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This is Connected Nation – an award-winning podcast focused on all things broadband. From closing the Digital Divide to simply improving your internet speeds, we talk technology topics that impact all of us, our families, and our communities.
The podcast was honored in 2024 with an Award of Excellence for Podcast Series - Technology. This is the highest honor given by the Communicator Awards. More recently, the podcast received an Award of Distinction in 2025. It received the same honor in 2023 and 2022.
Learn more about the national nonprofit behind this podcast at connectednation.org.
207 Episodes
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Send us a text On this special edition of Connected Nation, we head BACK to Wichita, Kansas for an AI Interconnection Summit. This time, we talk with the woman many credit with greenlighting the FIRST EVER Internet Exchange Point in Kansas and with one CEO who is going to help make it a reality. Recommended links: AI Interconnection Summit website Socket Fiber website Jade Piros de Carvalho Linkedin profile iM Data Centers website Mike Roark Linkedin profile
Send us a text On this episode of Connected Nation, we continue our coverage from Mountain Connect 2025 as we sit down with broadband entrepreneur Scott Sampson, CEO of Blueprint Broadband and founder of Light Craft and Mac Mountain to talk about the fast-changing tech landscape. Hear how his ventures are supporting ISPs with financing, operations, and shared services and why collaboration is the key to closing the Digital Divide. Recommended links: Scott Sampson LinkedIn Blueprint Broa...
Send us a text On this special edition of Connected Nation, we head to Wichita, Kansas for a first-of-its-kind event – an AI Interconnection Summit. We begin our coverage with Ivo Ivanov - the CEO of DE-CIX - one of the world’s biggest names when it comes to internet infrastructure. Find out why he felt it was critical to travel to America’s heartland for the summit, what his company is doing there in the long term, and why what’s happening there will ultimately impact us all. Re...
Send us a text On this episode of Connected Nation, we are joined by the leadership at the Range, which is short for regional accelerator and new growth engine. Learn how the organization is focusing on creating incredible innovation for everything from energy and food production to workforce development and healthcare in one of the most rural places in America - the Texas Panhandle. Recommended Links: The Range website The Range LinkedIn Matt Garner LinkedIn
Send us a text What makes Fort Collins’ community-owned internet one of the best ISPs in the nation? Find out from their Broadband Executive Director on this latest episode of the Connected Nation podcast. Join us as we sit down with Chad Crager to discuss how this city-built network is redefining customer service, digital inclusion, and the future of broadband. Recommended Links: Chad Crager LinkedIn Fort Collins Connexion
Send us a text On this episode of Connected Nation, we continue our coverage from Mountain Connect 2025 as we sit down with Connected Nation's very own Brent Legg, Executive Vice President, Government Affairs. We discuss the one-of-a-kind Connected Nation Internet Exchange Point (IXP) joint venture with Newby Ventures and why it's so important for the future of connectivity. Learn about the latest policy and infrastructure needs—PLUS the challenges and opportunities ahead in 2025–2026. Recomm...
Send us a text On this episode of Connected Nation, host Jessica Denson talks with Mike Miller, Broadband Practice Leader at HDR—a 107-year-old company that recently entered the broadband space. Discover how HDR is leveraging its Matrix model to tackle complex challenges, from Dig Once initiatives to the rapid demand for data centers nationwide. Learn why open access networks, middle-mile redundancy, and forward-thinking infrastructure planning are key to preparing for an AI-driven futu...
Send us a text On this episode of Connected Nation, recorded live at Mountain Connect 2025 in Denver, Colorado, host Jessica Denson sits down with Osmo’s Troy Cross, Vice President of Sales, and Sadie Conley, Demand Generation Specialist. Osmo powers “frictionless support” for industry giants like AT&T, Google, and Verizon—helping customers resolve device issues quickly and easily. Now, they’re turning their attention to smaller ISPs, offering scalable, cloud-based solutions that ca...
Send us a text On this episode of Connected Nation, we continue our coverage from Mountain Connect 2025 as we sit down with Angela Siefer, Executive Director of the National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA). We discuss the origins and mission of NDIA, the evolving landscape of digital equity, and how AI is shaping the next Digital Divide. Learn about the importance of local digital navigators, the role of ISPs and tech companies, and why digital inclusion is ultimately a human challeng...
