This episode features Brieana Reed-Harmel, director of broadband for Loveland, Colorado, which runs a municipal fiber network called Pulse. We discuss what led Loveland to build and operate its own network, Pulse's progress, future plans and much more.
This episode features Brieana Reed-Harmel, director of broadband for the City of Loveland, Colorado, which runs a municipal broadband network called Pulse.
Started in 2018, Pulse was launched in response to the community's need for better broadband delivery to the local school district. We discuss the origins of Pulse and progress on the network thus far, as well as future plans for connectivity in Loveland and surrounding communities. We also discuss the state of Colorado's loose municipal broadband ban, in place since 2005, which the legislature is currently trying to overturn.
Here are a few topics covered in this episode:
Backstory on when and why Loveland chose to launch Pulse (1:20)
Loveland's decision to opt out of the state's municipal broadband ban and current efforts to overturn the ban this year (2:38)
Pulse's costs and funding sources (5:00)
Pulse's fiber network makeup and construction process/progress (6:22)
Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the rollout of Pulse (8:11)
How Pulse is using and supplementing the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) (11:00)
Benefits of and challenges with municipal broadband networks, and advice for other municipalities (13:55)
How Pulse is preparing to participate in the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program (18:10)
For an unedited transcript of this conversation, click the caption button on the video player.
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