Gigabit Nation

Consider Gainesville, FL an epicenter of innovation that drives economic development. Gig.U is helping raise their innovation to a new level. Learn how to develop a similar epicenter in your community. Ted Kellermann, Director of GRU.com (Gainesville's public utility's gig network) and David Pokorney, Director of the University of Florida's Network Services describe how the city's Innovation Square benefits from its Gig.U partnership. Stakeholders will begin developing apps soon that transform business, healthcare delivery and education. Today's guests answer important questions and offer valuable practical advice you can start putting to work right away. We invite you to call in and join the conversation.                         

Faced with too many people paying too much for too little broadband, the Australian government decided the infrastructure was too important to the public to be left vulnerable to market forces alone. So they are building a national broadband network (NBN) for which private-sector profit and the public good are equal objectives.   Australia's NBN champion and senior cabinet leader Senator Stephen Conroy is our guest, discussing their network's origins, progress to date and lessons learned. There is much to be learned from Senator Conroy. He frequently advocates for an affordable broadband infrastructure consistent with his nation's culture of "The Fair Go."  Everyone deserves an equal opportunity to get ahead and to get on with the business of being a fully productive member of their community. Nonprofits, community foundations and public private partnerships are increasingly core tactics for communities determined to get better broadband for local businesses and residents. Senator Conroy offers good insight

This story of broadband-driven economic development is inspiring. Around 2003, Danville, VA faced pretty bleak economic conditions, including huge unemployment. As tobacco farming died out in the state, towns were shrinking dramatically with the withering employment opportunities. Danville’s public utility turned to broadband to help relieve the crisis. Starting by connecting municipal and utility buildings and the K-12 schools, Danville Utilities in 2006 began services to local businesses. Today the network passes 1000 business locations including five business parks, and it’s the cornerstone for improving the local workforce by helping K-12 students and adults become digitally literate. Former Danville Mayor Linwood Wright joins us to discuss the various steps they took to implement changes and activities that improved the competitiveness of current businesses and drew new organizations into the area with new jobs. Among their successes is a transformation of local healthcare delivery that is a big draw f

Today, President Obama issues an Executive Order to significantly streamline the deployment of conduit, a key element of broadband infrastructure. This is expected to reduce 90% of the cost of putting fiber in the ground.  The White House also is launching USD Ignite, a major public-private-nonprofit partnership dedicated to accelerating broadband application development, and increasing the number of applications across the US.  Several of the movers and shakers within the US Ignite effort join us to put both actions into context. How will communities benefit? What resources or investments should communities expect from the program? What kinds of broadband apps does US Ignite hope their contests and cash prizes will produce?  Tune in for answers to these and other questions. My guests are: 2:00 EST - Joe Kochan, Co-Founder, US Ignite 2:10 - Tom Kalil, Deputy Director for Policy at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy  2:20 - Jed Marston, VP Marketing & Communications, Chattanoog

Your community could be missing a great opportunity. One of the best kept secrets is the FCC’s eRate program. Established as part of a fund that every person who pays a phone bill contributes to, eRate provides money to schools and libraries to build network infrastructure that benefits low-income populations. Millions of dollars have been awarded to communities nationwide. The good news is that more money is available. The bad news is, the eRate is unknown to many people, and it’s plenty confusing to sort through the maze of bureaucratic procedures to win and use the money. Shining light on eRate and how you can tap into this fund is Gary Rawson, State E-rate Coordinator for the Mississippi Department of Information Technology Services.  Rawson provides valuable information that shows you how to put this program to work for you while highlighting some of the great success stories in Mississippi. 

This week the Intelligent Communities Forum selects the world's Intelligent Community of the Year at their annual conference. ICF showcases the innovative use of information and communications tech to build prosperous, inclusive and sustainable communities. However, how does broadband-driven innovation translate into practical benefits? Can you "plan" or create innovation, or does it just happen once the network's built? Several finalists for ICF's big award weigh in on these and other questions as they highlight their respective communities' innovations. This is the interview lineup (all times are EST): 2:00 Mel Norton, Mayor - St. John, N. Brunswick, Canada 2:30 - Dan Mathieson, Mayor - Stratford, Ontario, Canada 3:00 - Jason Hu, Mayor - Taichung, Taiwan 3:30 - Ron Loveridge, Mayor - Riverside, CA, Steve Reneker, CIO - Riverside 4:00 - Regis Labeaume, Mayor - Quebec City, Carl Viel, President - Quebec International      

$7 billion later it's a good time to ask, are we going to see world-stopping innovation? After all, innovation is one of the cool byproducts all of these investments in broadband are supposed to produce. Explore what innovation means when communities have highspeed Internet access, particularly when they own the resource. Inntelligent Community Forum Co-Founder Robert Bell gives listeners a national and international perspective of what we can realistically expect broadband to deliver. More importantly, *how* do we produce great innovation? Is it the speed of the broadband pipe? Is innovation dependent on other technologies integrated with broadband? Does the community shape innovation, or do you create a certain type of environment and innovation is sure to follow? These and other important questions help you shape your broadband plan.  

