter (US Internet) about urban wireless solutions, including 5G, Citizens Broadband Radio Service, and how cities can help WISPS.

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Satellite Internet Access, the Future of Cable, and Small Fiber ISPs – Episode 1 of the Connect This! Show

Host Christopher Mitchell speaks with Doug Dawson of CCG Consulting, Monica Webb of Ting, and Travis Carter of US Internet. Their conversation touches on LEO, Voting, Future of Cable, and Challenges for Small FISPs.