Connect This!

Catch an emergency episode of the Connect This! Show, with host Christopher Mitchell (ILSR) joined by Lori Adams (Nokia), Heather Mills (Tilson), and Blair Levin (Brookings) to talk about the raft of fundamental changes to the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Act (BEAD) announced by NTIA last Friday [https://www.ntia.gov/press-release/2025/trump-administration-announces-benefit-bargain-bead-program-removes-regulatory-burdens-lowers-costs]. States are required to rebuild and resubmit their proposals to the federal agency on a 90-day sprint after making core changes just as money for construction was about to go out the door. Join us live on June 9th at 4pm ET, or listen afterwards wherever you get your podcasts. Email us at broadband@communitynets.org [broadband@communitynets.org] with feedback and ideas for the show. Subscribe to the show using this feed [http://feeds.feedburner.com/connectthis] or find it on the Connect This! page [https://connectthisshow.com/], and watch on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/community-broadband-networks/], on YouTube Live [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJDYYbob9LLLtQSoSF5LjlQ], on Facebook live, [https://www.facebook.com/localselfreliance/] or below.

Catch the latest episode of the Connect This! Show, with co-hosts Christopher Mitchell (ILSR) and Travis Carter (USI Fiber) joined by regular guests Kim McKinley (TAK Broadband) and Doug Dawson (CCG Consulting), and special guest Josh Etheridge to talk about all the recent broadband news that’s fit to print. Bountiful, Utah and Oakland, California announce newsworthy milestones to improve connectivity for households, but the big news is looming structural changes to the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) program. And wouldn’t you know it, but NTIA releases them just ten minutes into the live show.  Join us live on June 7th at 2pm ET, or listen afterwards wherever you get your podcasts. Email us at broadband@communitynets.org [broadband@communitynets.org] with feedback and ideas for the show. Subscribe to the show using this feed [http://feeds.feedburner.com/connectthis] or find it on the Connect This! page [https://connectthisshow.com/], and watch on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/community-broadband-networks/], on YouTube Live [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJDYYbob9LLLtQSoSF5LjlQ], on Facebook live, [https://www.facebook.com/localselfreliance/] or below.

Catch the latest episode of the Connect This! Show, with co-hosts Christopher Mitchell (ILSR) and Travis Carter (USI Fiber) joined by regular guests Kim McKinley (TAK Broadband) and Doug Dawson (CCG Consulting) and special guest Angela Siefer (National Digital Inclusion Alliance) to talk about all the recent broadband news that’s fit to print. Topics include: * Charter and Cox announce agreement to merge [https://www.youtube.com/live/lf61q37S82I?si=Zkqhbd5XV298gBMb&t=198], unseating Comcast as the largest cable provider in the United States * What the public-funds match for Starlink should be [https://www.youtube.com/live/lf61q37S82I?si=g3So27ZMHXSt8L08&t=1013], when BEAD moves forward. * Funding for hot spots [https://www.youtube.com/live/lf61q37S82I?si=YE-Hdgl4_C-Qntq4&t=1951] – a core digital equity tool that grew to new importance under the pandemic – is under threat. * Trump’s announcement that he was ending the Digital Equity Act [https://www.youtube.com/live/lf61q37S82I?si=8A43mTdzSQtDHzje&t=2650], and the significant impact it will have if the order holds. Join us live on May 16th at 2pm ET, or listen afterwards wherever you get your podcasts. Email us at broadband@communitynets.org [broadband@communitynets.org] with feedback and ideas for the show. Subscribe to the show using this feed [http://feeds.feedburner.com/connectthis] or find it on the Connect This! page [https://connectthisshow.com/], and watch on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/community-broadband-networks/], on YouTube Live [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJDYYbob9LLLtQSoSF5LjlQ], on Facebook live, [https://www.facebook.com/localselfreliance/] or below.

Catch the latest episode of the Connect This! Show, with co-hosts Christopher Mitchell (ILSR) and Travis Carter (USI Fiber) joined by regular guests Kim McKinley (TAK Broadband) and Doug Dawson (CCG Consulting) to talk about all the recent broadband news that’s fit to print. Topics include: * The first launch of Amazon’s Project Kuiper Low-Earth Orbit Internet access satellite constellation [https://www.youtube.com/live/817H7cVGvmU?si=yLBb0G1E3BOLcgHx&t=731] * The FCC losing (or maybe not?) its ability to levy fines [https://www.youtube.com/live/817H7cVGvmU?si=-OtBFlu1RZCZSAl3&t=1078] * The importance of getting construction right [https://www.youtube.com/live/817H7cVGvmU?si=Uv3EXWDYW1kttrBs&t=1209] * Fixing urban cell phone coverage [https://www.youtube.com/live/817H7cVGvmU?si=exzMbCeRDrN3B2-b&t=1684] * Kentucky Wired lawsuit between state-owned network and its operational partner [https://www.youtube.com/live/817H7cVGvmU?si=qp1oQO9amdFZ5iGW&t=2811] Join us live on May 2nd at 2pm ET, or listen afterwards wherever you get your podcasts. Email us at broadband@communitynets.org [broadband@communitynets.org] with feedback and ideas for the show. Subscribe to the show using this feed [http://feeds.feedburner.com/connectthis] or find it on the Connect This! page [https://connectthisshow.com/], and watch on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/community-broadband-networks/], on YouTube Live [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJDYYbob9LLLtQSoSF5LjlQ], on Facebook live, [https://www.facebook.com/localselfreliance/] or below.

Catch the latest episode of the Connect This! Show, with co-hosts Christopher Mitchell (ILSR) and Travis Carter (USI Fiber) joined by regular guests Kim McKinley (TAK Broadband) and Doug Dawson (CCG Consulting) and special guest Shane Eleniak (Calix) to talk about: * Comcast’s new five-year price lock [https://www.youtube.com/live/ZVaG7mn__1M?si=PD3DE_6SNvx9AL4X&t=450] * A CNET pricing study that looks at the rising cost of access that hasn’t improved most household’s reliability [https://www.youtube.com/live/ZVaG7mn__1M?si=6UDcbLhpjeQjDa9B&t=626] * The milestones that Utah-based municipal network UTOPIA Fiber hit in 2024 [https://www.youtube.com/live/ZVaG7mn__1M?si=0fgGOcTuoGRYXs8Y&t=1236] * The future of Passive Optical Networks, and where we go after XGS PON [https://www.youtube.com/live/ZVaG7mn__1M?si=NnVW59CiJS9QybSn&t=1865] Join us live on April 18th at 2pm ET, or listen afterwards wherever you get your podcasts. Email us at broadband@communitynets.org [broadband@communitynets.org] with feedback and ideas for the show. Subscribe to the show using this feed [http://feeds.feedburner.com/connectthis] or find it on the Connect This! page [https://connectthisshow.com/], and watch on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/community-broadband-networks/], on YouTube Live [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJDYYbob9LLLtQSoSF5LjlQ], on Facebook live, [https://www.facebook.com/localselfreliance/] or below.