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Episode Category Rural Broadband Today Podcast
Rule Changes Expand Fiber Options in Washington
What You’ll Learn As far as electric utilities go, Jefferson PUD is relatively young. That hasn’t stopped them from taking some unique steps to bring broadband to rural and geographically challenging areas of Northwest Washington. Guest Speaker Will O’Donnell Show…
Highlights from the Rural Electric Cooperative Broadband Benchmarking Report
What You’ll Learn Rural broadband build-outs by electric cooperatives have been remarkably successful, according to a recent report from NRTC and NRECA. Despite rising labor and material costs, most co-ops report higher than expected take rates and a 9% internal…
Despite Fiber Funding, Poor Areas Could Still Be Left Behind
What You’ll Learn Even with the huge amount of funding coming in to expand broadband, Jordana Barton-Garcia says impoverished regions like tribal lands, the Mississippi Delta, the border region of Texas and central Appalachia could still be left on the…
Implementing BEAD & Digital Equity Programs in Tennessee
What You’ll Learn In this crossover episode with “Lead Tennessee Radio,” Paige Shapiro, Tennessee’s federal program officer for the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) and Digital Equity programs, discusses how these programs aim to ensure all people and communities…
Louisiana is Dishing Out GUMBO Grants to Build Broadband
What You’ll Learn GUMBO is more than just the best new acronym in the industry. The program has catapulted Louisiana’s broadband office forward into a leading role across the country. Guest Speaker Thomas Tyler Show Notes Transcripts have been lightly…
The Challenges of Rural Broadband in Texas
What You’ll Learn Texas has seen great strides in expanding broadband infrastructure across the state. However, challenges with changing legislation, geography, supply chain issues and funding are hindering the important work. In this episode, Mark Seale, executive director of the…
Looking Back on a Ten-Year Electric-Telco Broadband Partnership in Minnesota
What You’ll Learn John Twiest, CEO of Arrowhead Electric Cooperative, discussed a decade old partnership Arrowhead has with CTC to provide broadband in rural Minnesota. Guest Speaker John Twiest Show Notes Transcripts have been lightly edited for clarity and readability.…
Thinking Outside the Box to Fund a Fiber Build
What You’ll Learn Fred Johnson, CEO of Farmers Telecommunications Cooperative, discusses how FTC expanded into surrounding cities to help fund the fiber build in its cooperative service area. Guest Speaker Fred Johnson Show Notes Transcripts have been lightly edited for…
Broadband Mapping for Rural America
What You’ll Learn The path forward for efficient and effective development of broadband in rural America depends largely on the accuracy and completeness of maps that depict the unserved and underserved ares of the country. Before becoming Vice President of…
The Challenges of Rural Broadband
What You’ll Learn John Greene, CEO of New Lisbon Telephone Company, co-led a session at the 2021 Fiber Connect conference discussing rural broadband challenges. In this episode, John points out several problems with providing broadband to rural communities, including obstacles…