#broadbandlive
Broadband Breakfast Live Online on Tuesday, March 31, 2020 – The Importance of Universal Broadband in the Age of the Coronavirus
Broadband Breakfast Live Online on Monday, March 31, 12 Noon ET – “The Importance of Universal Broadband in the Age of the Coronavirus”
Follow upcoming Live Online events, see Broadband Breakfast Live Online Will Stream Daily in March on ‘Broadband and the Coronavirus’
Guests for this event:
- Ben Bawtree-Jobson, CEO, SiFi Networks
- Chris Mitchell, Director of the Community Broadband Networks Initiative, Institute for Local Self Reliance
- Gigi Sohn, Distinguished Fellow, Georgetown Law Institute for Technology Law & Policy ; Senior Fellow and Public Advocate, Benton Institute for Broadband and Society
- Drew Clark (Moderator), Editor and Publisher, Broadband Breakfast
Panelist Resources:
- https://muninetworks.org/
- https://muninetworks.org/broadbandbits
- https://www.benton.org/blog/digital-equity-and-broadband-adoption
- https://www.benton.org/blog/state-broadband-2020
- https://broadbandbreakfast.com/2019/04/sifi-networks-announces-whole-city-open-access-fiber-network-in-fullerton-california/
- https://broadbandbreakfast.com/2019/04/sifi-networks-brings-infrastructure-financing-to-california-with-75-million-open-access-fiber-in-fullerton/
Follow upcoming Live Online events, see Broadband Breakfast Live Online Will Stream Daily in March on ‘Broadband and the Coronavirus’
For the story on event, see “The FCC Could Do More Now About the Digital Divide, Say Panelists at Broadband Breakfast Live Online Event,” and below:
April 2, 2020 – “It’s really unfortunate that it has taken a national emergency, a worldwide pandemic, for people to realize how many people don’t have access to broadband internet,” said Georgetown Law Distinguished Fellow Gigi Sohn on a Broadband Breakfast Live Online event Tuesday.
When she testified before Congress about two months ago, Sohn shared census data that 141 million Americans do not have access, recalled Sohn.
Broadband is not only about connection; it’s about safety, said Sohn, who is also senior fellow at the Benton Institute for Broadband and Society.
Sohn admitted that she is a “skeptic” of data caps, but urged mobile and fixed internet service providers to remove data caps immediately.
Right now, the Federal Communications Commission could make E-Rate funds available for mobile hotspots and connectivity. “This is the classroom today,” said Sohn, arguing that those funds apply and are necessary.
The money in the Universal Service Fund is shrinking because it is only funded by telephone services, which have become nearly obsolete and not “sustainable,” said Sohn.
“Let’s be honest folks; this FCC and their friends in Congress hate E-rate, and they hate Lifeline because they are subsidy programs that help poor people and brown and black people,” said Sohn passionately.
Chris Mitchell, director of the Community Broadband Networks Initiative at the Institute for Local Self Reliance, highlighted the dissonance between government urging Americans to stay home but making broadband accessible outside of the home, like school parking lots.
Mitchell said a significant flaw with the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund is the allocation of billions of dollars to service areas with 25/3 megabits per second, a speed that will soon be outdated.
“This is a really bad decision,” argued Mitchell. “We’re going to pay for these networks twice,” complained Mitchell.
SiFi Networks CEO Ben Bawtree-Jobson’s private company works with cities to streamline and efficiently construct networks.
SiFi Networks works to build universally across cities because it doesn’t want to create a digital divide, said Bawtree-Jobson. Also, SiFi Networks has a long-term development vision, thinking about how connectivity can improve and progress areas.
Sohn said communities want everyone to be connected because it improves their economy, and open access could be the “antidote.”
Mitchell said the country should not wait until after the coronavirus pandemic to focus on broadband; it has to be a priority now.
Beginning on Wednesday, April 8, 2020, Broadband Breakfast Live Online will hold live events every Wednesday at 12 Noon ET.
#broadbandlive
Broadband Breakfast on August 17, 2022 – Summer of Broadband: Tennessee
In Tennessee, we’ll see what the Volunteer state is doing to bring a plan together on broadband policy.
Our Broadband Breakfast Live Online events take place on Wednesday at 12 Noon ET. Watch the event on Broadband Breakfast, or REGISTER HERE to join the conversation.
Wednesday, August 17, 2022, 12 Noon ET – Summer of Broadband: Tennessee
State broadband offices will play a critical role in the rollout of the Infrastructure, Investment and Jobs Act’s Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program. In the months of July and August, Broadband Breakfast will take the pulse of broadband efforts at the state level in visits to about half-dozen states across the country. On August 17, we will speak with those in the office of the State of Tennessee to learn what those in the Volunteer state are doing in bringing a plan together on broadband policy.
