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.

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 rate of return. Notably, among the 88 co-ops surveyed, serving their community was the biggest motivational factor listed, with revenue lagging significantly behind. Two of the report’s architects share more insights in this episode. The full report is available online from NRTC.

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 wrong side of the digital divide if policymakers and ISPs don't focus on digital equity.

While broadband providers enthusiastically welcome government funding to build and expand networks, Vantage Point’s Jeff Smith details some of the transparency requirements that come with it.

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 have the skills, technology and capacity needed to reap the full benefits of the digital economy.

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.

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 Texas Telephone Association, and Craig Cook, general manager at HCTC, discuss these challenges that Texas is facing in deploying rural broadband and how they hope to overcome them.

John Twiest, CEO of Arrowhead Electric Cooperative, discussed a decade old partnership Arrowhead has with CTC to provide broadband in rural Minnesota.

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.

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 areas of the country. Before becoming Vice President of Government Solutions at LightBox, Bill Price headed up Georgia’s ambitious mapping program. He joins “Rural Broadband Today” to discuss the future of that program and broadband availability, accessibility and affordability.

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 and issues at the local, state and federal levels.

Building a fiber network is not a one-size-fits-all solution. Kara Mullaley, Corning’s market development manager, was a 2021 Fiber Connect conference panelist on the topic of "Rural Electric Utilities Choose Their Own Broadband Adventure." In this episode, Kara recaps key issues that new ISPs should consider when choosing their own broadband adventure.

Local power companies across seven states make up the Tennessee Valley Public Power Association — and many of them are expanding their services to offer broadband to their consumers. Doug Peters, president and CEO of TVPPA, joined us at Fiber Connect 2021 to discuss how local power companies are improving the quality of life in rural communities that lack a broadband connection, empowering them to access remote education, telehealth, work from home resources and more.

Cullman Electric Cooperative launched Sprout Fiber in 2020. Mark Freeman, Cullman’s manager of network operations, was a 2021 Fiber Connect conference panelist on the topic of "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly: Lessons Learned from Network Operators." In this episode, Mark discusses Sprout’s successes, plus challenges that other cooperatives looking to enter the fiber business should consider during the buildout phase of a network.

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In this interview, the last in a special four-part series sponsored by Corning, Josh Seidemann (VP of policy at NTCA) discusses the exceptional work of the broadband providers who received the 2020 Smart Rural Community Showcase Award: Hill Country Telephone Cooperative, Jefferson Telecom, LightStream and Mountain Telephone. These providers were recognized at the 2021 NTCA RTIME Online event.

In the third episode of this special four-part series sponsored by Corning, Laura Withers (VP of strategic communications at NTCA) and host Stephen V. Smith conclude their discussion of several informative sessions from the 2021 NTCA RTIME Online event. Part 1 (0:42 - 4:25) “Tips on Living in Isolation from the Man Who Spent a Year in Space” with Captain Scott Kelly Part 2 (4:26 - 10:17) “Impacts of a Cyber Breach” with Fayyaz Patwa, Kevin Beyer and Gary Owen Part 3 (10:18 - 15:58) “Rural Communities Redefined” with Matt Dunne

In episode two of this special four-part series sponsored by Corning, Laura Withers (VP of strategic communications at NTCA) recaps some of the motivating and informative sessions at the 2021 NTCA RTIME Online event. Part 1 (0:39 - 4:00) “Stop Being ‘A’ Leader. Start Being ‘THE’ Leader.” with Ryan Avery Part 2 (4:01 - 11:26) “The Ongoing, Unfolding, Unending Story of LEOs” with Larry Thompson and Augie Ponturiero Part 3 (11:27 - 16:10) “Survival of the Most Adaptable” with Josh Seidemann, Tom Steinolfson and Mike Riley Part 4 (16:11 - 25:28) Update from the Foundation for Rural Service with Pam Becker and Keith Gabbard Part 5 (25:29 - 30:31) “Mapping the Future for Rural Broadband” with Brian Ford, Brent Legg and Eric McCrae

In this special four-part series sponsored by Corning, Laura Withers (VP of strategic communications at NTCA) recaps some of the motivating and informative sessions at the 2021 NTCA RTIME Online event. Part 1 (0:00 - 07:41) RTIME Virtual Overview with Laura Withers Part 2 (07:42 - 14:08) “It Is About More than Deployment” with Mike Romano, Kathryn de Wit, Dr. Christopher Ali Part 3 (14:09 - 16:29) “Not by the Sword and Shield, But by the Head and Heart” with Nadja West Part 4 (16:30 - 20:18) “Because We Care” Audio from NTCA Video Part 5 (20:19 - 28:23) “Team Leadership in the 20s” with Molly McPherson

Kara Mullaley, Market Development Manager for Emerging Markets at Corning, discusses how broadband partnerships and creative funding opportunities can help bridge the digital divide in rural America.