Connected Nation

Send us Fan Mail Today's episode is a bonus interview from our coverage at the 2024 Broadband Nation Expo. We were joined by Justin Fazzari, Senior Broadband Strategist at Sanborn. We speak about Justin's background, some of his daily activities and what is the present and future of Sanborn. Be sure to check out the links below! Recommended Links: Justin's LinkedIn Sanborn's We...

Send us Fan Mail On this episode of Connected Nation, we continue our live coverage at the Broadband Nation Expo. During the "Broadband and Brews" event hosted by Connected Nation, Vernonburg Group, and Sandborn our host Grant Ahlbrand speaks with three broadband industry leaders. The discussion covers everything from digital equity and broadband funding to day-to-day responsibilities of...

Send us Fan Mail On this episode of Connected Nation, we continue our live coverage at the Broadband Nation Expo. We talk with two experts about the importance of broadband in many aspects of everyday life. Learn how connectivity is bringing more people together than ever before.  RELATED LINKS: Miami Dale College Eutelsat Oneweb Jorge Gonzalez, Business Innovation Center, Miami Dale College, Link...

Send us Fan Mail On this episode of Connected Nation, we begin our coverage from Broadband Nation Expo. At this broadband conference attendees learn from 120+ industry and government leaders as they discuss relevant topics and supply them with tangible takeaways across 2 1/2 days of in-depth, high-quality programming. We speak with leaders in the industry about workforce development challenges, th...

Send us Fan Mail On this episode of Connected Nation, we talk with leadership at Total Telecom about a new event that’s focused on connecting “every community in the Western US with next-generation communications infrastructure.” From cutting-edge technologies to proven broadband strategies – we’ll find out what topics, speakers, and innovations you can expect to explore during the inaugural Broad...

Send us Fan Mail Today, we’re gearing up for one of the most exciting events in the broadband space – the 2024 Broadband Nation Expo in Washington, D.C. On this episode, we are joined by leadership at Questex to discuss why this expo is where leaders and innovators come together to talk about the future of broadband and digital inclusion. Recommended Links: Broadband Nation Expo Registration Link...

Send us Fan Mail On this episode of Connected Nation, we wrap our coverage from Mountain Connect 2024 as we sit down with the State Broadband Director from the Buckeye State to discuss the state's broadband strategic plan and the future if connectivity in Ohio.  Related Links: BroadbandOhio Mountain Connect Mountain Connect 2024 series Opening episode The Internet Equity Initiative and connec...

Send us Fan Mail On this episode of Connected Nation, we sit down with Sally Doty, who serves as the Director of the State Broadband Office for Mississippi, better known as BEAM.  Related links: Broadband Expansion & Accessibility of Mississippi (BEAM) Newby Ventures - Internet Exchange Points Connected Nation IXPs Mountain Connect 2024 series Opening episode The Internet Equity Initiative and...

Send us Fan Mail On this episode of Connected Nation, we talk with  Director of State and Local Government Partnerships at ready.net.  Plus, we sit down with a representative from the University of Illinois to discuss the Illinois Broadband Lab and catch up with the team at Digitunity to learn how the nonprofit is expanding its work to reach more Americans in need. Related Links: Ready.net Illinoi...

Send us Fan Mail On this episode of Connected Nation, we continue our coverage from Mountain Connect, which is taking place in Denver, Colorado. We talk with leadership at Nokia and discuss the company's movement into rural America, it's "network in a box" program, and the one thing everyone is getting wrong about the company. Recommended Links: Stefaan Vanhastel's LinkedI...

Send us Fan Mail On this episode of Connected Nation, we continue our coverage from Mountain Connect, which is taking place in Denver, Colorado. We talk with a leader at the Fiber Optics Network about the need for regulations surrounding a critical broadband job, AND we talk with the leader of a new telecom school that's approaching training in a new way. Related Links: Mountain Connect The F...

Send us Fan Mail On this episode of Connected Nation, we continue our coverage from Mountain Connect, taking place in Denver, Colorado. We speak with an organization that's working in seven of the least connected states in the country. Plus, we talk with researchers from the University of Chicago about the Internet Equity Initiative AND get an update from MIHI office about connecting all Mich...

