Gigabit Nation

Two years before the first broadband stimulus app was filed, OpenCape Corporation was formed and creating a plan for successful broadband deployment in Massachusetts' Cape Cod region. This nonprofit's planning put them well ahead of the 2100 other communities vying for a piece of the stimulus pie. OpenCape not only won $40 million in Dept. Of Commerce BTOP and other funding, the organization is well on its way to deploying its network. Founder and CEO Dan Gallagher shares with our audience details on how to:   corral diverse stakeholders into a cohesive planning body; structure critical components of your plan to attract supporters and financing; move stakeholders forward from plan to actions that get results; and keep your plan on track as you overcome implementation challenges.

Many low-income urban communities need better, faster broadband as much as rural America. Learn why and what you can do about it. Our guest Lev Gonick, CIO of Cleveland, OH's Case Western Reserve University, launched the nation's first gigabit fiber-to-the-home research program called the Case Connection Zone.   Lev describes some of his major findings from this research, as well as exciting applications Case Western's urban broadband test bed has spawned. He also will discuss Gig.U, a new project headed by National Broadband Plan architect Blair Levin to facilitate collegiate broadband centers that expand services to surrounding communities. Our audience will pick up some vital lessons, including: availability and adoption are not the same, particularly in urban communities; how to structure effective "town & gown" strategies for broadband; and effective roles for private sector partners with Gig.U. Go to http://www.gig-u.org for more information about the Gig.U program.

National Broadband Plan Chief architect Blair Levin has another tiger by the tail as he hopes to accelerate gigabit broadened via a consortium of 29 universities dubbed Gig.U. Is your community in the loop?   Gig.U will create gigabit hubs at member colleges that then build coverage out to surrounding communities. Blair gives listeners an overview of Gig.U and sets the stage for a full briefing tomorrow on the program by Lev Gonick, Case Western Reserve University CIO and Gig.U member. We then shift gears to give listeners an in-depth look at proposed Universal Service Fund (USF) reform, but without the wonky-techie talk. Billions of dollars, as well as the quality of broadband that may or may not come to your community, are at stake. This is an great opportunity for communities to call in and engage in this critical discussion.

Powell, WY was a great story to tell about one small town with a very big vision. Though their population was only 5,500 people, the community wanted a fiber network to help them regain economic viability. But private sector companies refused to do business with them because they saw no business case. Zane Logan, City Administrator of Powell, describes how the community built their own business case that was financially viable and put no taxpayer dollars at risk. With planning firm US Metronets, Powell developed strategy that has led to PowelLink (the city's fiber network) earning 30% market share. Listeners will pick up lessons on:   how to remove tax-payer risk and still own the network; re-thinking open access networks;   effective marketing; and introducing competition into small markets.   Read this article for important background on PowelLink - http://bit.ly/iRXErh

Rural Utilities Service (RUS) and NTIA together awarded over $7 billion to get broadband infrastructure and adoption programs into deserving communities nationwide. But that was just a down payment on our broadband future. What's next? RUS Administrator Jonathan Adelstein joins host Craig Settles to discuss next steps in the drive to get effective broadband into more communities. Join us as we explore:   progress of RUS' BIP grant winners moving projects forward and creating jobs; other RUS programs available for broadband projects and their eligibility requirements; USF reform's potential impact on rural broadband; and how will a gigabit nation look in rural America. There are many miles to go, literally, before the public and private sectors can sit back and relax our efforts. Craig Settles takes you straight to the source to gather valuable information on programs to help these efforts produce successful broadband projects. You don't want to miss this interview.  

