Gigabit Nation

Broadband adoption is key to the financial and overall success of your broadband network. How effectively you drive adoption depends on how well you understand subscribers and prospects determines.   Alcatel-Lucent conducted in-depth qualitative and extensive quantitative research reaching 5,000 consumers to develop a series of portraits of how connectivity impacts people in different age groups. Understanding how the different groups think and act online gives you clues on how to effectively market broadband services, and who to partner with to add value to your network.    Allison Cerra, Alcatel-Lucent's Chief Marketing Officer, discusses some of the key research data points and what they mean to those marketing broadband networks and services. She also talks about her latest book, “Identity Shift: Where Identity Meets Technology in the Networked-Community Age.”

In a 759-page document containing 84 pages of regulations the FCC, among other goals, attempts to reform the Universal Service Fun (USF) by morphing the $4.5 billion annual tax into the Connect America Fund that hopefully leads to increased broadband deployments. But will it?   This broadcast explores what reform means to broadband deployments in general, community networks in particular and to small ISPs and telcos. Our guest, JSI Capital Advisors Analyst Cassandra Heyne, has spent most of her life in the rural telecom business (her family owns a 100-year old rural telco in Iowa), and most of the past two weeks immersed in the FCC's reform order.   Heyne helps our listeners make some sense of what has been a complex and confusing process, and the resulting reform order. When all is said and done, inquiring minds should have a better idea of what $4.5 billion buys us in a couple of years.

Besides KCMO's Google gig network, the State of Missouri has  ambitious and exciting plans to provide coverage throughout the state. These include infrastructure buildouts, broadband adoption programs and increasing broadband-related resources.   Damon Porter, MoBroadbandNow's Managing Director, is our guest and will shed a lot of light on: the current state of affairs with broadband in Missouri the progress of Missouri's broadband stimulus projects what constituents expect from the network how do you manage a beast like this with so many moving parts (e.g. local regs, multiple vendors, expansive geography)   This broadcast comes live from Missouri's annual broadband summit. Don't miss it.

More than 7.6 million North American homes now receive their Internet, video and/or voice services over end-to-end fiber networks, according to a report commissioned by the Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) Council. This is an increase of 1.15 million FTTH households over the past year. But what does it all mean?   Michael Render President, RVA LLC, oversees national research for his client, Fiber-to-the-Home Council. On today's show he gives our audience a look behind the numbers to put advances in fiber network adoption rates in perspective.   Besides the numbers, we also get to see what factors are influencing these increases: product features, marketing, the competitive landscape.

While mayors in other cities jumped in shark tanks or ice cold lakes, Kansas City, KS Mayor Joe Reardon focused on presenting his city as the best business partner for Google's Gigabit City project. And it worked!   Mayor Reardon provides insights for communities that want to attract strong partners in the pursuit of broadband. Forming effective public private partnerships is more than gimmicks, it takes detailed planning, effective marketing and spot-on execution.   Maximizing partnerships is an on-going effort that requires constituents' participation to be successful. "We continue to speak to our public and engage in a collaborative way with businesses and institutional partners to fully realize the potential of gigabit speeds." Join us for more words of wisdom from Mayor Reardon.

Get a glimpse of the future from one man who's seen it all. Om Malik is almost an institution within the tech world and beyond. His 15 years experience as a journalist, editor and what some would describe as technology soothsayer makes him a widely recognized thought leader.   Om and Gigabit Nation host Craig Settles discuss some of the many high points from GigaOm's RoadMap conference, Connectivity Changes Everything. Topics covered include:   Broadband, the media and the people Creativity, connectivity and capital Real-time medicine Ripping out the pages from the publishing playbook   Don't miss this opportunity to learn a little more about where broadband is taking us.

