Join us for a three-part webinar series on How To Build a Public Broadband Network. The first webinar will be held on April 16th at Noon ET.
The American Association for Public Broadband (AAPB), in partnership with the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society, is celebrating the publication of its new community broadband handbook "Own Your Internet: How to Build a Public Broadband Network” with a webinar series that spotlights the experiences of a number of communities building community networks.
Moderated by Bill Coleman, author of the AAPB handbook and longtime leader in community broadband, each webinar will provide expert advice for AAPB members, and feature the experiences of community leaders as they navigated establishing, building or running a public broadband network. We will announce additional speakers and community representatives in the coming weeks.
Webinar One: Making the Community Broadband Network Decision
April 16th, 12 pm - 1 pm ET
The first of these webinars will focus on why communities might consider building a publicly owned network, and the steps they would take to embark on this journey. Bill will be joined by:
Jeff Reiman, The Broadband Group
Ellie de Villiers, Maple Broadband - Middlebury, Vermont
Cynthia Garza, Director or External Relations, City of Pharr, Texas
Christa Thorpe, Island Institute
Webinar Two: Determining Roles and Partnerships
May 14th, 12 pm - 1pm ET
The second webinar will be focused on the possible structures for public broadband networks, from government entities to cooperatives. The panelists will discuss how communities determine which model is appropriate for them as they pursue and evaluate the partnerships they need for success.
Webinar Three: Implementation - Building and Operating the Network
June 11th, 12 pm - 1pm ET
The last webinar will focus on the challenges of and strategies for building the physical infrastructure and launching services. Panelists will discuss how they manage complex operations while also adapting to changing conditions, all in view of a community invested in their broadband.