Panelists:
- Taylre Beaty, Broadband Program Director, Tennessee Department of Community and Economic Affairs
- Drew Clark (moderator), Editor and Publisher, Broadband Breakfast
Panelist resources:
- Tennessee Broadband Initiative
- Tennessee Broadband Accessibility Map
- Tennessee State Broadband Office portal, Broadband.Money
Taylre Beaty started as the State Broadband Director at Tennessee Economic and Community Development in September 2021. Prior to joining TNECD, she worked for USDA Rural Development, most recently as a Policy Advisor for Rural Utilities Service in Washington, D.C. During her time at USDA, she worked on then Secretary Sonny Perdue’s broadband priorities including the American Broadband Initiative, FCC Precision Ag Task Force, and critical broadband infrastructure projects during the COVID-19 pandemic. She earned a master’s in Agricultural Economics from Texas A&M University and a bachelor’s in Agricultural and Resource Economics from the University of Tennessee-Knoxville. She is originally from East Tennessee.
Drew Clark is the Editor and Publisher of BroadbandBreakfast.com and a nationally-respected telecommunications attorney. Drew brings experts and practitioners together to advance the benefits provided by broadband. Under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, he served as head of a State Broadband Initiative, the Partnership for a Connected Illinois. He is also the President of the Rural Telecommunications Congress.
WATCH HERE, or on YouTube, Twitter and Facebook.
As with all Broadband Breakfast Live Online events, the FREE webcasts will take place at 12 Noon ET on Wednesday.
SUBSCRIBE to the Broadband Breakfast YouTube channel. That way, you will be notified when events go live. Watch on YouTube, Twitter and Facebook.
See a complete list of upcoming and past Broadband Breakfast Live Online events.
#broadbandlive
Broadband Breakfast on August 3, 2022 – How Yellowstone Fiber is Bringing High-Capacity Broadband to Montana
The non-profit Yellowstone Fiber uses a unique business model in the thriving community of Bozeman, Montana, and the surrounding county.
Our Broadband Breakfast Live Online events take place on Wednesday at 12 Noon ET. Watch the event on Broadband Breakfast, or on Twitter, Facebook. or LinkedIn. No need to register to attend via Zoom: This conversation is pre-recorded.
Wednesday, August 3, 2022, 12 Noon ET – How the Non-profit Yellowstone Fiber is Bringing High-Capacity Broadband in Montana
Join us on Broadband Breakfast, or our on streaming channels on YouTube, LinkedIn, Twitter or Facebook, for a pre-recorded session discussing Yellowstone Fiber, a non-profit entity offering high-speed symmetrical broadband services to Bozeman, Montana, and the surrounding Gallatin County, Montana.
Panelists:
- Greg Metzger, CEO, Yellowstone Fiber
- Kim McKinley, Chief Marketing Officer, UTOPIA Fiber
- Drew Clark (moderator), Editor and Publisher, Broadband Breakfast
Panelist resources:
- Anticipating Launch, Yellowstone Fiber to Seek Federal Funds for Rural Broadband, Broadband Breakfast, July 27, 2022
Kim McKinley helps lead UTOPIA Fiber as its Deputy Director and Chief Marketing Officer. In 2010, she joined the network as a member of its turnaround team, and has helped cement today’s UTOPIA Fiber as the fastest-growing, highest-rated, and most-successful Open Access network in the United States.
Greg Metzger is the CEO of Yellowstone Fiber.
Drew Clark is the Editor and Publisher of BroadbandBreakfast.com and a nationally-respected telecommunications attorney. Drew brings experts and practitioners together to advance the benefits provided by broadband. Under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, he served as head of a State Broadband Initiative, the Partnership for a Connected Illinois. He is also the President of the Rural Telecommunications Congress.
WATCH HERE, or on YouTube, Twitter and Facebook.
As with all Broadband Breakfast Live Online events, the FREE webcasts will take place at 12 Noon ET on Wednesday.
SUBSCRIBE to the Broadband Breakfast YouTube channel. That way, you will be notified when events go live. Watch on YouTube, Twitter and Facebook.
See a complete list of upcoming and past Broadband Breakfast Live Online events.
#broadbandlive
Broadband Breakfast on July 27, 2022 – Bringing Broadband to Rural America: A Case Study in Morgan, Utah
Following up on UTOPIA Fiber’s buildout to Morgan City, we’ll look at benefits of broadband for this rural community
See “Morgan City Fiber Swap Model Catching On,” Broadband Breakfast, July 28, 2022.