The battle in Longmont for its citizens and businesses to take back their right to make their own best broadband decisions was about more than good campaigning. It was about a community making itself aware of its broadband needs, educating each other about technology options and standing strong in their resistence to industry scare tactics.   Tom Roiniotis, Director of Longmont Power & Communication (the city's municipal electric and telecommunications utility), joins us to disccuss how the city used the loss in 2009 of a similar ballot measure to prep the city for Round II. Despite being outspent 60 to 1, Longmont citizens had a game plan and they stuck to it.   Now the hard part starts - turning their broadband vision into reality. Pick up valuable tips on how you can fight the odds in your state to make broadband a reality.

Seems like everywhere you turn, someone wants to throw money at you if you have a great broadband app that takes advantage of gigabit networks. Are you going to step up for a chance for mo' money, mo' money, mo' money?   John Wilson, Co-founder and former president of flexible display maker NanoLumens, Inc., and coordinator of Chattanooga's Gig Prize, gives the lowdown on the city's latest entry in the programming-for-dollars sweepstakes movement. We'll compare and contrast this contest with Kansas City's Gigabit Challenge that we talked about on the show two weeks ago.   Chattanooga's [up to] $350,000 Gig Prize contest (made possible in part by a grant from Alcatel-Lucent) is open to anyone in the world with great ideas. It's focused on creating apps using a gig network that's already operating and serving as the test bed. Particpants therefore get real world feedback in real time on their apps' effectiveness.   We also discuss how cities and counties can run similar contests that are focused mainly on

How do you maximize your community's investment in broadband? By creating great applications to run on your network. A recent day-long brainstorming session in Kansas City generated hundreds of ideas for great broadband apps. We're re-creating the magic with a live on-air session for our national audience. Several of the key KC facilitators are joining us to stoke the creative fires of our call-in and chat room audiences. You'll hear lots of cool ideas from others that you can use in your local community's broadband project. Our topic areas are: Economic development Healthcare (Senior Living & Mobility) Education Libraries as central broadband hubs Our brainstorming team joining us Wednesday represents: Social Media Club of Kansas CityThink Big, Kansas CityBrainzooming Don't miss this great session. Come listen, learn, contribute and collaborate.

Think you have the next killer gigabit app? The answer could net you $100,000. And while we're talking about it, our guest Scott Mize will discuss the investment potential of broadband networks and applications.   Scott is an Advisor to Think Big Partners and proposed the idea of The Gigabit Challenge as a way to help jump-start the development of ultra-high-speed broadband applications for Kansas City's Google gigabit network (and others, of course).   As venture development consultant to early-stage tech companies, Scott also helps our listeners understand where there are potential investment opportunties in broadband. Don't forget, there are over 1,100 cities that didn't get Google fiber but still want to build networks. 

Despite billions spent so far on broadband, are communities fully prepared to make libraries the literal and virtual backbone of their broadband strategies? Rich and poor, young and old, rural and urban, most people use a library. Don Means, Founder and CEO of Digital Village Assoc., is spearheading a national "Fiber to the Library" initiative. The goal is to bring 100 Mbps Internet connections to all of the 16,500 U.S. public libraries by 2012. Don will discuss how this initiative started, why it makes sense and why policymakers at all levels should aggressively support the efforts of those involved. He'll also highlight how the Kansas City, KS Public Library is capitalizing on the Google gigabit network project to become the model for cities nationwide that are expected to join the initiative. 

Washington policymakers are making a big deal about the valuable role wireless will play in getting broadband to unserved and underserved communities. But are you and D.C. talking about the same wireless?    Before Gigabit Nation host Craig Settles delivers his keynote address at the Wireless ISP Association (WISPA) annual convention in Las Vegas, he interviews WISPA President Rick Harnish. Today they discuss:   Universal Service Fund reform WISP'a role in an evolving broadband market How WISPs will compete with large providers to give rural communities better options

Overcoming a fitful start, a reorganized and reinvigorated UTOPIA has made strides strides forward. New cities are continually buying onto the network to enable affordable broadband for their constituents, businesses and residents are benefitting from better, affordable services and governments are delivering services with greater efficiencies. Todd Marriot, Executive Director of UTOPIA, provides valuable advice on meeting and overcoming political, business operations and technical challenges broadband project teams face when deploying broadband. 