Send us Fan Mail On this episode of Connected Nation, we begin our coverage from Mountain Connect, a broadband conference that is celebrating its 10th anniversary. The theme this year is "Beyond the bandwidth, the power of broadband revolutionizing access." We begin by answering a simple the question - what does a small ISP do if it needs big equipment? Plus, find out why having a strong...

Send us Fan Mail On this episode of Connected Nation, we talk with Tony Grayson – a man who has held leadership roles at such tech giants as Amazon, Facebook, and Oracle – roles that are perhaps eclipsed by his time as a submarine captain. We’ll explore his new approach to closing the Digital Divide in America; look at the  challenges of providing resources for growing needs of AI; and share how t...

Send us Fan Mail On today’s podcast, we talk with the CEO of DigitalC, a company that’s offering lightning fast-internet to anyone in its service area for just 18-dollars a month, for five years! The service is 100 Mbps download and 100 Mbps upload speeds.    Find out how that’s been made possible through a unique partnership. Plus, we’ll explore the community approach DigitalC takes – that’s sett...

Send us Fan Mail On this episode of Connected Nation, we conclude our coverage from the National Association of Counties' (NACo) Conference and Exposition.  We sit down with NACo's Legislative Director of Telecommunications and Technology and cover everything from county broadband needs to developing a toolkit on AI for county leaders.  Related links: NACo website The County Compass - an...

Send us Fan Mail On this special episode of Connected Nation, we talk with the head of government solutions for Esri; the national director for the public sector at Big Health; and a leader for Tunica County, Mississippi about the unique needs of his county, which includes six casinos. Related links: Esri Big Health Tunica County, Mississippi Special series episodes list: Inside that National Asso...

Send us Fan Mail On this episode of Connected Nation, we talk to the IT Director of Kent County, Delaware about what can be done to help transient populations. We also sit down with a representative from USDA Rural Development about what the organization can do to help rural areas do everything from improve their infrastructure to navigate the federal grant proces.  Related links: USDA Rural Devel...

Send us Fan Mail On this episode of Connected Nation, we continue our coverage from the NACo conference. And you're going to love this episode. That's because we talked to two companies that are doing pretty innovative things to make your life more relaxed and stress-free. Related links: Daiwa massage chairs Advanced Robot Solutions NACo's Achievement Award winners for 2024 Special...

Send us Fan Mail On this episode of Connected Nation, we continue our coverage from the National Association of Counties Annual Conference and Exposition.  We begin by posing a question to you. Do you know what a "nope rope" is? Well, you're about to find out in our interview with Lucid Software. Also, we talk with the county manager of Columbia County, Florida about the challenges...

Send us Fan Mail On this episode of Connected Nation, we continue our special coverage from the National Association of Counties (NACo) Annual Conference and Exposition. The event brings together county leaders from across the country share ideas, talk about challenges and what's next.   In this episode, we talk with leaders in the black community, including representatives from the National...

Send us Fan Mail On this episode of Connected Nation, we kick off a special series that takes you inside NACo's annual conference and exposition. NACo stands for the National Association of Counties and there are representatives from all over the nation who attend. In this series, we'll talk to everybody from national black community leaders to those who are doing some innovative things...

Send us Fan Mail On today’s podcast – we welcome back a great guest from Season 4, the CEO of Fiber Fast Homes, a company that works directly with real estate developers and builders to connect homes and rental buildings to lightning-fast internet. Learn about the importance of pre-wiring new homes, whether MDUs or single-family developments, and why it is becoming paramount. Hear about the peculi...

Send us Fan Mail On today’s episode of the Connected Nation Podcast, we  tackle what can be done to mitigate threats to our nation’s internet networks – during natural disasters including an increase in cyberthreats.   We invite on leadership from Windstream Enterprise about the unique approach the company takes to stave off bad weather and bad actors during difficult times. Recommended Links: Win...

Send us Fan Mail In 2019, it was estimated that Detroit was the least connected city in the U.S. with greater than 100,000 households.*  On this episode of Connected Nation, we take you to a special event held in the heart of Detroit that’s getting the city one step closer to changing that statistic for good. Related links: eero Nonprofit partners: Digitunity | Human I-T | E2D | National Digital I...