Our Broadband Breakfast Live Online events take place on Wednesday at 12 Noon ET. Watch the event on Broadband Breakfast, or REGISTER HERE to join the conversation.
Wednesday, July 27, 2022, 12 Noon ET – Bringing Broadband to Rural America: A Case Study in Morgan, Utah
Bringing broadband to a rural community like Morgan City, Utah, is never an easy task. But in 2019, Morgan, a community on the least-populated side of the Wasatch Mountains without even a stoplight, found itself on the wrong side of the digital divide. Into the mix stepped UTOPIA Fiber, an open access network in Utah primarily serving the more populous communities on the west side of the Wasatch front. Following up on a Broadband Communities 2019 article telling the story of UTOPIA Fiber’s buildout to Morgan City, this Broadband Breakfast Live session will examine the impact of bringing broadband to this rural community. Join us at 12 Noon ET.
Panelists:
- Steve Gale, Mayor, Morgan City, Utah
- Lynne Yocom, Fiber Optics Manager, Utah Department of Transportation
- Roger Timmerman, Executive Director, UTOPIA Fiber
- Warren Woodward, Director of Broadband Service, XMission Internet
- Drew Clark (moderator), Editor and Publisher, Broadband Breakfast
Panelist resources:
- From UTOPIA Fiber: A Model Open Access Network, Broadband Communities, November-December 2019
- The rural community of Morgan, Utah, is where UTOPIA Fiber’s vision for gradual community-by-community network expansion is most fully realized.A rural community without even a stoplight, Morgan is on the least-populated side of the Wasatch Mountains. It was left in the lurch when Comcast left town and stopped providing service. (CenturyLink’s DSL was unreliable.) But with a municipal power system, Morgan felt comfortable managing lines and poles. The community began exploring options to bring a new broadband provider to town.“The more we researched it, the more comfortable we felt about it,” says Ty Bailey, Morgan city manager. “More than economic development, this is just basic service” that the city needs to offer if no one else will. UTOPIA Fiber’s willingness to bring the open-access model to Morgan became “a really good solution for us.”
- As with any fiber-to-the-home network, UTOPIA Fiber’s costs are a mixture of one-time infrastructure costs and ongoing costs for backhaul transport, network operation and internet services. People associated with the UTOPIA Fiber network speak of the 30 percent penetration rate as an important threshold for profitability, even in rural communities such as Morgan….
- “We are thrilled to bring UTOPIA Fiber to our growing community,” said Morgan City’s mayor. “Our residents and businesses have been in dire need of better, faster and more reliable options for internet, and UTOPIA Fiber will be providing the best possible solution for our city.”
Steve Gale began his position as Mayor of Morgan City in January 2022. He attended high school in Morgan and married his high school sweetheart. He is thrilled that his family has also made their homes in Morgan and are close by. He is very patriotic and loves the “Red, White and Blue.”
As the fiber optics manager for the Utah Department of Transportation, Lynne Yocom manages the he communications to traffic devices such as traffic signals, cameras, variable message signs and anything else that needs connectivity to the system. The system is a closed network of just under a thousand miles of fiber optic cable. She work with telecommunication companies to expand the UDOT network through fiber-optic trades.
Roger Timmerman has been serving as UTOPIA Fiber’s Executive Director since 2016 and has been a technology management professional in telecommunications and information technology for over 15 years. Roger has been designing and building networks throughout his career in various roles including Vice President of Engineering for Vivint Wireless, CTO for UTOPIA Fiber, Network Engineer for iProvo, and Network Product Manager for Brigham Young University. Roger earned his Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in Information Technology from Brigham Young University.
Warren Woodward is the Director of Broadband Service at XMission LC, the first Salt Lake City based Internet Service Provider and established in 1993. XMission is recognized as being the largest service provider on the UTOPIA Fiber network, a continually expanding municipal fiber project that spans 19 cities in Utah across the western United States.
Drew Clark is the Editor and Publisher of BroadbandBreakfast.com and a nationally-respected telecommunications attorney. Drew brings experts and practitioners together to advance the benefits provided by broadband. Under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, he served as head of a State Broadband Initiative, the Partnership for a Connected Illinois. He is also the President of the Rural Telecommunications Congress.
WATCH HERE, or on YouTube, Twitter and Facebook.
As with all Broadband Breakfast Live Online events, the FREE webcasts will take place at 12 Noon ET on Wednesday.
SUBSCRIBE to the Broadband Breakfast YouTube channel. That way, you will be notified when events go live. Watch on YouTube, Twitter and Facebook.
See a complete list of upcoming and past Broadband Breakfast Live Online events.
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