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Podcasts

The Future of Cable – Episode 25 of the Connect This! Show

Join us live on Thursday, November 11th at 5pm ET for Episode 25 of the Connect This! Show, where co-hosts Christopher and Travis Carter (USI Fiber) will be joined by Glen Atkins and Ron Hranac (former Technical Marketing Engineer at Cisco) to talk about the future of hybrid fiber-coaxil (HFC) network infrastructure. 

Cable began as a one way video distribution system, but has enjoyed a long life as the result of new specification standards, encoding schemes, and the result of pushing fiber farther and farther into the network. The panel will talk about DOCSIS and the move from the 3.1 standard to 4.0, which will enable symmetrical gigabit speeds to users and more households served at the highest speed tiers. They’ll also dig into the pantheon of other hardware and system upgrades used by cable operators, from low latency DOCSIS to virtualized cable modem termination system (vCMTS). 

With so much fiber being built in 2021 and beyond, how much life is left in the cable plant? 

Subscribe to the show using this feed, or visit ConnectThisShow.com

Email us broadband@muninetworks.org with feedback, ideas for the show, or your pictures of weird wireless infrastructure to stump Travis.

Watch here or below on YouTube Live, via Facebook Live here, or follow Christopher on Twitter to watch there.

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Podcasts

Northern New England – Episode 24 of the Connect This! Show

This episode streamed live on November 4, 2021.

Join us live on Thursday, November 4th at 5pm ET for Episode 24 of the Connect This! Show, where co-hosts Christopher and Travis Carter (USI Fiber) will be joined by Peggy Schaffer (Executive Director, ConnectMaine) and Carole Monroe (CEO of ValleyNet) to catch up on what’s been happening in northern New England. They’ll talk state and local developments, share their thoughts on the likely impact of the imminent broadband infrastructure money, and talk about the recent nominations by the Biden administration to the FCC.

Subscribe to the show using this feed, or visit ConnectThisShow.com

Email us broadband@muninetworks.org with feedback, ideas for the show, or your pictures of weird wireless infrastructure to stump Travis.

Watch here or below on YouTube Live, via Facebook Live here, or follow Christopher on Twitter to watch there.

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Podcasts

Grassroots Networking – Episode 23 of the Connect This! Show

This episode streamed live on October 25, 2021.

Join us live on Monday, October 25th at 5pm ET for Episode 23 of the Connect This! Show, where co-hosts Christopher and Travis Carter (USI Fiber) will be joined by Neil Mylet and Deb Simpier (Althea Networks) to talk about grassroots networking. They’ll dive into into the hardware and software considerations made in building hyperlocal networks, and bringing together people passionate about returning knowledge and control to build more resilient communities.

Subscribe to the show using this feed, or visit ConnectThisShow.com

Email us broadband@muninetworks.org with feedback, ideas for the show, or your pictures of weird wireless infrastructure to stump Travis.

Watch here or below on YouTube Live, or via Facebook Live here.

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Podcasts

Longmont, Colorado and Clarksville, Tennessee – Episode 22 of the Connect This! Show

This show streamed live on October 14, 2021.

Join us live this Thursday, October 14th at 5pm ET for Episode 22 of the Connect This! Show, where co-hosts Christopher and Travis Carter (USI Fiber) will be joined by Dennis Pappas (Longmont, Colorado) and Christy Batts (Clarksville, Tennessee) to talk about large municipalities successfully deploying broadband infrastructure for an array of community benefits. 

Longmont, Colorado’s Nextlight has been wildly successful during its first five years of life in uncommon ways. Clarksville, Tennessee’s CDE Lightband has overcome early challenges to bring significant savings to the public, especially to members of the municipal electric utility. Christopher, Travis, Dennis, and Christy come together to unpack how they got there and what it means for the future.

Subscribe to the show using this feed, or visit ConnectThisShow.com

Email us broadband@muninetworks.org with feedback, ideas for the show, or your pictures of weird wireless infrastructure to stump Travis.

Watch here or below on YouTube Live, or via Facebook Live here.

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Podcasts

Digging in the City LIVE! – Episode 21 of the Connect This! Show

This show streamed live on October 7, 2021.

This week, don’t miss a very special episode of the Connect This! Show, streaming live from the Minneapolis headquarters of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance for the very first time! 

Co-hosts Christopher and Travis Carter (USI Fiber) will be broadcasting with most of the Community Broadband Networks initiative team watching from the peanut gallery. They will be joined virtually by Doug Dawson (CCG Consulting) and Kim McKinley (UTOPIA Fiber) to dive into the nitty gritty of broadband infrastructure and talk about permitting, rights of way (ROW), and all the day-to-day minutae of turning a network design into physical reality. 

They’ll talk about building good relationships with local government, planning ahead, overcoming unanticipated challenges, and finding creative solutions to permitting and right of way issues. We’ll see some entities that have done it well, and others that have done it poorly. 

