States have a bezillion dollars for broadband. Now what?! Today’s Gigabit Nation explores the question how do you ensure that what you build is what communities need?

Who comes to the table is key. Some are concerned that the people who need broadband the most can be least represented in planning sessions, focus groups and surveys. Also, how do you recruit, motivate and reward managers and foot soldiers who execute the plan?

Peggy Schaffer

Peggy Schaffer is the former Ex Dir of ConnectME Authority and former co-chair of the Maine Broadband Coalition. Her teams had the benefit of time to try out and refine ideas, technologies and people. Peggy graciously agreed to step out of retirement for a hot minute to discuss how to bring the right people to the table. This will be particularly valuable for communities that haven’t got a good start with their planning.

DeAnne Cuellar, Community Broadband Outreach Team Lead at ILSR

Urban residents are shortchanged by the lack of attention or resources,. To offset some of the disparity, DeAnne Cuellar runs Urban Digital Equity Bootcamps that prepares inner-city community leaders and their constituents to better compete for broadband grants. Cuellar highlights lessons she and her Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR) colleagues learned while developing their Bootcamps.

Who’s Coming To the Broadband Planning Table

Share

Embed

More Episodes