Bristol, VA's public utility-owned broadband net (BVU Optinet) is one of the earliest and more frequently acknowledged community network success story. Effective and creative marketing put BVU's Internet services on the map. Kyle Hollifield takes listeners behind the scenes of some of BVU's best broadband marketing campaigns. Get valuable insights on how to better market your network, increase partnerships that boost subscriber numbers and entice more ISPs to deliver services on your network. As BVU's VP of Marketing  & Business Development, Hollifield plays a pivotal role in driving up BVU's subscriber numbers. He also plays a major role in increasing the marketing competency of members of the Fiber to the Home Council, serving as the organization's Chairman of the Board. Marketing is key to your broadband success. Let's get it right!  

NOTE: The audio glitch you hear is with the host only. Our guest's audio is perfectly clear. Is the goal of broadband adoption getting more people to use the technology, or getting them to use it more effectively? Today we try to answer this question. Philadelphia faces a daunting challenge. 41% of the city's 1.5 million residents lack regular Internet access or basic computer skills. To battle this problem, the city formed the Freedom Rings Partnership, a coalition of grassroots organizations, government, and universities bringing Internet access, training and technology to communities citywide. Learn valuable lessons to drive broadband adoption in your communities. Join our guest, Arun Prabhakaran, Dir. of Business Development and Strategic Initiatives for the Urban Affairs Coalition. He describes how the organization is maximizing their $25 million NTIA broadband stimulus grant for an array of projects that are preparing residents for a 21st Century digital economy.

Yesterday, at the SHLB Coalition’s conference, Gig.U and Gigabit Squared announced the nation’s first gigabit network deployment fund. Get the details today with our guest, Mark Ansboury, CEO of Gigabit Squared. Under this $200 million Gigabit Neighborhood Gateway Program, capital is available to support up to six select Gig.U member-sponsored projects. One of the desired outcomes of this project is that the gig networks funded will provide platforms for innovation, next generation application development, workforce development and job creation. Will this fund open the gates to more creative investments in community broadband? Will Gigabit Squared’s action put pressure on Google to accelerate its Kansas City network project? Is this the beginning of a trend toward alternative financing for broadband as traditional government grant programs slow down. Find out answers to these and other important questions. For background on Gig.U, listen to this Gigabit Nation broadcast with Gig.U founder Blair Levin.

Get more economic bang for your broadband buck. Paul Niedzwiecki, Ex. Dir. of the Cape Cod Commission, and Alan Davis, President and CEO of CapeNet join us live at SmarterCape Summit to discuss why it pays to take care of the home front first. Did you know intranets that connect your businesses, local government offices, educational institutions and medical facilities to each other primes everyone for greater economic success? Folks can achieve more while working with greater efficiently.   And when you execute creative activities to integrate your local economic drivers with faster access to the public Internet, these constituents save money, improve how they operate, transform the workforce and increase revenues. Fast broadband by itself doesn't produce economic benefits. You have to use this technology the right way and work smart. Learn how today.

Last week we explored the value of creating co-ops and nonprofit organizations to make broadband deployment more affordable and beneficial for constituents. Today's interview presents a third option for better broadband, community foundations.   Sharon Stroh is Dir. of Business Development for iMAN, a supporting organization of the Steuben County Community Foundation (SCCF). iMAN is a countywide project that not only delivers fiber broadband infrastructure, it also raises funds for grants and contributions to economic development projects.   This particular business strategy leads to financial sustainability of networks, greater community control that increases broadband benefits to constituents and a funding source for economic programs. Communities also avoid many of the political battles with incumbents that eat up time and resources.

When all else fails, do it yourself. This pretty much sums up the popularity and the effectiveness of community cooperatives (co-ops) in bringing broadband to rural and small-town America. Communities that big incumbents have ignored are getting what they want when local businesses and other stakeholders band together.   Wally Bowen, founder and executive director of the very successful Mountain Area Information Network (MAIN) in Asheville, N.C., is a huge fan of co-ops. He shares with listeners secrets to MAIN's success, and explains the basics for forming a co-op in your community.   2012 could be the year of the broadband co-op. Check out this interview! Listen, learn, do.