Subscribe to the show using this feed, or visit ConnectThisShow.com

Email us broadband@muninetworks.org with feedback, ideas for the show, or your pictures of weird wireless infrastructure to stump Travis.

Watch here or below on YouTube Live, or via Facebook Live here.

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Podcasts

Treasury Infrastructure Rules, Digital Redlining, and Microtrenching – Episode 20 of the Connect This! Show

This show streamed lived on September 30th, 2021

On Episode 20 of the Connect This! Show, co-hosts Christopher and Travis Carter (USI Fiber) will be joined by Doug Dawson (CCG Consulting) and Kim McKinley (UTOPIA Fiber) live on both YouTube and Facebook to talk about a grab-bag of issues including the new Treasury rules for the $10 billion in broadband infrastructure funding, digital redlining, and microtrenching. 

Subscribe to the show using this feed, or visit ConnectThisShow.com

Email us broadband@muninetworks.org with feedback, ideas for the show, or your pictures of weird wireless infrastructure to stump Travis.

Watch here on YouTube (or below), or here on Facebook Live.

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Mapping Broadband Access With Garbage Trucks, and Other Innovative Municipal Initiatives – Episode 19 of Connect This! Show

This show streamed live on September 23rd

On Episode 19 of the Connect This! Show, co-hosts Christopher and (a partly there) Travis Carter (USI Fiber) are joined by Keith Hanson (Shreveport, Louisiana Chief Technology Officer) and Angelina Panettieri (National League of Cities) to talk about how some cities place themselves at the vanguard of innovation by undertaking projects designed to improve local conditions using existing infrastructure and know-how. Keith shares Shreveport’s efforts to map the digital divide by connecting low-power computing devices to GPS sensors and cell phone batteries on garbage trucks to map broadband access across the city. He also talks about other edge computing initiatives, like video for public safety. 

The group also discusses the newly released Treasury rules on the $10 billion in infrastructure funding coming down the pipeline, and how cities can position themselves to take advantage.

Subscribe to the show using this feed.

Email us broadband@muninetworks.org with feedback, ideas for the show, or your pictures of weird wireless infrastructure to stump Travis.

Watch here, or below.

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A Summer Recap: What’s Going On With Broadband Projects? – Episode 18 of the Connect This! Show

This episode streamed live on September 9.

On Episode 18 of the Connect This! Show, co-hosts Christopher and Travis Carter (USI Fiber) are joined by Doug Dawson (CCG Consulting) and Kim McKinley (UTOPIA Fiber) to catch up after a frenzied summer. With all of the federal, state, and local broadband infrastructure funding programs and projects announced over the last three months, the panel breaks down what they’ve been seeing across the country. 

During the course of the conversation, they cover what’s been going on with the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (including ISPs turning funds back in and LTD failing to get its ETC status), more supply chain constraints, how communities can plan for current and future funding, and incumbents continuing to lock up MDUs.

Subscribe to the show using this feed, or visit ConnectThisShow.com

Email us broadband@muninetworks.org with feedback, ideas for the show, or your pictures of weird wireless infrastructure to stump Travis.

Watch here, or below.

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Tribal Broadband – Episode 17 of the Connect This! Show

In this episode of the Connect This! Show, co-hosts Christopher and Travis Carter (USI Fiber) are joined by Jessica Engle (IT Director for the Yurok Tribe) and Matthew Rantanen (Director of Technology, Southern California Tribal Chairmen’s Association) to talk about broadband in Indian Country. 

The panel discusses the realities of deploying wired and wireless broadband infrastructure on tribal lands, and what the Yurok tribe has learned along the way in overcoming challenges and working with partners and vendors to expand access in efficient but sustainable ways.

During the hour, Matt, Jess, Travis, and Christopher also talk about the $1 billion Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program to be administered by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), the long history of underinvestment by incumbent providers in Indian County, and how communities can position themselves to succeed in the context of local conditions in pursuing long-term solutions.

Subscribe to the show using this feed, or visit ConnectThisShow.com

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

Watch here, or below.

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Podcasts

Tribal Broadband – Episode 17 of the Connect This! Show

Join us on YouTube Live this Thursday, August 5th, at 5pm ET for the return of the Connect This Show!

In Episode 17, co-hosts Christopher and Travis Carter (USI Fiber) will be joined by Jessica Engle (IT Director for the Yurok Tribe) and Matthew Rantanen (Director of Technology, Southern California Tribal Chairmen’s Association) to talk about broadband in Indian Country. 

The panel will discuss the realities of deploying broadband infrastructure on tribal lands, and what the Yurok tribe has learned along the way in overcoming challenges and working with partners and vendors to expand access in efficient but sustainable ways. They’ll also talk about the $1 billion Tribal Broadband Connectivity Program to be administered by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), including their hopes for its impact and how communities can position themselves to succeed.

Subscribe to the show using this feed, or visit ConnectThisShow.com

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

Watch here, or below.