This past August, Craig Settles conducted a national survey of economic development professionals to get their feedback on how broadband can impact local economies. Today he presents the findings from this research.   There will be lots of valuable information and insights Gigabit Nation listeners can begin capitalizing on right away. This year's survey examines: the state of broadband in respondents' communities how broadband impacts general economic development broadband's impact on personal economic development broadband policy issues.   The full survey analysis report will be available later today at Settles' blog, Fighting the Next Good Fight. 

Community-run networks are on the leading edge of broadband deployment in the U.S. These networks serve cities and counties where incumbent telcos won't go. They deliver speeds and quality of service incumbents can't or won't match (think Chattanooga, Wilson, NC, Santa Monica, CA). And through creative thinking, planning and partnerships, they minimize taxpayer risks.   Learn how communities can overcome adversity and follow in the footsteps of these broadband pioneers. Vince Jordan, CEO of broadband service and technology provider RidgeviewTel, explains why local businesses and residents must take control of their broadband destiny. We'll analyze steps successful communities around the U.S. took to reduce risks and maximize gain. Longmont, CO is holding its second referendum campaign to take back their rights to select the broadband solutions, vendors and providers that serve this city's best interest, not those of the incumbents. Jordan has supported the citizens of Longmont in their effort to gain acce

Listeners learn some of the secrets of designing and executing a statewide broadband plan. Maine's broadband stimulus-funded project has cleared initial hurdles and is moving forward.   Driven by the Maine Fiber Company (MFC), the Three Ring Binder is the open access network dark fiber project. This project is ahead of schedule, has strong carrier sign-ups, and early wins on its pilot projects to get early sections lit and providing service to homes, businesses, and community anchor institutions.   Tilson Tech Tilson is MFC's outsourced program and project management team running the project. Their President, Josh Broder, shares some of the best practices they've developed moving this project forward.

The FCC is knee-deep in Universal Service Fund (USF) reform and other key issues that are influencing broadband expansion and adoption in the U.S. FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn is our guest this week, helping listeners better understand, and (hopefully) participate in some of the FCC's efforts. Broadcasting live from the National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors conference in San Francisco, host Craig Settles and Commissioner Clyburn discuss:   USF reform issues that directly impact funding that may become available for broadband broadband adoption issues specific to underserved urban communities how to increase communities' participation in broadband policy making Over $4 billion in potential broadband funding is being influenced by FCC actions. Policies that influence decisions made at the regional and local level are on the table. If you care about broadband, this is one show you don't want to miss.  

For several years Riverside, CA has tackled digital inclusion and literacy with impressive successes through aggressive use of its citywide wireless network. Through partnerships with various nonprofits and government agencies, low-income families and seniors have received computer systems and Internet access that have turned lives around. Through creative programs that teach youth computing and computer support skills, Riverside teenagers have become more proficient in school, they earn income repairing and supporting computing equipment and they provide a training force to help adults become computer literate. City CIO Steve Reneker educates listeners on how to create and manage similar programs.  

One challenge of statewide adoption programs is herding the necessary cats to ensure communities get programs and services to meet their specific broadband needs. Helen Labun Jordan, Project Director for the e-Vermont Community Broadband Project (www.e4vt.org), gives Gigabit Nation listeners insights on overcoming this challenge.   e-Vermont is a stimulus-funded project uniting seven partner organizations to implement a host of local activities that convince and motivates constituents to use the Internet. Listeners will better understand how to:   coordinate local organizations to provide necessary program support; design education programs relevant to constituents' interests; and keep adoption programs moving forward after they start.

Ontario County built a $12 million countywide fiber network to provide county government with much needed broadband services. The network also spurs competition by providing an open access network on which multiple providers offer services.   Former County CIO Ed Hemminger tells discusses how the network led to businesses in the county getting cost effective alternatives to incumbent telecom and cable providers, reduces government operating costs by replacing outdated expensive legacy communication systems and enables businesses with multiple locations within the county to create powerful private intranets.