DigitalC at 10,000 Subscribers - Episode 11 of Unbuffered
In this episode of Unbuffered, host Christopher Mitchell chats with Joshua Edmonds, CEO of Digital C, a nonprofit ISP in Cleveland that provides $18‑per‑month high‑speed internet and digital‑equity training. Edmonds explains how Digital C built a city‑wide fixed‑wireless network in 18 months, reached nearly 10,000 household subscribers (over 23,000 individuals), and uses a mix of technologies—including point‑to‑point wireless, in‑building solutions, and software‑over‑coax—to serve both single‑family homes and apartments. The conversation also covers the organization’s community‑focused model—free tech training, local events, and a resident‑driven referral system—as well as operational challenges like billing, staffing limits, and bandwidth management. Edmonds highlights how their rate‑lock contract through 2030 and emphasis on digital literacy set a pioneering example for municipal broadband and the broader telecom industry.
When Giant ISPs Get Bigger, State Commissions Fight Back - Episode 8 of Unbuffered
In this episode, Christopher Mitchell talks with Ernesto Falcone, program manager for the Communications and Broadband Policy Branch of California's Public Advocates Office, about how the state is pushing back against the consolidation of large ISPs like Charter and Cox....
More Than the Sum of the Parts - Episode 7 of Unbuffered
In this episode of Unbuffered, host Christopher Mitchell talks with Neil Chilson, head of AI policy at the Abundance Institute and author of *Getting Out of Control*. Chilson argues that top‑down, centrally planned solutions often miss the nuanced, tacit knowledge...
Digital Equity and the Way We Build Networks - Episode 5 of Unbuffered
In this episode of Unbuffered, hosts Chris Mitchell, Jade Piros de Carvalho, and Sean Gonsalves dissect Stephan Shuler’s article "The Free Market Lie," which compares internet access models in the United States, Germany, and Switzerland. They explore how the U.S.’s...
The UTOPIA Model — Open Access and Community Broadband - Episode 3 of Unbuffered
In this episode of Unbuffered, Christopher Mitchell talks with Roger Timmerman, executive director of Utopia Fiber, about the consortium’s open‑access municipal fiber model and its performance. They dive into an Ookla study that ranked Utopia Fiber #1 for latency, explaining...
Telecom Then, AI Now — Rethinking the FCC’s Role - Episode 2 of Unbuffered
In this episode of Unbuffered, former FCC chief of staff Blair Levin discusses the pivotal regulatory decisions of the 1990s—such as the 1992 Cable Act, the 1993 spectrum auction authority, and the 1996 Telecom Act—that laid the groundwork for today’s...
Is the Internet Still a Public Good? - Episode 1 of Unbuffered
In the inaugural episode of Unbuffered, Chris Mitchell and a panel of longtime internet policy experts discuss whether technology—especially the internet and AI—is inherently harmful or simply mismanaged. They cite recent Pew and NBC surveys showing public concern over data‑center...
Reading the Signals: What Broadband Policy Shifts Mean on the Ground - Episode 680 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast
In this episode, host Chris interviews broadband veteran Doug Dawson to dissect recent industry shifts, including the Astound‑Google Fiber merger and New Mexico's new state‑level affordable connectivity program. They explore how consolidation drives economies of scale for fiber deployment, the...
Government Power, Media Empires, and the Fight for an Informed Public - Episode 679 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast
In this episode, host Carl Bode and guest discuss the entanglement of government authority, media consolidation, and municipal broadband, using historic cases like Burlington Telecom’s Al Jazeera controversy to illustrate the challenges of public‑owned networks. They trace how telecom giants have...
Fort Pierce, Two Years Later: Fiber, Smart City, and Steady Growth - Episode 677 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast
In this episode, host Jason Mittler updates listeners on Fort Pierce’s fiber rollout two years after its launch, highlighting continued network expansion, the city’s smart‑city initiatives, and steady subscriber growth. He discusses targeted digital‑equity programs in the Lincoln Park neighborhood that aim...
Mergers, Monopoly Prices, and Accountability - Episode 676 of the Community Broadband Bits Podcast
In this episode, Chris Mitchell, Doug Dawson, and Sean Gonsalves dissect recent telecom mergers, examine Starlink’s attempts to influence the BEAD (Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment) funding rules, and discuss new research linking reduced competition to higher consumer prices. They...