Sonic.net started a buzz several months ago when they announced they are selling 1 gigabit broadband service to the home for $70 a month. If this small provider can do it in rural California, why not in the big city, you ask?   Sonic.net CEO Dane Jasper joins us to discuss how he's able to do what it seems the big guns can't - deliver true highspeed broadband for an affordable price. We also discuss the technology and financial factors that make it possible for Sonic.net to come up with the Holy Grail.   Join us for this interview that's sure to be informative. Find out how the City by the Bay could become the next place where you can get a gig, but you won't have to leave your heart or pay an arm and a leg.

Learn how this N. Carolina nonprofit is driving a major broadband stimulus project, the Golden Leaf Rural Broadband Initiative. As they finish round 1, the 12 Days of Broadband Campaign highlights some of the innovations that have sprung from the project so far.   Joe Freddoso, CEO of 25-year old MCNC, joins us to discuss these accomplishments and lessons learn in MCNC's role as a catalyst for technology-based economic development. Besides exploring how to harness broadband to improve local economies, we address:   broadband realities versus the expectations; navigating the federal and state legislative environment; managing the challenges of a regional deployment; and bridging middle and last mile deployment efforts.

Project teams and stakeholders responsible for regional and statewide broadband projects can learn a lot of valuable lessons from the fighting Badgers of the University of Wisconsin, and their private partner Packerland Broadband.    The ARRA-funded Wisconsin broadband project, Building Community Capacity through Broadband (BCCB), prevailed over a lot of aggravation and turmoil created by incumbents and state legislators trying to kill their project, The project is now moving full steam ahead on improving broadband throughout the state.   Community and Economic Development Mgr, Prof. Andrew Lewis, Technology Project Manager Brian Remer and Packerland Dir. of Operations Joe Esbrook delve into details on the various community projects, surviving legislative and legal challenges, how to structure a statewide project and what the future holds for broadband in Wisconsin.

What lies in store for community broadband as one of the main FCC champions of the public interest and non-traditional stakeholders retires this month? Commissioner Michael Copps is moving on after dedicating over 10 years fighting to stem the tide of excessive consolidation in the nation’s telecommunications industry.   Com. Copps joins us to deliver some parting insights to making community broadband work. He discusses USF reform, citizen involvement in broadband policy issues and future plans as he continues to speak out in support of his beliefs.   Don't miss one of Com. Copps last interviews as an FCC Commissioner.

From the private sector perspective, what does the upcoming year hold for broadband developments in the U.S.? The Fiber to the Home Council and its members have been a strong driving force for broadband deployment since the organization's launch in 2001. What can we expect with their new president coming on board?   Heather Burnett Gold takes over the reigns at the FTTH Council after a seven-year stint as a senior vice president of XO Communications. She explains to listeners the direction she anticipates the industry to take, plus options and opportunities for public private partnerships.    The FTTH Council consisting of companies and organizations that are involved in planning and building FTTH networks to deliver video, Internet and/or voice services over high-bandwidth fiber optic connections. 

Faced with what they perceived as increasing abandonment by large telecom and cable incumbents, 47 communities in western Massachusetts banded together to create their own broadband solution. Their story is fascinating, instructional and motivational for communities wishing to follow the same path.   Monica Webb has led Wired West, the consortium of towns and townships, in their successful drive to unify divergent interests and political jurisdictions. Webb explains to listeners how to get communities in such an arrangement singing from the same broadband strategy page.   This interview addresses how to overcome political, logistical and operational challenges in regional approaches to getting broadband deployed.

Tech people constantly trip over each other  searching for the "next big thing." Broadband project leaders fret over how to increase adoption. Do they realize the average person is drawn to broadband by simple apps that make life and work easier and/or more productive?   Harry McCracken has reviewed and written about truckloads of tech apps as editor and journalist for PC World, InfoWorld, Time and now head of Technologizer. Harry shows our audience that the path to broadband adoption and financial sustainability is paved with simple, effective technology.   Join us as we discuss:   medical apps that give users more control of their healthcare; the role of mobile devices in a broadband world; filling the pipeline with innovative apps; what does a gigabit mean to consumers.   You may find this Gigabit Nation broadcast that presents data from recent research on consumer adoption of fiber networks to be a good primer for our interview with Harry.