(Due to his invite to meet President Obama yesterday, we re-scheduled Gary Evans for today. We'll begin the show with Gary's re-cap of his Q&A with the President on broadband and the economy.) How do you maximize your broadband public private partnership (PPP)? Gary Evans has been refining and validating the answer to this question for several years, and you'll benefit from his experience and insights, Evans, President and CEO of Hiawatha Broadband Communications, has created two top-10 lists of tips that help you tap the full benefits PPPs offer while minimizing the challenges. One list is from the public sector perspective and the other tackles the question from the private sector perspective. In this broadcast, you'll get a good handle on several important issues including: •    finding the best partners; •    creating a shared vision; and •    developing the best plan for a win-win. Given the increasing interest and variations in PPPs, there's a lot that communities need to know. This inter

[Due to technical difficulty, there's an echo in the recording we can't fix. We apologize, and hope you can hang in for at least some of the presentation. The information Drew has is excellent.] You're spending a lot of money and resources to build the network your community wants. But are you building the network your community needs? More importantly, will you motivate constituents to use the network? Drew Clark, Executive Dir. of the Partnership for a Connected Illinois, has extensive experience assembling the data that's vital for making smart decisions about broadband. He knows it's not the maps that lead to greater adoption, but the quality of the data you use to create the maps. Craig Settles talks with Clark about several key issues that affect broadband adoption, including: how do you get the best data to make the right choices; deciphering data to understand what motivates consumers and businesses to adopt; and implementing effective adoption programs. Expect to come away with a deeper un

The main focus of today's interview is effective broadband planning. Our guest, Lisa Sherwood, is Program Director for the One Maryland project. Howard County and 9 other counties collectively won $115 million to deploy 1,200 miles of new cable, which will boost current fiber capability 50%. We're going to explore: how you do effective planning when you have so many jurisdictions collaborating under one project umbrella; One Maryland's progress to date; the expected economic impacts of this project A major takeaway from today's show are the lessons on how we can get Federal, state and local governments working together to achieve significant advances in broadband deployments that improve communities at many levels. Check out One Maryland's Web site

Sure, Chattanooga is doing great things with a gigabit network. However, Santa Monica's no slouch in a gigabit club that's still pretty small in number but huge on community benefits. They have a 10 gigabit network! Santa Monica started in 2006 with no money for a fiber network. City CIO Jory Wolf banked on creativity and business savvy to use Santa Monica's then dark fiber to save not only $750,000 in telecom costs, but also substantial costs for the city's schools and colleges. Today we explore in detail broadand's impact on local economies. Jory's team has leveraged the network to attract new media and entertainment companies, reduced telecom costs for existing businesses and increased the number of providers serving Santa Monica from one incumbent to 200 ISPs. Like Chattanooga, Santa Monica's fiber network also enables powerful wireless apps, including parking meter management, wireless hotzones and commercial corridors and smart grid. ...................................................................

Franklin County formed a public/private partnership with a local wireless Internet service provider (WISP) to expand the County's local government wide-area network (WAN) and provide broadband options for the citizens. Sandie Terry, Franklin County’s CIO, has driven this project as it has gone from serving 98 customers in early 2005 to currently thousands of residential customers and hundreds of businesses. The wireless mesh network supports data and voice and the WISP has segmented the County's voice traffic on their network to ensure quality of service (QoS). Among the many accomplishments, the county has reduced telecom expenditures 36% in two years after deploying VoIP to all offices over this WAN. We’ll discuss:   How can broadband projects become successful for those who didn’t win stimulus or Google money; The role of wireless in the big bigger broadband picture particularly in rural areas; and How Franklin County and their WISP overcame challenges in dealing with financing and difficult terra

Our guest this Wednesday will give you interesting insights into Chattanooga, TN’s 600-square mile gigabit network. James Ingraham, VP of Strategic Planning for EPB, which is Chattanooga’s public utility and the network operator, has been involved with the network since the beginning. We’ll discuss 1)    how EPB came to focus on smart grid as a main application of the fiber network, and what are the economic development implications of this decision; 2)    what are some of the cool uses and benefits of the network to date; and 3)    does the mesh network riding over the fiber have the potential to deliver on the dream of municipal wireless from several years ago? If you have additional questions for James, send them to craig@cjspeaks.com. The call-in feature won’t be available for a couple of weeks. We’ll archive this show shortly after broadcast, and you can access it from this page. See you Wednesday.

Host Craig Settles gives an overview of Gigabit Nation and its mission, its focus and some of our scheduled guests.