Send us a text On this episode of Connected Nation, we continue our coverage from Mountain Connect 2025 with two women from Colorado State University Pueblo—Dana Lambert, Director of Digital Equity, and Juliann Sandoval, Digital Navigator. Their program is closing the digital divide across southern Colorado by providing free laptops, broadband access, and personalized digital skills training to students, seniors, veterans, and others in need. Learn how their work is making a difference, why d...
Send us a text On this episode of Connected Nation, we kick off our Mountain Connect 2025 coverage from Denver, Colorado. Jessica Denson sits down with Jerry Smith, Broadband Manager for Los Alamos County, New Mexico. The conversation dives into how his county is deploying an innovative open access fiber network, partnering with a sovereign tribal nation, and improving middle-mile redundancy in a remote but tech-savvy area. Recommended Links: Jerry's LinkedIn Mountain Connect Webs...
Send us a text On this episode of Connected Nation, we wrap up our coverage from the 2025 Broadband Communities Summit in Houston, Texas. Telecommunications legal expert Philip Macres breaks down the new BEAD rules—what’s good, what’s bad, and what’s uncertain—as states prepare for fast-moving deadlines and funding decisions. Then we sit down with Megan Steckly, CEO of Compudopt, this year’s National Digital Divide Award winner, to hear how her nonprofit is on track to impact 1 mi...
Send us a text In this special bonus episode of Connected Nation, we take you straight to the heart of the action on the exhibit floor at the Broadband Communities Summit. Join us as we explore the buzz around Interduct.com — the booth everyone was talking about. Discover why it captured so much attention. Recommended Links: Innerduct Website
Send us a text On this episode, we’re reporting from the Broadband Communities Summit in Houston, Texas, where we sit down with Molly Weiner, Director of Local and Regional Planning for Connected Nation. Molly shares insights from a new telehealth study focused on seven rural counties in northwest Colorado, conducted in partnership with Colorado’s eHealth Innovation Office. We explore why many residents still aren’t using telehealth, what’s holding them back, and how education, awarenes...
Send us a text On this episode of Connected Nation, we've got some bonus coverage from the Broadband Community Summit. We talk with Drew Pappas from Bonfire Infrastructure Group on how they help communities, coops, Tribes, and others build open networks across the country. Recommended links: Bonfire Website Guest's LinkedIn - Drew Pappas
Send us a text On this episode of Connected Nation, we sit down with two representatives from Cogent Communications. We discuss the evolution of data centers, talk about Cogent's work globally, and find out what it's like being the Internet Service Provider of Internet Service Providers. Recommended links: Cogent website Guests' LinkedIn: Jeff Reinis and Craig Grace
Send us a text In this episode of Connected Nation, host Jessica Denson continues coverage from the 2025 Broadband Communities Summit in Houston. First, she sits down with Dawn Intili of DirecTV, who breaks down how the company is reshaping its services for the modern streaming era and expanding into multifamily dwellings with flexible, cost-effective options. Then, Jessica chats with Scott Garnder and Duane Lyons of Dura-Line, who explain how fiber pathways are being built smarte...
Send us a text In this episode of Connected Nation, we continue our coverage from the Broadband Communities Summit in Houston, Texas. Jessica Denson speaks with Tyler Dempsey and Shelby Smith of Sonar Software about what sets their OSS/BSS platform apart in a rapidly changing industry—and why launching their new podcast “Bandwidth” is part of building stronger connections. Later, we hear from Adeyinka O. Ogunlegan, Chief of Staff and VP of Federal Affairs at the National Urban League. S...
Send us a text On this episode of Connected Nation, we continue our coverage live from the Broadband Community Summit in Houston, Texas. We talk with Heather Gate, Executive Vice President of Digital Transformation for Connected Nation about the summit and the topic she's focused on. But as you'll hear, things didn't quite go as we'd planned. I like to call this one. You never know who you're gonna meet when you're with Heather Gate. Recommended Links: WSU and CNIXP projectWichita State...
Send us a text On this episode of Connected Nation, we continue our coverage from the Broadband Community Summit, and we talk with the president and CEO of MCNC, about its role connecting schools and healthcare facilities across North Carolina. We also talk about the importance of middle mile infrastructure and the high stakes of an upcoming court decision. Recommended Links: Microelectronics Center of North Carolina (MCNC) websitePodcast: High Stakes in the High Court as Nation Awaits ...
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